|
|
|
8th Survey Regiment, Royal Artillery
8th Survey Regiment, Royal Artillery was formed at Heytesbury in February 1941. They saw action in North Africa and Italy providing flash-spotting, sound-ranging, target acquisition and surveying of gun lines. The regiment was disbanded in December 1945.
Surveying
9th Nov 1941 On the Move
July 1943 Change of Command
29th Sep 1943 On the Move
7th Apr 1944 Good Friday
If you can provide any additional information, especially on actions and locations at specific dates, please add it here.
|
|
|
The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
Announcements
- 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time.
- The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 25 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web.
- 18th Dec 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than
265120 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible.
- Looking for help with Family History Research?
Please read our Family History FAQs
- The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web.
If you enjoy this site
please consider making a donation.
Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our
Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. |
|
Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted
photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them.
The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted.
World War 1 One ww1 wwII second 1939 1945 battalion
Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
|
|
Want to know more about 8th Survey Regiment, Royal Artillery? There are:436 items tagged 8th Survey Regiment, Royal Artillery available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
|
Gnr. John Mellard 8th Survey Regiment Royal Artillery  My father John Mellard was a coal miner and, as such, exempt from military service. However, he got a transfer from the pit face to a surface job and re-applied and was enlisted on 30th of October 1940 into the Royal Artillery. After completing his training, he remained in the UK until 5th of February 1943, when he was shipped to North Africa aboard a Dutch luxury liner that had been used as a troop carrier called the Johann van Oldenbarnevelt. I recall that he participated in battles in many places like Mersa Matruh, Medjez-el-Bab, Katmattyfoo, Wadi El Kabir. When Rommel had been driven out of North Africa and the war had essentially finished there, my father started training for the invasion at Salerno. His training was completed when Operation Avalanche began.
My father had an old magazine which he showed to me as a child. It contained a photo of him running down the gang-plank from a landing craft. I still have that photo. The irony is that I have been doing some research into my father’s military service and recently found a book called Operation Avalanche which covers the Salerno landings, and the front dust cover is the very same photo of my father running down the gang-plank that he had shown me. My father has been immortalized in a book!
|
Gnr. Richard Rutledge Thompson 8th Survey Regiment Royal Artillery My dad was Dickie Thompson served in the 8th South Lancashire Regiment and 8th Survey Regiment Royal Artillery. He was in WWII and started training somewhere in Suffolk, l think, where he shot rabbits with his officer. He saw service in North Africa and Italy. He told me he was a driver and a forward observation post observer. He was very shy about talking of the war.
|
Gnr. Clifford Blakeman 8th Survey Regiment Royal Artillery (d.7th May 1943) Clifford Blakeman served with 8th Survey Regiment, Royal Artillery and died on the 7th of May 1943 aged 22. The son of Arthur and Annie E of Cheddleton,
he is buried in Medjez-El-Bab War Cemetery, Tunisia and is remembered on the Cheddleton Village War Memorial.
|
Alexander McGowan Renfrew 8th Survey Regiment Royal Artillery Alexander Renfrew enlisted in February 1941 and went through the R.A. School of Survey before joining 8th Survey Regiment R.A. in August. He was sent to North Africa in March and moved to Italy in September.
|
Alastair Flattely 8th Survey Regiment Royal Artillery My Uncle, Alastair Flattely served as a flash spotter with 8th Survey Regiment, Royal Artillery in Italy.
After the war he studied at Edinburgh College of Arts and later taught at Grays School of Art in Aberdeen. He went on to become vice-principal of Gloucestershire College of Art and Design. Many of his works of art are on public display and a collection is held at the Royal Scottish Academy.
|
John Cory 8 Survey Regiment Royal Artillery This is part of an account my father left for the family:
"We arrived at the RHQ of the 8th, Survey in time for lunch and after this we surveyors, six in all, were collected by the transport of ‘Don’ Troop of the sound ranging battery. Thus, the long journey from the UK. had ended. The Troop was at rest, in Carano village, in front of the Massico Ridge occupied by the enemy. From the top of the church tower the front could be seen including Cassino and Gaida, 7 miles away.
The majority of Surveyors in the troop had been teachers in civvy street, including the three officers and the No. 1 sergeant, by the name of Netley. We six newcomers joined the troop as replacements. We were soon put through our paces to find out what we know. We did observing and computations and dummy HQ work. I was offered the chance to be a draughtsman which meant more work in speeding up.
For a short spell we moved back, to Casaluce, a village south of Naples. A visiting MO. gave us all a Typhus injection and then we went to RHQ for a bath. The latter turned out to be three showers in a tent and a good size boiler outside with a fire underneath, which looked as though it would blow up any minute. We had to take along our water wagon, to give back the amount of water used.
A journey of 80 miles followed, north for awhile, then along the 8th. Army front, over the Apennines and through a pass to Spinete. This village commanded a good view of a range of snow-capped mountains. My billet was a farmhouse, perched on the mountainside.
Mike and I had a look around the village and found a piano and looked forward to a good play. Mike was one of the original members of the regiment and had been a classics and music master at a public school. Very gifted, as a pianist and in languages, but hopeless in Maths. He failed the standard. He begged to be allowed to stay on in the regiment and became a driver. And so he remained, somewhat absent-minded but perfectly happy. He had to be watched, he had the habit of playing a tin whistle whilst driving.
