124th (Northumbrian) FieldRegimentRoyal Artillery (TA)124th (Northumbrian) FieldRegimentRoyal Artillery (TA)
By Keith Brigstock
The GarrisonThe Garrison
The Garrison was formed in 1988 to represent theRoyal Artillery in Garrison’s of the Victorian,Great War and WW2 period
With most of the memberswere WW2 militaryVehicles enthusiasts so itwas not long before theWW2 element started totake precedent
D Tp, 489 Bty, 124 Fd Regt RA (TA)D Tp, 489 Bty, 124 Fd Regt RA (TA)
The adoption of 124 Fd Regt RA was for the 50thAnniversary of D-Day event in Normandy inJune 1994 as a 50thDivision Unit
Now since 2004 even more research found thatthe two troops in 489 Bty where in fact C and Dtroops and as the Junior Troop in the Regimentwe had to be D Troop
The adoption of 489Battery was to be morespecific for the 60thAnniversary of D-Dayevent in Normandy inJune 2004
Why?Why?
The History 124th Regt RA (TA)The History 124th Regt RA (TA)
•72nd and 74th (Northumbrian)Field Regiment RA (TA) were thetwo existing TA Field Regimentsin Northumbria.
•72nd (N) Fd Regt RA (TA),consisted of 4 batteries 285, 286,287 & 288
•124th (N) Fd Regt RA (TA) formedin Cowgate, Newcastle-upon-Tyne on the 24th May 1939 bytransferring 287 and 288 Batteriesfrom 72nd (N) Regt RA (TA) to itwith a total strength of 565.
•The Regiment was assigned to 69Bde 23 (N) Infantry Division
Gunner Samuel Chantler
The History 124th Regt RA (TA)The History 124th Regt RA (TA)
•As per RA regiments of the time its batteries were of three troopsbut with only 2 old 4.5 Howizers to train on.
•The Drill hall soon proved to small for both 72 and 124th so 124thmoved to Bath Gate School near by .
•During this early time teaching all the new recruits to drive wasthe priority and 100 Civilian cars were impounded for the task.
The History 124th Regt RA (TA)The History 124th Regt RA (TA)
•In November 1939 all soldiers in Field Regiments under the age of18 were titled juveniles and were to be transferred to home basedunits Gunner Samuel Chantler was just such a gunner
•The regiment now part of 50th (N) Inf Division’s first war role wasthe defence of the south coast.
287 Bty where on fixed emplacementsaround the Bournemouth area
288 Bty where now equipped withthe French 75mm and covered fromPool Harbour to Brown Sea Island.
The Regiment was to receive its first 25 pdrs on 3 November 1940,and was up to full strength of 24 by the 20th December 1940. It wasduring this time that the Regiment experimented with 3 batteries of8 guns for the first time with 'R' Battery being formed but it wasshort lived disbanding again after 2 months.
Now part of the 50thDivision the Regiment setsail on the SS Orduna fromthe Clyde on the 6th May1941, for service in theMiddle East.
The convoy consisted of 8vessels and was escorted byHMS Exeter, HMS Argos(Aircraft Carrier), one AACruiser and 7 destroyers.
The History 124th Regt RA (TA)The History 124th Regt RA (TA)
The Regiment in Cyprus
The Regiment finally arrived at its destination, Tewfik on the 17 July1941, disembarked and moved by train to Qassasin. On the 23rdJune 1941 the Regiment fired its first shots in anger when a sentryfired three shots at some one who did not answer their challenge andputting a whole in the petrol tank of a gun tractor.
The regiment then moved to Port Said where it boarded an AustralianCruiser HMAS Hobart bound for Famagusta, Cyprus arriving on the5th August 1941.
Now part of the Island defenceforce with 288 Bty based inPane Lakkatania and 287 Bty inLimassol.
The regiment settled down tolife in Cyprus but it was to beshort lived as they were on theirback to the Middle East in theJanuary 1942, first to Baghdad,Iraq and then on to Syria.
The Battle of Gazala
In January 1942 The regiment moved again first to Baghdad, Iraqthen Syria before arriving in the 69 Bde Box on the Gazala Line inLibya.
The Battle of Gazala wasa disaster for the Britishand commonwealthForces resulting in theloss of Tobruk.
During the battle 72ndRegiment was over runand lost in the 150 BdeBox.
124th had a relativelyquite time to the northbut 287 Bty wasassigned to the 50thDivision mobile reserve
489 The end of the Battle489 The end of the Battle
Towards the End of the Battle50th Division were ordered towithdraw.
The withdraw of 50th Divisionwas unique as instead ofpulling back they had toadvance through the Italianpositions and than sweeparound during the night.
Its was a great success andalmost all of 50th Dive made itback.
The 124th was one of the lastto leave the line, 288 Btyescaped with its guns, theremains of 287 Bty was not solucky.
The Divisional Reserve was sent to support the Knightsbridge boxand it was here the Regiment suffered its heaviest losses of the warwhen two troops from 287 Bty were over Run and Captured.
489 Bty is Born
The Regiment now down to 4Troops of Field Guns was in June1942 ordered to form a new batterywith the remnants of 287 Bty and atroop from 288 Bty this new batterywas called 489 Bty
The Regiment now had 288 Bty withE and F troop and 489 Bty with Cand D Troop
Lt Smith and the guys of thesurviving Troop for 287 Bty on partof C Troop 489 Bty.
257 Bty Joins the Regiment
After being with the124th Fd Regt for onlytwo months 257 A/TkBty rejoined 65 A/TkRegt RA on the 17th July1942.
