119 Brigade RFA

[Alan Baker]

I am attaching a scan of a cover with the unit stamp of 119 Brigade RFA and postmark FPO 38.

On looking at K&C, I find that FPO 38 was allocated to 38th Brigade, which in late 1915 was in Gallipoli. A google search confirms this and says it was evacuated to Egypt in December that year and then went to February, where it spent the rest of the war.

However, a google search for 119 Brigade RFA says it was part of 38 (Welsh) Division and went to France

Any help would be appreciated...

[Frank Schofield]

Alan

Strange one this, agree the FPO datestamp is 38 used by 38th Brigade in Egypt, until they went to Mesopotamia in February 1916, then they used the Indian Army Postal system.
The triangular CM3 No. 2937, according to the late Frank Daniel, allocated this censor  number to 113 Field Ambulance part of the 16th Division in France
The number is also listed under the Middle East section in his book, but these were not introduced until Apr/May 1916, again Frank lists the range of  numbers 2908 - 2940 to the 16th Division in France (so why list it under Middle East??)
Sorry cannot help further on this one

Frank Schofield

[Alan Baker]

Thanks Frank. It seems there are more questions with this one....

Anyone else got any ideas?

[Nick Colley]

No ideas, no, but I thought a summary of these observations might be useful ?

So what we have here, if I understand you two correctly is evidence that 119 Brigade RFA was in Egypt and France simultaneously ? And Frank Daniel carefully hedges his bets by listing the censor under France and Middle East..... ( :) )

Well, I've just found

38 DIVISION Divisional Troops 119 Brigade Royal Field Artillery : 22 December 1915 – 28 February 1917 (First World War, War Diary, WO95/2546/1, for sale for £11.25 from:

https://www.naval-military-press.com/product/38-division-divisional-troops-119-brigade-royal-field-artillery-22-december-1915-28-february-1917-first-world-war-war-diary-wo95-2546-1/

Or, for £3.50, I see you can download what seems to be the unit's war diary from the National Archives:

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7354126

Further Googling produces this web site:

https://wartimememoriesproject.com/greatwar/allied/fartillery.php?pid=17859

from which the attached has been grabbed.

One possibility, I suppose, is that K&C may be in error ? Only a suggestion ..... Either of the two publications mentioned above might clarify this, if we're lucky.

chrs
N