The 7th of April begin Good Friday, a procession took place around the village in the morning, representing Calvary. Headed by a blood-stained cloth held high, then an effigy of Christ on the Cross, followed by that of the Madonna, the locals kicked up a noise, which was supposed to be chanting.
Yesterday we were paid, which was fortunate as most of us were short, in the moving about we had gone without for a fortnight. Allied forces pay was in Military Lire ‘AMGOT’, paper money in various denominations, geared to Sterling for rate of exchange at the time of being paid. It was freely interchangeable with the civilian Lire which was being de-valued almost every two weeks, due to the war situation. We drew what money we wanted for the time, and left the rest in ‘Credits’.
We heard that we would be going into action and I was to be part of the advance party to setup the HQ. So off we went, a 30 mile journey to a mountain village, called Acqua Viva.
The first job was to secure billets for the troop and a suitable place for the HQ. We looked around the village requisitioning the best houses, usually one or two rooms per house. This had to be done in a gentle manner, unlike the Germans who would have thrown all the inhabitants out onto the street. We put up regimental signs on our properties.
We imposed a curfew on the population, 8.30pm and got the local policemen to nail a notice up in the square.
A valley swept below our mountain up to a further range in the hands of the enemy, being part of the Gustav Line. Our village was on the side facing away form the line, Cassino was to our left flank. We had the village to ourselves, but Polish troops were in the area, also an Indian Mule company that carried ammunition and food into the mountains.
Except for the odd shell or two passing over from both sides the front was quiet, perhaps the reason being our Poles were facing Poles on the other side. The latter were officered by Germans and mostly were pressed men. As and when they got the chance many deserted to their fellow countrymen on our side, and I understand, joined the Polish Free Forces eventually. The enemy go fed-up with their Poles and withdrew them from the line.
Survey work was progressing in setting out the base and having some spare time helped the wirers installing one of the Mics and wiring back to HQ. Then it was back to work, as I was to prepare the board. As and when survey results came in and were computed my work began, finishing at 10.00pm.
The base was in action 1 ½ hours later but I had retired to my bed — or I should say my two blankets on the floor, to try and get some sleep.
I was on first shift in the morning, 8.00am to 4.00pm, as draughtsman, then next day 12.00pm to 8.00am, followed by 4.00pm to 12.00pm. This was the pattern, 8 hours duty per day for 3 days, followed by a day off. It was more like a civvy job.
Things started on the slow side but as the days progressed began to hot-up. A new procedure followed. Each evening as darkness settled some of our artillery started up all along the line, drawing fire from the enemy. We managed to get some good plots. This regular bombardment died down after an hour and the front became silent, allowing the enemy to go to bed.
We found out that the billet housing our HQ team had belonged to the Doctor, the local fascist leader. He had died but his widow was very disagreeable, she carried on a war of evil looks and gestures. We had not been lucky in selecting this house and had to look elsewhere to get our washing done.
In our off duty periods we could spend the time as we wished, rambling in the countryside or just lazing about. We could arrange a trip possibly to the sea or a town in the rear where we could go to a forces club or see a film.
During the period I went on trips to Campo-Basso and Isernia, also back to Spinetti for an egg hunting expedition, calling on farms and trading in rations obtained form the cook house.
Eggs were short on our menu, and we came back with enough for the troop, one each, plus a few extra for ourselves and the cook.
A village custom seemed very strange to us, women carrying large copper pitchers of water balanced on their heads. Water was not laid on to the houses.
Our OC assuming the post of ‘town major’ became concerned with the untidy and filthy state of the village, the stench from sewage was becoming unbearable, the mobile collecting tank service had broken down.
He gave the villagers three days to clear the place up, or no rations. A small detachment of RE’s were having similar trouble getting enough men to mend the unsurfaced roads and tracks around the village. Although a paid job some did not turn up and others disappeared after awhile. With the aid of the policeman, they were threatened with prison. It was important that the potholes were filled in, these roads and tracks would get some heavy traffic, later on.
|
Ernest Harrington 8th Survey Regiment Royal Artillery After the theft of my wife's grandmother's handbag which contained one of the only picture she had of her late husband, I am looking for anyone who may have pictures either of the whole unit or better still of Ernest Harrington preferably taken in Italy.
My wife's grandmother is heartbroken at the loss of this picture so any help will be much apreciated.
|
Recomended Reading.Available at discounted prices.
|
Larkhill's Wartime Locators: Royal Artillery Survey in the Second World WarMassimo Mangilli-Climpson
Artillery survey suffered during the pacifist inter-war period but the war in North Africa highlighted its importance. By the end of 1942 ten major survey units had been formed. Nine were conventional serving in all the main theatres, including the Far East. They played a key part in victories such as El Alamein, Anzio, Caen and Imphal, with their flash-spotting, sound-ranging and surveying of gun lines. A tenth regiment was secretly involved tracing the flight of Hitler's V1 and V2 rockets in order to locate their launch bases. These 'soldier-scientists' were all trained at the School of Survey, Larkhill, on Salisbury Plain. Their work took them to the front line and a considerable number were casualties or became POWs. This is the story of the contribution of these 4,000 men who made up the Survey Regiments. It tells of the heroes, such as Robert (Tug) Wilson of the SBS and the skilful men whose actions under the most difficult and dangerous conditions have received little acknowledg
|
|
|
