66th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery

LXVII Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, served with 13th (Western) Division, which was formed as part of Kitchener's First New Army and began to assemble on Salisbury Plain. Near the end of February the Division concentrated at Blackdown in Hampshire. They moved to the Mediterranean from the 13th of June 1915 landing at Alexandria then moving to Mudros, by the 4th of July to prepare for a landing at Gallipoli. The entire Division landed at ANZAC Cove between the 3rd and 5th of August. They were in action in The Battle of Sari Bair, The Battle of Russell's Top and The Battle of Hill 60, at ANZAC. Soon afterwards they transferred from ANZAC to Suvla Bay. They were evacuated from Suvla on the 19th and 20th of December 1915, and after a weeks rest they moved to the Helles bridgehead. They were in action during The last Turkish attacks at Helles on the 7th of January 1916 and were evacuated from Helles on the 8th and 9th. The Division concentrated at Port Said, holding forward posts in the Suez Canal defences. On the 12th of February 1916 they moved to Mesopotamia, to join the force being assembled near Sheikh Sa'ad for the relief of the besieged garrison at Kut al Amara. They joined the Tigris Corps on the 27th of March and were in action in the unsucessful attempts to relieve Kut. They were in action in The Battle of Kut al Amara, The capture of the Hai Salient, he capture of Dahra Bend and The passage of the Diyala, in the pursuit of the enemy towards Baghdad. Units of the Division were the first troops to enter Baghdad, when it fell on the 11 March 1917. The Division then joined Marshall's Column and pushed north across Iraq, fighting at Delli 'Abbas, Duqma), Nahr Kalis, crossing the 'Adhaim on the 18 April and fighting at Shatt al 'Adhaim. In October 1915 they transferred to 10th (Irish) Division who were concentrating near Rafa to prepare for the Palestine Campaign. Between April and June 1918, many British units of the Division were replaced by Indian units. On the 12th of November 1918 the Division concentrated at Sarafand, before moving back to Egypt, being in Cairo by the 1st of December.

13th of October 1918

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There are:5231 items tagged 66th 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
66th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
during the Great War 1914-1918.

Atkinson Edwin. Dvr.
Riley Ernest. Dvr. (d.22nd Sep 1916)
Riley Ernest. Drvr. (d.22nd Sep 1916)
Singh Phul. Gnr. (d.25th Oct 1919)
Spence David Stuart. 2nd Lt. (d.13th Dec 1915)
Walker William Henry. BQSM.

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1205785

Dvr. Ernest Riley 66th Small Arms Ammunition Column Royal Field Artillery (d.22nd Sep 1916)

Ernest Riley died of Malaria on 22nd September 1916, aged 23. He is buried in Karasouli Military Cemetery, Greece. He was the son of William and Susan Louisa Riley, of 311, Briercliffe Rd., Burnley, Lancashire.
s flynn

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236807

Gnr. Phul Singh Lowland Divsion Ammunition Column Royal Field Artillery (d.25th Oct 1919)

Phul Singh was from Pempore, Aligarh. He was buried in the Bonn North Cemetery in Germany.
s flynn

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223593

Drvr. Ernest Riley 66th Small Arms Ammunition Column Royal Field Artillery (d.22nd Sep 1916)

Ernest Riley died of malaria on the 22nd of September 1916, aged 23 and is buried in the Karasouli Military Cemetery in Greece. He was the son of William and Susan Louisa Riley of 311 Briercliffe Rd., Burnley, Lancashire.
s flynn

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223124

2nd Lt. David Stuart Spence 66th Bde. A Battery, Royal Field Artillery (d.13th Dec 1915)

