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59th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
LIX Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, served with 11th (Northern) Division. 11th (Northern) Division was formed in August 1914 as part of Kitchener's First New Army. After initial training close to home, the units of the Division concentrated with the Artillery training at Leeds, Sheffield, Norwich and Weedon. On the 4th of April 1915 the Division assembled at Witley and Frensham for final training. They sailed for Gallipoli from Liverpool via Mudros at the end of June 1915. They landed near Lala Baba at Suvla Bay on the 6th and 7th of August. On the 19th and 20th of December 1915 the Division was withdrawn from Gallipoli, moving to Imbros then to Egypt at the end of January. They concentrated at Sidi Bishr and took over a section of the Suez canal defences on the 19th of February. On the 17th of June 1916 the Division was ordered to France to reinforce Third Army on The Somme. They departed from Alexandria on with the last units leaving on the 3rd of July. By the 27th July, they were in the front line on the Somme and took part in The capture of the Wundt-Werk, The Battle of Flers-Courcelette and The Battle of Thiepval. In 1917 59th Brigade RFA were in action in Operations on the Ancre then moved north to Flanders for The Battle of Messines, The Battle of the Langemarck, The Battle of Polygon Wood, The Battle of Broodseinde and The Battle of Poelcapelle. In 1918 they were at Arras for The 1918 Battle of the Scarpe and The Battle of the Drocourt-Quant Line and fought in the Battles of the Hindenburg Line and The Battle of the Sambre including the passage of the Grand Honelle. At the Armistice the Division was on high ground east of Havay.
10th Nov 1915 Registration 
22nd Feb 1916 Trenches Bombarded
8th of June 1917 Bolder Enemy Aircraft
27th of June 1917 Night Firing
27th Sep 1917 Instructions
29th Sep 1917 Instructions
3rd Oct 1917 Instructions
3rd Oct 1917 Instructions
3rd Oct 1917 Instructions
3rd Oct 1917 Instructions
3rd of January 1918 Location of Divisional Units
12th of January 1918 Weather Very Cold
13th of January 1918 More Snow - More Training
21st of January 1918 Reliefs
24th of January 1918 Artillery Very Quiet
25th of January 1918 MG Fire All Night
27th of January 1918 Night Patrols
28th of January 1918 Enemy Aircraft Brought Down
3rd of February 1918 Dugout Attacked
10th of February 1918 A Large Explosion
17th of February 1918 Shelling
24th of February 1918 A Daylight Patrol
26th of February 1918 Enemy Heavies Active
1918-03-01 Sectors Defined
2nd of March 1918 Heavy Gas Shelling
10th of March 1918 5th Dorsets on Patrol
12th of March 1918 Enemy Fire "Above Normal"
17th of March 1918 Seventeen Balloons Spotted
19th of March 1918 A Bit Quieter on the Front
24th of March 1918 Germans on Short Rations
31st of March 1918 Allied Gas Operations
3rd of April 1918 Le Rutoire Shelled
7th of April 1918 A Relief Ordered
14th of April 1918 Dumps Destroyed
21st of April 1918 Heavy Bombardment
26th of April 1918 Slight Shelling
28th of April 1918 Demolition Plans
30th of April 1918 Retaliatory Fire
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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1206171 Major David Nelson VC MID. 59th Bde. Royal Field Artillery (d.8th April 1918) David Nelson died of wounds on the 8th of April 1918, aged 31 and is buried in the Lillers Communal Cemetery in France.
An extract from the London Gazette (No. 28976, dated 13th Nov., 1914), records the following- "Helping to bring the guns into action under heavy fire at Nery on 1st September, and while severely wounded remaining with them until all the ammunition was expended-although he had been ordered to retire to cover."
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264031 Lt. Edwin William George Bennett 59th Brigade, 188 Bty. Royal Artillery Edwin Bennett served with 59th Brigade, 188th Battery, Royal Field Artillery.
2/9/1914 - Enlisted in Bristol
11/9/1914 - Completed Training
2/7/1915 - Embarked for Alexandria
15/7/1915 - Arrived Alexandria
4/2/1915 - Promoted to Bombardier
1/8/1915 - Embarked for Gallipoli
9/8/1915 - Arrived Gallipoli
18/11/1915 - Promoted to Corporal
10/12/1915 - Embarked for Alexandria
22/12/1915 - Arrived Alexandria
26/4/1916 - Posted to B Battery XI Division
28/6/1916 - Embarked for Marseilles
7/7/1916 - Arrived
8/4/1917 - Returned to England for Officer cadet training
6/10/1917 - Commissioned Lieutenant
7/12/1917 - Attached to 3sec 63rd Brigade
8/2/1918 - Posted to 223rd Brigade
2/6/1918 - Act. Captain
29/11/1919 - Attached to Horse Stationary Camp, V111 Corps
25/4/1919 - Posted to 223rd Brigade
7/6/1919 - Posted to 317th Brigade
1/7/1919 - Demobilized
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239225 Sgt. Henry Jeanes 59th Bty., 39th Bde. Royal Field Artillery (d.14th November 1916) Serjeant Jeanes was the son of Mr and Mrs J. Jeanes of Waverley Cottages, Curragh; husband of A. T. Martin (formerly Jeanes) of 45 Abbey Gardens, St Johns Wood, London.
He was 26 when he died and is buried in the south part of the Kilcullen (Abbey) Cemetery, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare, Ireland.
