My great great uncle Michael John Rock served in 20 Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, during WWI. The battery was raised for the 20th Division but went to France independently. It disembarked at Le Harve on 7th August 1915 and joined X Corps in the Somme Sector on the 9th. Between 13th and 31st of August the battery was assigned to 51st Division (Highland) a.k.a. Harper’s Duds. 20 H.B. then joined VII Corps (part of III Army with H.Q. in Marieux) and between 5th and 30th September was in “Buckles Group”. Whilst in “Buckles Group” one of the guns had a premature and 6 men were wounded/killed. Gunner 31939 Patrick Donohoe was killed on 20th September 1915 and A/Bm. 13020 Robert Wilson died of his wounds on the 27th. From 1st October to 7th November 20 H.B. was in 21 Heavy Artillery Brigade (H.A.G.).
On 8th November 1915 the battery moved to Marseilles with 22 Division to embark for Macedonia. Gunners and guns were transported on H.T. Transylvania while the Drivers, Ammunition Column and horses travelled on S.S. Marquette and S.S. Egra. 20 H.B. departed Marseilles on 28th November and arrived in Salonika on 5th December. In Salonika 22 Division joined XII Corps. 20 H.B. joined 37 Heavy Brigade No. 2 Group XII Corps Artillery on 24th February 1916. 20 H.B. was transferred to LXI H.A.G. on 1st September. A few days later LXI H.A.G. (13, 18 and 20 H.B.s) was assigned to XII Corps on the Struma front. On 13th September LXI H.A.G. was near Kalinova (present day Soultogianneika) and providing counter-battery fire as part of the action of Machukovo (Present day Evznoi).
20 H.B. was assigned to “Molesworths” Group at the end of September. Major H.F. Molesworth was commander of 3rd Mountain Artillery Brigade which provided highly adaptable artillery support. 3rd Mountain Artillery Brigade supported infantry lines in key sectors including entrenched areas near Lake Doiran and along the Struma Valley. 20 H.B transferred to 75 H.A.G. on 21st January 1917 and to 82 H.A.G. on 16th September 1917. In late May 1918 20 H.B. crossed to the right bank of the Vardar coming under the tactical command of the French to provide support for the assault on the Skra di Legen at the end of the month. It returned to the left bank on 5th June.
Michael left Salonika on leave to UK during August 1918. He was not to return. Some of the battery’s diaries from its time in Salonika have survived and are held by The National Archives (Ref.: WO 95/4798). Below are links to transcriptions of diaries for the time that Michael was in Salonika. The diaries for January to June 1918 are missing from The National Archives but their disappearance is recent. Transcriptions for these months have been made from material kindly supplied by Paul O’Rorke who saw them when he visited the archives a couple of decades ago.
- October – December 1916
- January – March 1917
- April – June 1917
- July – September 1917
- October – December 1917
- January – March 1918
- April to June 1918
- July 1918
- August 1918
There are some later diaries for 20 H.B. at The National Archives but I have not examined them.