|
474th Searchlight Battery, Royal Artillery
474th Searchlight Battery, Royal Artillery was a unit of the British Army during World War II. Originally raised as an anti-aircraft (AA) battery, in which role it served during the Battle of Britain and Blitz, it also provided artificial illumination, or 'Monty's Moonlight', for night operations by 21st Army Group during the campaign in North West Europe in 1944–45. Origin 474th Searchlight Battery was formed in the Royal Artillery (RA) in 1940, based on a cadre drawn from two Scottish searchlight (S/L) units based in Edinburgh, the 51st (Highland) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers (2 officers and 19 other ranks) and 4/5th Battalion, The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), (52nd Searchlight Regiment) (5 officers and 27 other ranks). On 22 February February the cadres travelled down to 222nd Searchlight Training Regiment, RA, at Norton Manor Barracks near Taunton where, together with 235 conscripts and 83 volunteers, they formed a new battery on 1 March. The battery did n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises thirteen Regular Army regiments, the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and five Army Reserve regiments. History Formation to 1799 Artillery was used by the English army as early as the Battle of Crécy in 1346, while Henry VIII established it as a semi-permanent function in the 16th century. Until the early 18th century, the majority of British regiments were raised for specific campaigns and disbanded on completion. An exception were gunners based at the Tower of London, Portsmouth and other forts around Britain, who were controlled by the Ordnance Office and stored and maintained equipment and provided personnel for field artillery 'traynes' that were organised as needed. These personnel, responsible in peacetime for maintaining the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the Bishops of Winchester. Parts of the inner ward house were turned into the Museum of Somerset and Somerset Military Museum. For the Second Cornish uprising of 1497, Perkin Warbeck brought an army of 6,000; most surrendered to Henry VII on 4 October 1497. On 20 June 1685 the Duke of Monmouth crowned himself King of England here in a rebellion, defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor. Judge Jeffreys led the Bloody Assizes in the Castle's Great Hall. The Grand Western Canal reached Taunton in 1839 and the Bristol and Exeter Railway in 1842. Today it hosts Musgrove Park Hospital, Somerset County Cricket Club, is the base of 40 Commando, Royal Marines, and is home to the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office on Admiralty Way. The popular Taunton flow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunkirk Evacuation
The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation commenced after large numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops during the six-week Battle of France. In a speech to the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this "a colossal military disaster", saying "the whole root and core and brain of the British Army" had been stranded at Dunkirk and seemed about to perish or be captured. In his "We shall fight on the beaches" speech on 4 June, he hailed their rescue as a "miracle of deliverance". After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, France and the British Empire declared war on Germany and imposed an economic blockade. The British Expeditionary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3rd (Ulster) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
The 3rd (Ulster) Searchlight Regiment (3rd (Ulster) S/L Rgt) was a Supplementary Reserve (SR) unit of the Royal Artillery raised in Northern Ireland just before the outbreak of World War II. It distinguished itself in the Battle of France before being evacuated from Dunkirk. It then served in Anti-Aircraft Command, converting into the 4th (Ulster) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (4th Ulster LAA Rgt) in 1942. In that role it served in the campaign in North West Europe, defending Brussels against V-1 flying bombs. It was reformed postwar and its successor units continued to serve in the Territorial Army (TA) until 1993. 3rd (Ulster) Searchlight Regiment The regiment was formed on 1 September 1939 while Anti-Aircraft Command was being mobilised for World War II. As a Supplementary Reserve (SR) unit it was numbered immediately after the two Regular Army S/L regiments, rather than in the numerical sequence of the TA units that comprised the rest of AA Command. It was assigned to 3rd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabteilung'' of the Imperial Navy, had been disbanded in May 1920 in accordance with the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles which banned Germany from having any air force. During the interwar period, German pilots were trained secretly in violation of the treaty at Lipetsk Air Base in the Soviet Union. With the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Versailles Treaty, the ''Luftwaffe''s existence was publicly acknowledged on 26 February 1935, just over two weeks before open defiance of the Versailles Treaty through German rearmament and conscription would be announced on 16 March. The Condor Legion, a ''Luftwaffe'' detachment sent to aid Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, provided the force with a valuable testing grou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Portsmouth and the towns of Havant, Waterlooville, Eastleigh, Fareham and Gosport. A major port, and close to the New Forest, it lies at the northernmost point of Southampton Water, at the confluence of the River Test and Itchen, with the River Hamble joining to the south. Southampton is classified as a Medium-Port City . Southampton was the departure point for the and home to 500 of the people who perished on board. The Spitfire was built in the city and Southampton has a strong association with the ''Mayflower'', being the departure point before the vessel was forced to return to Plymouth. In the past century, the city was one of Europe's main ports for ocean liners and more recently, Southampton is known as the home port of some of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Tangmere
RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station located in Tangmere, England, famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, and one of several stations near Chichester, West Sussex. The famous Second World War aces Wing Commander Douglas Bader, and the then inexperienced Johnnie Johnson were stationed at Tangmere in 1941. History First World War The aerodrome was founded in 1917 for use by the Royal Flying Corps as a training base. In 1918 it was turned over to the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps (USSC) as a training ground, and continued as such until the end of the Great War in November of that year, after which the airfield was mothballed. Inter-War Years In 1925 the station re-opened to serve the RAF's Fleet Air Arm, and went operational in 1926 with No. 43 Squadron equipped with biplane Gloster Gamecocks (there is a row of houses located near the museum entrance called Gamecock Terrace). As war threatened in the late 1930s, the fighter aircraft based at Tangmere beca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
47th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom)
47th may refer to: Chicago Transit Authority stations * 47th station (CTA Green Line) 47th is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's "L" system, located in the Grand Boulevard community area of Chicago, Illinois and serving the Green Line. It is situated at 314 E 47th Street, three blocks east of State Street. It opened ..., on the Green Line * 47th station (CTA Red Line), on the Red Line See also * {{Disambig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4th Battalion, Queen%27s Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
The 4th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) (4th Queen's) was a volunteer unit of the British Army from 1859 to 1961. Beginning from small independent units recruited in the South London suburbs, it was attached to the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) and served in the Second Boer War, World War I and Third Anglo-Afghan War. Before World War II it was converted into a Royal Artillery searchlight regiment that served in the Battle of Britain and The Blitz. Later it became a light anti-aircraft gun unit serving on blockships in the Mulberry harbour during the Normandy invasion, and then defended the port of Antwerp in the closing stages of the war. Postwar it continued in the air defence role before rejoining the Queen's Regiment as infantry. Origins An invasion scare in 1859 led to the emergence of the Volunteer Movement, and Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) began to be organised throughout Great Britain. The 2nd Surrey RVC was formed at Croydon (then in Surrey) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kings Worthy
Kings Worthy is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, approximately two miles north-east of Winchester. Kings Worthy was a tithing of Barton Stacey when the Domesday Book was written. St Mary's church The parish church, built in 1864, is found on London Road. A traditional village church, St Mary's caters to a range of worshippers from Anglo-Catholics to those of a more evangelical persuasion. The church is welcoming to families, with a dedicated room for younger children, known as the Little Fishes room. A highlight of the church calendar is the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. This celebration of Christmas follows a traditional format with a wide selection of choir items, congregational carols and readings. Education The primary school is Kings Worthy Primary School. Most pupils from Kings Worthy Primary go on to study at Henry Beaufort School. Sports within Kingsworthy are limited, however the Worthys Football club were runners up in the 2017 Jack West cu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1st (Rifle) Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment (68th Searchlight Regiment)
68th (Monmouthshire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment was a part-time air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army converted from an infantry battalion just before World War II. It served in Anti-Aircraft Command defending the West of England until almost the end of the war, when it was converted back into an infantry battalion for occupation duties in North West Europe. Postwar it served on in the air defence role until the disbandment of AA Command in 1955. Origin In the 1930s the increasing need for anti-aircraft (AA) defence for Britain's cities was addressed by converting a number of Territorial Army (TA) infantry battalions into searchlight (S/L) units. The 1st Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment, was one unit selected for this role, becoming 1st (Rifle) Battalion, The Monmouthshire Regiment (68th Searchlight Regiment) on 1 November 1938. The battalion, which dated back to 1860 and had served with distinction as pioneers during World War I, was based at Stow Hill, Newpor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westonbirt House
Westonbirt House is a country house in Gloucestershire, England, about southwest of the town of Tetbury. It belonged to the Holford family from 1665 until 1926. The first house on the site was an Elizabethan manor house. The Holfords replaced it first with a Georgian house, and then Robert Stayner Holford, who inherited Westonbirt in 1839, replaced that house between 1863 and 1870 with the present mansion which was designed by Lewis Vulliamy. He also remodelled the gardens, diverted the main road and relocated the villagers. The house is constructed of high quality ashlar masonry on a grand scale. The exterior is in an Elizabethan style, with a symmetrical main block and asymmetric wings, one of them containing a conservatory. The interiors are in a sumptuous classical style. The house was fitted with the latest technology such as gas lighting, central heating, fireproof construction and iron roofs. It is now a Grade I listed building. Extensive formal terrace gardens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_Cap_Badge.jpg "Click for more on -> 4th Battalion, Queen%27s Royal Regiment (West Surrey)"){kind=icon}
