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92nd (Loyals) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
The 92nd (Loyals) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (92nd LAA Rgt) was a mobile air defence unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery (RA) during World War II. The regiment had a special role on D-Day, and afterwards served throughout the campaign in North West Europe. Origin 92nd LAA Regiment was formed in November 1941 by converting the 7th Battalion, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire), a war service infantry battalion that had only been raised at in the previous year as part of the rapid wartime expansion of the British Army.Farndale, Annex M. 7th Loyals A cadre of experienced officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) from the Loyals, several recently returned from the Dunkirk evacuation, arrived at Coed Helen Camp at Caernarfon on 5 July 1940, where they were joined by a draft of new conscripts on 17 July to begin forming the new battalion. Most of the recruits came from Liverpool and Birkenhead. Also at Caernarfon were the newly raised 8th and 9th Battalions of the Loyals w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Of The British Army
A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is challenging (such as the maritime environment, where semaphore is used). Many flags fall into groups of similar designs called flag families. The study of flags is known as "vexillology" from the Latin , meaning "flag" or "banner". National flags are patriotic symbols with widely varied interpretations that often include strong military associations because of their original and ongoing use for that purpose. Flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for decorative purposes. Some military units are called "flags" after their use of flags. A ''flag'' (Arabic: ) is equivalent to a brigade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 88,818. Birkenhead Priory and the Mersey Ferry were established in the 12th century. In the 19th century, Birkenhead expanded greatly as a consequence of the Industrial Revolution. Birkenhead Park and Hamilton Square were laid out as well as the first street tramway in Britain. The Mersey Railway connected Birkenhead and Liverpool with the world's first tunnel beneath a tidal estuary; the shipbuilding firm Cammell Laird and a seaport were established. In the second half of the 20th century, the town suffered a significant period of decline, with containerisation causing a reduction in port activity. The Wirral Waters development is planned to regenerate much of the dockland. Toponymy The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command (AA Command, or "Ack-Ack Command") was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the Territorial Army anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight formations and units defending the United Kingdom. Origin The formation of a Command-level body of anti-aircraft defences had been announced in 1938, but Anti-Aircraft Command was not formed until 1 April 1939 under General Sir Alan Brooke, who had been commander of Anti-Aircraft Corps. He then passed control to Sir Frederick Pile, who would remain in command until the end of the war.Routledge, Chapter 26. AA Command was under the operational direction of RAF Fighter Command as part of Air Defence of Great Britain, and occupied a headquarters known as ''Glenthorn'' in the grounds of Bentley Priory, home of Fighter Command. The majority of AA Command's guns and searchlights were operated by Territorial Army units. Some Regular Army units joined after they returned from the Dunkirk evacuation. L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auxiliary Territorial Service
The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 February 1949, when it was merged into the Women's Royal Army Corps. The ATS had its roots in the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC), which was formed in 1917 as a voluntary service. During the First World War its members served in a number of jobs including clerks, cooks, telephonists and waitresses. The WAAC was disbanded after four years in 1921. Prior to the Second World War, the government decided to establish a new Corps for women, and an advisory council, which included members of the Territorial Army (TA), a section of the Women's Transport Service (FANY) and the Women's Legion, was set up. The council decided that the ATS would be attached to the Territorial Army, and the women serving would receive two thirds the pay of male sold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
143rd (Mixed) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
143rd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment was an air defence unit of Britain's Royal Artillery formed during World War II. It started out as a 'Mixed' regiment with around two-thirds of its personnel being women from the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). The regiment defended the West of England from 1942 to the end of the war when it moved to South East England. The regiment continued (as an all-male unit) in the postwar British Army. Organisation By 1941, after two years of war Anti-Aircraft Command, tasked with defending the UK against air attack, was suffering a manpower shortage. In April its commander-in-chief, Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick 'Tim' Pile, proposed to overcome this by utilising the women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). The ATS was by law a non-combatant service, but it was decided that Defence Regulations permitted the employment of women in anti-aircraft (AA) roles other than actually firing the guns. They worked the radar and plotting instruments, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oswestry
Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Oswestry until that was abolished in 2009. Oswestry is the third-largest town in Shropshire, following Telford and Shrewsbury. At the 2011 Census, the population was 17,105. The town is five miles (8 km) from the Welsh border and has a mixed English and Welsh heritage. Oswestry is the largest settlement within the Oswestry Uplands, a designated natural area and national character area. Toponym The name ''Oswestry'' is first attested in 1191, as ''Oswaldestroe''. This Middle English name transparently derives from the Old English personal name Ōswald and the word ''trēow'' ('tree'). Thus the name seems once to have meant 'tree of a man called Ōswald'.A. D. Mills, ''A Dictionary of English Place Names'' (Oxford: Oxford Universit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bofors 40 Mm Automatic Gun L/60
The Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60 (often referred to simply as the "Bofors 40 mm gun", the "Bofors gun" and the like, see name) is an anti-aircraft autocannon, designed in the 1930s by the Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors. The gun was designed as an intermediate anti-aircraft gun, filling the gap between fast firing close-range small calibre anti-aircraft guns and slower firing long-range high calibre anti-aircraft guns, a role which previously was filled by older outdated guns. The Bofors 40 mm L/60 was for its time perfectly suited for this role and outperformed competing designs in the years leading up to World War II in both effectiveness and reliability. It entered the export market around 1932 and was in service with 18 countries by 1939. Throughout World War II it became one of the most popular and widespread medium-weight anti-aircraft guns. It was used by the majority of the western Allies and some Axis powers such as Nazi Germany and Hungary. In the pos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
148th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps
The 148th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (148 RAC) was an armoured regiment of the British Army's Royal Armoured Corps during World War II. It fought in the invasion of Normandy in 1944. Origin 148th Regiment RAC was formed in November 1941 by the conversion to the armoured role of the 9th Battalion, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire), a war service battalion hat had been raised in 1940 as part of the rapid wartime expansion of the British Army.Frederick, p. 192. 9th Loyals The 9th Bn Loyals was formed on 4 July 1940 at Lancaster, Lancashire, as a new unit. (A previous 9th (Service) Bn, Loyals, had been raised for ' Kitchener's Army' during World War I). Frederick, p. 192.8 Loyals War Diary, 1940, The National Archives (TNA), Kew file WO 166/4446. The battalion assembled in camp at Caernarfon, joining the newly raised 7th and 8th Battalions of the Loyals which (together with 12th Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers) constituted No 15 Infantry Training Group. In October 1940 the 15th I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
93rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
The 93rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (93rd LAA Rgt) was an air defence unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery (RA) during World War II. Elements of the regiment landed with special equipment on D-Day, and served in the Normandy campaign. The regiment went on to defend Belgian cities against V-1 flying bombs and participated in the assault crossing of the Rhine. Origin 93rd LAA Regiment was formed in November 1941 by converting the 8th Battalion, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire), a war service infantry battalion that had only been raised in the previous year as part of the rapid expansion of the British Army.Farndale, Annex M. 8th Loyals The 8th Bn Loyals was formed on 4 July 1940 at Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, as a new unit. (A previous 8th Loyals had been a 'Kitchener's Army' battalion during World War I). The majority of the recruits were from Lancashire, particularly Liverpool, the officers from regiments in North West England (the commanding officer was Lieutenant-Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ravenscar, North Yorkshire
Ravenscar is a coastal village in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. It is within the civil parish of Staintondale and the North York Moors National Park, and is north of Scarborough. A National Trail, the Cleveland Way, passes through Ravenscar, which is also the eastern terminus of the Lyke Wake Walk. The official end of the walk is at a point where the path meets the coast road. History Ravenscar was the location of a late 4th century Roman signal station, part of a chain that extended along the Yorkshire coast. To the north of the village is the old Peak alum works, now a National Trust site, but once an important part of the dyeing industry. The last alum works at Ravenscar closed down in 1871 after the invention of a synthetic dye fixer. At the edge of the village is a disused windmill, Peak Mill, which dates from 1858. Until the early 20th century Ravenscar was known as 'Peak' or 'The Peak'. At the turn of the 19th–20th century, plans were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durham And North Riding County Division
The Durham and North Riding County Division was a coastal defence formation of the British Army during the Second World War. It existed only from 12 March 1941 until 1 December 1941, when it was redesignated Durham and North Riding Coastal Area and the subordinate brigade headquarters were disbanded. Most of the infantry battalions were then converted to other roles with the Royal Artillery or the Royal Armoured Corps. In its short existence the division had just one general officer commanding, Major-General P. J. Shears. It was under the command from X Corps from formation until 9 April and then under IX Corps. The divisional sign was a pun on the name of the division's commander and a reference to the wool industry of the area. Order of battle County divisions were static infantry-only formations with any supporting arms on loan from other formations. The division/s order of battle was as follows: * 215th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) ** 7th Battalion, Loyal Regiment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liverpool Blitz
The Liverpool Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of the English city of Liverpool and its surrounding area, during the Second World War by the German ''Luftwaffe''. Liverpool was the most heavily bombed area of the country, outside London, due to the city having, along with Birkenhead, the largest port on the west coast and being of significant importance to the British war effort. Descriptions of damage were kept vague to hide information from the Germans, and downplayed in the newspapers for propaganda purposes; many Liverpudlians thus felt that their suffering was overlooked compared to other places. Around 4,000 people were killed in the Merseyside area during the Blitz. This death toll was second only to London, which suffered over 40,000 by the end of the war. Liverpool, Bootle and the Wallasey Pool complex were strategically very important locations during the Second World War. The Port of Liverpool had for many years been the United Kingdom's main link with Nor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
