Durham Batteries, Royal Garrison Artillery

The Durham Batteries, Royal Garrison Artillery were units of the Territorial Force. The 1st (Seaham Harbour), 2nd Durham Battery was split with the left half being based at the Drill Hall, Seaham Harbour and the right half at The Barracks, Gilesgate, Durham City. The 3rd (West Hartlepool) Durham Battery, based at The Armoury, West Hartlepool, the Seaham Harbour and Durham Ammunition Column together formed the 3rd (County of Durham) Brigade which had its HQ at the Drill Hall, Seaham Harbour. The 4th (South Shields)Battery and the South Shields and Hebburn Ammunition Column were based at at Bollingbroke Street, South Shields and formed the 4th (Howitzer) County of Durham Brigade, along with the 5th Durham (Howitzer) Bty which was based at The Artillery Drill Hall in Hebburn. The Heavy Battery made up of No.I and No.II Coy's which were based at the Drill Hall, The Green, Sunderland. With No.III; No.IV; No.V and No.VI Coy's being based at The Armoury, West Hartlepool.

Durham R.G.A.(T.F.) became a unit in it's own right in 1908 when it was formed from the old 4th Durham R.G.A.(Volunteers). The organisation of the unit in 1914 was:

H.Q. - The Armoury, West Hartlepool.
No.1 Heavy Battery - Sunderland.
No.2 Company - West Hartlepool.
No.3 Company - West Hartlepool.
No.4 Company - West Hartlepool.
No.5 Company - Hartlepool.

No.1 Heavy Bty, Durham R.G.A.(T.F.) went on to form a second line battery, the two now became 1/1st(H.B.),Durham R.G.A.(T.F.) & 2/1st(H.B.),Durham R.G.A.(T.F.). On the 31st October 1915 teh two batteries amalgamated as 142nd(Durham)Heavy Battery, R.G.A.(T.F.), which was made up entirely of Durham R.G.A.(T.F.) personnel.

16th Dec 1914 Houses Damaged

10th Apr 1916 Awards

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There are:5233 items tagged Durham Batteries, Royal Garrison Artillery available in our Library

These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.

Those known to have served with
Durham Batteries, Royal Garrison Artillery
during the Great War 1914-1918.

Alexander Kenneth Henry .
Douthwaite DCM.. T.. Sjt.
Farmer Jack. Capt.
Hope MM.. J. J.. Acting Bombardier
Houston William. Gnr. (d.16th Dec 1914)
Mallin MM.. F. W.. Sjt.
Mustard George Douglas. Gnr. (d.7th Apr 1916)
Pailor Tom. Sjt Mjr
Robinson Percy. Gnr.
Robson DSO.. Lancelot. Lt -Col.
Spence Robert. Gnr. (d.16th Dec 1914)
Trenchmann Oscar. Capt.
Trenchmann Richard.
Tyson Harry. Gnr.
Wilkinson Jack. Gnr.

All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List

Records of Durham Batteries, Royal Garrison Artillery from other sources.

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216298

Gnr. George Douglas Mustard 142 Bty. Royal Garrison Artillery (d.7th Apr 1916)

George Douglas Mustard enlisted at Sunderland and served with 142nd Battery TF, Royal Garrison Artillery. He died from his wounds age 20 on the 7th April 1916 and is remembered at Jarrow Library. He is buried in Bailleul Communal Cemetery. His medal card records the award of the War and Victory Medals and that he died from wounds.
George was born in Sunderland 1895, son of Charles Robert and Ada Mustard nee Douglas of 52 Union Street, Jarrow. In the 1911 census the family is living at 47 Frances Street, O------, Sunderland with Charles Robert(37) a weigh cabin clerk and his wife of 17 years Ada(39). They have 5 children all living at home. George Douglas(15) is a grocers errand boy, Charles Robert(12), John George(7)and Frederick Arthur(5) all at school. Their only daughter is Hannah Mary who is age 9.
Vin Mullen

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716

Kenneth Henry Alexander Durham RGA caa Battery

My grandfather, Kenneth Alexander, Service number 166096, was a member of the Durham RGA, caa Battery, and served from 27.4.1914 until 10.3.1919, being discharged at Dover. A family story says that he worked on the "big guns" at Hartlepool and spent time on active service abroad. I have been unable to find his service record, possibly one of the burned ones, and would be grateful for any information.
Margaret Alexander

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628

Acting Bombardier J. J. Hope MM. Durham. Royal Garrison Artillery

Acting Bombardier Hope was awarded the Military Medal on the 16th of December 1914 during the Bombardment of the Hartlepools when he was manning the guns at Heugh Battery.

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627

Sjt. F. W. Mallin MM. Durham. Royal Garrison Artillery

Sjt Mallin was awarded the Military Medal for his part in the Bombardment of the Hartlepools on the 16th of December 1914. He was the Gun Captain of the No 2 gun at Heugh Battery.

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626

Sjt. T. Douthwaite DCM. Durham. Royal Garrison Artillery

Sjt Douthwaite was awarded the DCM for his swift action in removing a live cartridge from the Lighthouse gun at Heugh Battery on the 16th of December 1914 during the bombardment of the Hartlepools. The gun had misfired on the fourth shell, one of the leads carrying the electrical charge to fire the cartridge had become detached. The drill was that the cartridge should be left in the barrel for 10 minutes until it cooled. This would mean the gun being out of action. As they were under fire from the German ships. Sjt Douthwaite ordered his men away from the gun emplacement, and at great risk of the cartiridge exploding, withdrew it from teh gun and placed it in a bucket of water. The gun was then switched to percussion firing.

