Letters
Your ideas, comments and advice
I have just received my copy of the February issue and read with interest the letter from Vicky Tomlinson about the diary of her grandfather, who fought in the 223 Siege Battery.
My father-in-law Frank Pelham, also a gunner, served with the 223 Siege Battery from 1916 until 1920. We don’t have many photos of him, just a studio photo taken in his uniform, and one taken with one of his brothers, but what we do have is a lovely photo of the whole 223 Siege Battery, complete with guns, taken in June 1919 and titled
British Army of the Rhine. The photograph is like the old photos that we had taken at school – it’s very long, measuring 42 inches x 10 inches. A copy of our photo is now in the Royal Artillery Archive.
What would be nice is to contact Vicky Tomlinson to know a little more and perhaps find out a bit more about her grandfather. Maybe he is even in our photo? Perhaps the two soldiers might have known one another? My father-in-law never spoke about his experiences, however much I tried to get him to talk to me about the war.
My husband, Henry Frank Pelham, and I spent a day at the Royal Artillery at Woolwich (before it moved), along with a researcher who we had met at Who Do You Think You Are?
Live. We were able to look at the
War Diaries, and with the help of the researcher were able to plot roughly where he spent the war. Sadly it would appear that his army record was one of those that were among the ‘burnt files’ and didn’t survive.
Jean Pelham, by email
EDITOR REPLIES: Thanks for sharing your wonderful photograph Jean. I’ve put you in touch with Vicky, and I hope it leads to interesting discoveries for you both!