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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment

235 (5th London) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery



   5th London Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, later renamed CCXXXV Brigade, served as Divisional artillery with 47th (2nd London) Division. The 2nd London Division was part of the First Line Territorial Force formed in 1908. The Division had just arrived for their annual summer camp on Salisbury Plain when war wasdeclared in August 1914, they were at once recalled to their home base and mobilised for war service. The Division concentrated in the St Albans area for training. Many units were detached from the Division and sent to France to be needed reinforcements for the BEF. The remainder of the Division proceeded to France on the 8th of March 1915, being only the second TF Division to arrive in theatre. The 5th London Brigade was ordered to Cassel, and the remainder of the Division concentrated near Bethune and were joined by 5th London Brigade near the end of the month. They saw action in The Battle of Aubers Ridge, The Battle of Festubert, The Battle of Loos and The subsequent Actions of the Hohenzollern Redoubt, In 1916 they fought during The German attack at Vimy Ridge, and on The Somme in The Battle of Flers-Courcelette capturing High Wood, The Battle of the Transloy Ridges in which the captured Eaucourt l'Abbaye and The attacks on the Butte de Warlencourt. In 1917 they were in action in The Battle of Messines, the Third Battles of Ypres and The Cambrai Operations where they captured Bourlon Wood and fought against the German counter attacks. In 1918 they were in action on The Somme and the Final Advance in Artois including making the official entry into Lille. At the Armistice the the forward units of the Division had reached Franses-lez-Buissenal. They marched back to Tournai and on the 26th of November moved on to the Bethune area where demobilisation began with the first parties returning to England in the first week of January 1919.

25th July 1915 Wire Cutting  15th London Battery with 3 guns only, fired 13 rounds on G.28.c.8.1, 6 rounds on a German working party, 8 rounds on the Loos crossroads and billets in retaliation for German bombardments on Philosophe. 16th London Battery fired two rounds on Loos and the 17th London Battery replied to hostile bombardments of Maroc. Wire cutting took place tonight. Observation was for range rather than effect. The 15th London Battery fired 6 rounds, the 16th London Battery 5 rounds, 17th London Battery 7 rounds and the 13th London Battery 12 rounds. The results were satisfactory. The best results were obtained by the 17th London Battery, range 1750 yards. In all the cases the gun positions were over 3000 yards away. The working parties from the 5th and the 7th London Brigades returned to their units.

19th August 1915 Training  Hesdigneul Common is no longer at the disposal of Artillery Brigades of 47th Division for any purpose.

3rd September 1915 Guns

1st October 1915 On the Move

3rd October 1915 Church Parade  Church Parade for 5th, 6th & 7th London Field Artillery Brigades. 6th Brigade completed establishment with new (fuze 80) ammunition. 6th Brigade moved from Hesdigneul race course into billets at Labeuvriere.

4th October 1915 New CO

26th November 1915 Relocation  The 6th County of London Brigade moved from Auchel at 0630 for Noyelles. Gunners of the 6th London Brigade RFA took over the guns and positions of the 5th London Brigade RFA at 1300 hrs. The Brigade forms part of the Poole Group, and is engaged in counter battery work, ie. it is employed solely in engaging hostile batteries. Arrangements have been made for aeroplane observation & wireless apparatus has been erected at Brigade Headquarters, which is at Noyelles les Verelles. The 15th & 17th London Batteries occupy the positions they formerly occupied, before being relieved by the 14th & 12th London Batteries respectively viz G.27.b.0.6. and G.27.a.0.9. The 16th Lon Battery is in position due north of Vermelles, G.2.c.6.8. Wagon Line and Ammunition Column are at Noeux les Mines.

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There are:5237 items tagged 235 (5th London) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery available in our Library

  These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.




Those known to have served with

235 (5th London) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery

during the Great War 1914-1918.

  • Eldridge Francis Alban Edward. Bdr.
  • Pilditch Philip Henry. Mjr.
  • Plunkett John William. Dvr.
  • Staples William John. L/Bdr.

All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List

Records of 235 (5th London) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery from other sources.


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1205723

Mjr. Philip Henry Pilditch 235th Brigade Royal Field Artillery

Philip Pilditch was my great uncle. He was one of the few who served from earliest days to the end and spent the majority of it in action. He changed batterys in the early days moving from 18th to 19th and 20th, and then spent time as a Artillery Brigade Adjutant. He then worked as a Captain and part time OC of C Batterym 235 Arty Bde. He wrote a diary throughout the war and had a few copies printed and bound later on. I have one of the copies. He was also a contributor to the 47th Divisional History

Philip was training to be an architect before the war (his father, my great-grandfather), had a very successful London practice at that time. As a result, he was asked to carry out a number of construction tasks for the brigade and also divisional artillery and kept notes of these as well as sketches some of which he included in the diary. examples included new gun-pit designs, emergency evacuation roads, dug-outs etc.

His diary is full of interesting comments and extraordinarily detailed accounts of daily life, most of which was spent either just behind the lines with the batteries, or in the lines as an OP.

Almost his final comment in the diary is his assessment, made after Armistice, that the three things he would be most pleased to get away from were the mud, the German shelling and the Staff !

Murray Philip Hammick




261120

Bdr. Francis Alban Edward Eldridge 235th (5th London) Brigade Royal Field Artillery

Francis Eldridge

Francis Eldridge enlisted on 14th of September 1914 and joined the 12th City of London Battery, 5th London Brigade, RFA. He served in France from 15th of March 1915, and was promoted to Bombardier on 28th of December 1917 while serving with B Battery, 235th Brigade RFA. On 24th of March 1918, he was evacuated to the 56th CCS, having been thrown from his horse by an exploding shell. He didn't return to France, and served with the 4th Reserve Brigade at High Wycombe.

Ray Eldridge






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