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625

Capt. Jack Farmer Durham. Royal Garrison Artillery

Capt Farmer was the gun Captain at the Lighthouse Battery, at Heugh Battery on the 16th of December 1914 during the Bombardment of teh Hartlepools.The third shell from his gun scored a direct hit on the "Bulcher's" forebridge at a distance of some 4,000 yards.

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624

Lt -Col. Lancelot Robson DSO. Durham. Royal Garrison Artillery

Lt Col Robson was the fire commander of Heugh Battery and also the Battery Medical Officer, being a Doctor in civilian life. He was at home in Hartlepool when the Bombardment began and rushed to the Battery on his bicycl, leaving his breakfast half eaten, when gunfire first sounded. The journey was not an wasy one as the townsfolk were filling the streets, some fleeing away from the coast, others running towards the sea to look at the spectacle.
"The guns were going by that time and the first thing that cheered me was the sight of the old battery dog barking away beside the guns! So then I knew that everything was alright" (Northern Daily Mail, 29th March 1935)
On reaching the lookout Robson found that the telephone lines had been brought down by the shelling, he had long argued that they should be routed underground, but he was relieved to see that the battery was acting under standing orders, as he could not contact his gunners to issue orders.

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623

Gnr. Robert Spence Durham. Royal Garrison Artillery (d.16th Dec 1914)

Gnr. Spence was killed by a German shell at Heugh Battery whilst acting as a stretcher barer along with Gnr Houston, attempting to rescue those men wounded by the first shell of the Bombardment.

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622

Gnr. William Houston Durham. Royal Garrison Artillery (d.16th Dec 1914)

Gnr. Houston was killed by a German shell at Heugh Battery whilst acting as a stretcher barer along with Gnr Spence, attempting to rescue those men wounded by the first shell of the Bombardment.

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619

Gnr. Harry Tyson Durham Royal Garrison Artillery

Gunner Tyson was serving at the Heugh Battery on the 16th December 1914 when the Bombardment of the Hartlepools took place.
The men were billeted at the Borough Hall and at 7.30 that morning, they marched to the battery singing 'Tipperary'. Each man was issued with 250 rounds of .303 for their Lee Enfield rifles, at this time there was a shortage of webbing so the ammunition had to be carried in the pockets of their Greatcoats. Harry Tyson and Jack Wilkinson were assigned to look out duty and whilst most of their fellow gunners retired to the shelters, they marched back and firth btween the Heugh guns with bayonets fixed. As dawn broke the German raiderswere spotted by the gunners aty South Gare on the southern bank of Teesmouth, and Heugh Battery was alerted by telephone,though at this stage the ships were beleived to be British as they were flying the White Ensign and had responded to the signal. There was a British ship in the area, HMS Doon, whose Captain was aware of the true nationality of the newcommers but was out of range of his guns. He led HMS Moy, Test and Waveney as they closed the range and began firing.
At Heugh Captain Trenchman ordered the gun crews to man the guns, Tyson and Wilkinson took up their posts at No. 1 gun as Number 2 and Loading number respectivley. The rangefinder crew took the barings and the guns were laid on the inavders.
"Then all of a sudden the three ships gave us a broadside and Captain Trenchmann called 'Action'"
The first of the shells began to fall and the men at the Maxin machine gun post were wounded. Shells also fell on the houses behind the Battery. The elctrical firing mechanism of No 1 Gun failed after firing two shots and it too several minutes to change to percussio firing whilst No 2 gun continued to get off 30 rounds. The German fire was very accurate, the shells hitting the concrete and bouncing over the Battery to explode on the houses and in the field behind. One shell landed next to the doors of teh ammunition locker but fortunatley did not explode. Teh German ships continued to fire on the Battery and the town for about 15 minutes before repossitioning and aiming at the docks and West Hartlepool. The ceasefire was ordered at 8.53, after 38 minutes in action, as the German ships retreated into the mist. Gunner Tyson noted in Ward's book "Dawn raid"
"I would like to say a word of praise to our cooks, Billy Sanderson and Arthur Hall. They must have been making tea all the time we were in action. As soon as we stopped firing out came buckets of hot tea."
Later that afternoon a group photograph of the gunners was taken

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617

Capt. Oscar Trenchmann Durham. Royal Garrison Artillery

Capt Trenchman was the Battery Commader at Heugh Battery during the Bombardment of the Hartlepools on the 16th December 1914.
He left the battery in 1915 with many of the gunners who had served with him, to join 41st Seige Battery RGA in France, returning to Hartlepool to become fire commander in 1918. His brother Richard also served at Heugh Battery.

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Recomended Reading.

Available at discounted prices.

Dawn Raid: Bombardment of the Hartlepools

J M Ward

An excellent account of the naval bombardment on the 16th of December 1914.

More information on:

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Dawn Raid: Bombardment of the Hartlepools

Guns of the Northeast: Coastal Defences from the Tyne to the Humber

Joe Foster

A detailed study of the coastal defences of North East England, including accounts of the bombardment of the East coast in 1914, with many excellent photgraphs and diagrams.

More information on:

$\image of book cover$

Guns of the Northeast: Coastal Defences from the Tyne to the Humber

Bombardment: The Day the East Coast Bled

Mark Marsay

A well researched book with many personal accounts of the events of the 16th of December 1914

More information on:

$\image of book cover$

Bombardment: The Day the East Coast Bled

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Durham Batteries, Royal Garrison Artillery

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Those known to have served withDurham Batteries, Royal Garrison Artilleryduring the Great War 1914-1918.

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Recomended Reading.

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- Durham Batteries, Royal Garrison Artillery during the Great War -

Those known to have served with
Durham Batteries, Royal Garrison Artillery
during the Great War 1914-1918.