It had been with 124ththrough the regimentshardest times andthrough the retreat to ElAlamain
During its time in the Gazala Line the Regiment was again threebatteries when 257 A/Tk Bty joined them equipped with portee2pdrs from 65 A/Tk Regt RA.
There time with 124th although short was dramatic with 2/Lt Oakswining a military Cross for his bravery while defending an OP ofthe Regiment.
The Prisoners of War
The Prisoner of 124th Regiment have stories of their own the mosttragic of these was the Sinking of the SS Scillin.
On the night of 13th November 1942 the Italian transport ship SSScillin was on route to Sicily with about 815 Commonwealthprisoners-of-war and some 200 Italian soldiers.
It was heading straight into theSicily Invasion area and a Lineof protective Submarines.
It was showing no flag ormarker that it was carryingprisoners of war. HMS Sahib,surfaced fired it deck gun anddemanded it to stop.
When it did not stop she sunk her with a single Torpedo it sunk inless than 1 minute. 5 members of the Regiment died in this incidentas well as a large number of 72nd (N) Fd Regt RA
The 441 Bty Joins the RegimentThe 441 Bty Joins the Regiment
441 Bty joined the Regiment from58th (Sussex) Fd Regt RA on the 28th November 1942. This was howthe regiment was to stay until 1945 a real mix of north and south.
This led to a little confusion 288 originally D, E & F Troops as theJunior Bty lost D to join 489 Bty.
441 Bty also had E and F but it was decided to keep all the Trooptitles, even if there was a possibility of confusion.
The Regiment, now 2 batteries of 8guns 288 and 489 Btys, was split up.
288 was attached to 74 Fd Regt and489 was to 97 Fd Regt.
124th was reunited in time for thebattle of El Alamain on the 26thOctober 1942.
The Pursuit of RommelThe Pursuit of Rommel
The Regiment now rejoined 50th (N) Infantry Division for the pursuitof Rommel all the way to Tunisia
Along with the Division the124th Stayed in Reserveuntil the 8th Army cameagainst the Mareth Line inTunisia. The Division wastasked with the frontalassault of the Line
Here we Capt Smith of CTroop, 489 Bty with hiscrew and MarmonHerrington Recce Vehicle.
Operation HuskyOperation Husky
After the initial success of the attack on the Mareth Line in March1943 the Counter attack by the Germans forced 50th Division Back totheir start point.
The Regiment was to play nofurther major part in operationsin North Africa after this. Instead it was to start extensivetraining for Operation Husky theinvasion of Sicily.
The invasion took place on 10thJuly 1943, and 124th Fd Regt RAlanded on the first day and werefully ashore by midday.
Battle of Lentini, Sicily July 1943
The Regiment fought with distinction and during the battle of Lentini489 Bty with parts of 411 and the RHQ succeeded in Capturing anentire Italian Tank Battalion.
Primosole Bridge
The Regiment along with the rest ofthe Division were called back to theEngland on the fall of Sicily inOctober 1943 to prepare for theinvasion of Northern Europe.
While 288 Bty were involved in theattack on the Primosole Bridgewhere Capt Price was set up in anOP over looking it.
124th Back in England
On arriving Back in England the first thing was a spot of leave
Here we see L/BdrJack Grundy, of441 Battery onleave in the Wirral
124th Back in England
Officers of 124th at a training camp in May 1944
489 Bty 124 Fd Regt RA
489 Bty 124 Fd Regt RA
489 Bty in D-Day
The 2 towed Fd Regts 74 and 124 in 50 Division were replaced by 2Sexton Regts 86 and 147 from Corps for the D-Day Assault
The OP parties from 489 Bty were attached to 86 and took part in theassault. 489 Bty was the first battery from the Regiment intoNormandy departed from Tilbury Docks arriving in on the 18th Junewhere they came under command 74 Fd Regt RA
OP D Troop 489 Bty
489 Bty in Normandy
The Remainder of 124 Regt arrived on the 5th July 1944 and thewhole regiment was then pulled back together south of Bayeux
The Regiment was heavily involved in supporting the Division intheir engagements forTilly-Sur-Seulles,Hottot-Les-Baguesand theLa Senaudiere areas.
489 Bty in Normandy
Sgt Alfred Reynolds F Troop441 Bty standing next aBedford MW the Troop CPVehicle with the Tack Markingof GF
The Regiment was involved inthe attempt to close the Faliasegap after the Brake out formNormandy
489 Bty in Normandy
Operation Market Garden
After a period of rest and reorganisation, 50th Division werereassigned to support the Guards and 11th Armoured Divisionin their drive through Belgium, and on 8th September 1944 wereback in action on the banks of the Albert Canal.
On the 17th September, as part of Operation Market Garden, theRegiments Batteries supported tanks of 30 Corps in the push toreach the 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem.
On 2nd October 1944 theyhad taken up defensivepositions north ofNijmegan between theWaal and Meuse rivers.
124 Fd Regt RA werefiring continuously from0400hrs to 2300hrs andfired a total of 12,500rounds during this action
The Regiment Comes Home
The Regiment had fought throughtthe Middle East, North Africa, Sicilyand Northern Europe from 1942 to1945 and During that time hadsuffered 121 Killed in Action.
On 12th December 1944 after somesix months of continuous front lineservice since the D-Day landings;to embark upon a programme ofre-organisation and training
Prior to the crossing of the Rhineand the final stages of the war, the124th Field Regiment RA, as part of50th Division, returned to theEngland.
124 Fd Regt RA stayed on theorbat until 1947 when it was re-designated 324 Hv AD Regt RA
Members of the Regiment Left inEuropeMembers of the Regiment Left inEurope
Not all members of the Regiment came home, all those that had not beenwith the Regiment Long were assigned to other units until the bitter end
Any Questions