David Stuart Spence was born on the 18th November 1892 in Stromness, the third son of William Spence, a baker born in Victoria, Australia, and Susanna Spence (nÃ©e Smith), born in Stromness where she and William married in 1888. Stuart went to school in the town and then became a student at Edinburgh University. He had just graduated M.A. from the university, when he successfully applied for a commission in the Special Reserve of Officers in March 1915. Stuart had served in Edinburgh University O.T.C. as a gunner and attended 88 drills there, so was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in his preferred branch, the Royal Field Artillery. Stuart joined the 2/1st East Lancs Brigade RFA in the south of England. After a few months training, Stuart was posted to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and travelled out to Gallipoli.
Stuart landed at Cape Helles on the 20th September and joined the 1/1st East Lancs Brigade RFA. However, two days later he was transferred to join 66th Brigade RFA, one of several, of the always too few, British field artillery brigades that served away from their parent division at Gallipoli. The 66th Brigade remained at Helles, while its division, the New Army 13th, moved to Anzac and then to Suvla (it eventually returned to Helles after Stuartâ€™s death).
The Gallipoli campaign had settled down to trench warfare when Stuart Spence arrived there, but the artillery was kept busy supporting minor British attacks and stopping those of the Turks, also in the continuous counter-battery fire. The French had started to withdraw their Senegalese infantry on 12th December, but Stuart's battery, "A" of the 66th Brigade, was probably firing in support of the French when he was killed in action on the next day.
A letter sent to his father in March 1916 stated that Second Lieutenant D.S. Spence, Royal Field Artillery, was buried at Zimmerman Farm Cemetery (French) and that the Rev. J. Duncan officiated. However, that grave was not identified when the Imperial War Graves Commission consolidated the Gallipoli cemeteries after the Armistice, so David Stuart Spence is commemorated on Panel 21 of the impressive Helles Memorial. Stuart was 23 years old, when he died on 13th December 1915 on Gallipoli.
s flynn

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208281

BQSM. William Henry Walker Royal Field Artillery

William Henry Walker was born in 1871 - he served in the RFA from 1892 to 1906, during which time he served in India from 10 Oct 1894 to 8 April 1900. He married in 1894 before he left and his bride waited at home for 6 years. Her father was also in the Army and they had met at the church in the Barracks in Woolwich. Their first four children were born in Ireland, two in Fermoy and two in Cork. In 1906 he left the army and returned back to Sheffield, where he and his wife raised another three children.
When WW1 broke out he was called up as a special reservist - the family say he said he would rejoin if he could get his old rank back and the authorities agreed if he passed fit. He was 48 years 169 days old when he reenlisted. He was in England with the 1st Division RFA until 29th of August 1914 and during that time he was made up from driver to corporal on the same day he enlisted. By the end of August 1914 he was promoted to sargent.
On the 24th of October 1914 he was then transferred to the 13th Division then attached to the 209 Bh(?) on the 26th. On the 9th of Feb 1915 he was promoted to BQMS with the 66th Bde. On the 14 June 1915 his record says he was serving in Mesopotamia but the statement of service says posted 9th Sept 1916 so I am a little confused here? He left Mesopotamia on the 26th Jan 1916 and was sent to Egypt where he stayed until 5 Nov 1916.
On the 5 Nov 1916 they were sent to Salonika where he stayed until 25 March 1919 and was serving back in England between 26 March 1919 and 24 April 1919 (But the military history sheet says he embarked for England on the 11 March 1919 - so once more I am confused?) It would also seem that he was transferred to the Labour Corps on the 12 Jan 1918 and there is a note before this saying classified PB 25th Oct 1917 - (I have no idea what this means?)
He had served with the Royal Artillary a total of 14 years 12 days which of course qualified him for a pension. I find it amazing that he survied the complete WW1 and returned to his family, obviously well and fit as he went on to father two more children.
He died on the 13 Sept 1944 - I am currently trying to put together a family history book for him and am investigating what battles were fought and gathering illustrations when and where I can.
John alfred henry, William Henry, Jane Alice, Jane Alice Elizabeth. Taken in Ireland possibly Fermoy prior to leaving in 1906

This was taken between 1915 (when he was promoted to Sargent) and 1917 when the girl to the far right died.
Dorothy Walker

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66th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
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66th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery

Want to know more about 66th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery?

Those known to have served with66th Brigade, Royal Field Artilleryduring the Great War 1914-1918.

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- 66th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery during the Great War -

Those known to have served with
66th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
during the Great War 1914-1918.