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229986 Cpl. Ernest George Chapman 59th Brigade. Royal Field Artillery  Ernie Chapman went straight into the Army at the start of WWI at the age of 21. He was one of the guys that broke in the horses and trained them. When he went to France he had two horses - Boxing Day Mary and Walleye. Mary had killed a stable lad and was going to be destroyed, but Ernie took her and trained her. He took them both out to France and brought them both home again.
When he was out in the trenches he was mentioned in despatches many times. He was recommended for the Victoria Cross for the time he drove the gun carriage back across no-mans land with a wounded officer on the back under fire. Unfortunately, Ernie heard about it and went for a drink with friends and was late back. As he had fallen asleep it was not given to him and he received a punishment. He did get the 1914 star as they did if they survived from 1914 to 1918. Ernie was a soldier through and through and was proud to serve his country. Ernie was also a boxer at flyweight. He won many bouts.
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223709 Cpl. George Cooper Evison 5th Btn. Lincolnshire Regiment  George Evison enlisted in the Scots Guards on 24th February 1899, just short of his 17th birthday. In the 1901 census he is stationed at Wellington Barracks, Westminster, London. I do not know much about his service in the Guards, but I do know that he served in South Africa during the Boer war as he qualified for the Queens South Africa medal which was confirmed in his later military records.
George left the Guards on 23rd February 1906 and returned home. He remained on the reserve list for the Scots Guards for 5 years until February 1911.
In March 1911, he signed up, for 5 years, to the Territorial Army, the 5th Battalion of the Lincolnshire regiment, which was based at Grimsby. He attended a fortnights training camp in 1911, 1912 and 1913. On the 5th August 1914, at the onset of the First World War, the 4th (based at Lincoln) and the 5th Territorial Battalions of the Lincolnshire regiment were mobilised and started preparing for war.
The 5th Battalion arrived in France on the 1st March 1915. George was promoted to Corporal on 22nd March 1915 (this was despite being arrested twice for Drunk and Disorderly in November and December 1914, for which he was reprimanded).
According to The History of the Lincolnshire Regiment 1914-1918, by Major-General C.R.Simpson, the 4th and 5th Battalions spent some training on trench duties before going to the front line on 9th April.
George was injured in action and hospitalised sometime on or just prior to 2nd July 1915. His injury was described as a scalded foot and he was transported home on the 8th July. According to Major-General Simpson’s book. the battalion at that time was in a position close to Sanctuary Wood and the Germans were attacking with ‘liquid fire’. Whether or not this was the cause of his injury would be pure conjecture.
George returned to France on 20th December 1915, having recovered from his injuries. He remained with the regiment until 1st April 1916, when he returned home for discharge, as his 5-year enlistment was complete.
You might think that was enough for a 34-year-old man but no, George decided to re-enlist, joining the Royal Artillery on 7th June 1916. Once again his military record is intact. He joined the 59th Division Training Battery at Ripon where he remained for the remainder of the war.
At the completion of the war, he requested to remain in the army, which was granted. His reward for such loyalty was involvement in the Afghanistan war of 1919. The Afghans, sensing British war weariness, had attacked British garrisons and a short war followed. So, in addition to his Great War medals he was awarded the General Service medal and clasp Afghanistan N.W.F.1919.
He was eventually discharged from the Royal Artillery with the rank of Bombardier on 31st March 1920. However, he did rejoin the Territorial Army for 5 years on 24th June 1920.
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219113 Bmbdr. Solomon Yewkins 59th Brigade Royal Field Artillery (d.1st Jun 1917) Solomon Yewkins was not a relative but his name appears on the Brockmoor church war memorial. Brockmoor is now part of Brierley Hill, which is now in Dudley, it used to be in Staffordshire.
This war memorial has been 'lost' for some time but the names are available through newspapers of the Great War period.
I am helping to research names on this memorial.
Bombardier Solomon Yewkins served with the Royal Field Artillery 59th Brigade and died on 1st June 1917.
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215112 Gnr. Charles Bramley Chrisp 59th Brigade, A Battery Royal Field Artillery (d.11th Sep 1915) Charles Bramley Chrisp was born around 1893 and lived in Jarrow. Son of John and Rachel Chrisp (nee Bramley) of Jarrow. He is recorded as Charles Bramley Chrisp age 17 Apprentice Coppersmith in Shipyard living with his parents John and Rachel Chrisp and family at 66 Croft Terrace, Jarrow on the 1911 census.
Charles served with 59th Brigade "A" Battery Royal Field Artillery, he was
aged 22 when he died on 11th September 1915 fighting in Gallipoli.
He is buried in Green Hill Cemetery, Turkey and is commemorated on the Palmer Cenotaph (west face) Jarrow and on the Triptych in St. Paul's Church Jarrow.
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213521 Gnr. William Walter Fish 59th Brigade Royal Field Artillery Will Fish enlisted 3/12/1915 and went to France 15/10/1916. He was wounded 10/10/1917 and was repatriated 1/4/1919 then demobbed 28/4/1919.
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213047 Sgt. Robert Amberson 59th Brigade Royal Field Artillery Robert Amberson went out in 1915 with 459 battery. He was posted to D Bty in 1916 and remained with the brigade until demobbed in 1919
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Recomended Reading.Available at discounted prices.
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Artillery Operations of the Ninth British Corps at Messines, June 1917 Army War College (U.S.)
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