41st Search Light Regiment. Royal Artillery
 

I have purchased some badges and ephemera from a house clearance dealer who tends to put badges in one pile and paperwork in another. Having sorted through the many items that I bought it would seem that some may have belonged to the same individual, Sgt Walter E Kingsland, of the 41st Search Light Regiment, R.A.

The cloth badges have all been removed from a uniform and, as the 41st Search Light Regiment belonged to the 21st Army Group during its service in Europe from June 1944, I suspect that these badges belong with the paperwork.

I am not sure if there is a 30th Corps connection or if the 30th Corps badges are from another clearance.

HI , nice lot -I had a similar group last years a searchlight unit BUT the opinion on here was search light units were crewed by Royal Engineers ????

Some one on here will know.

Thank you, the documents seem to make it clear that the 41st Search Light Regiment were crewed by the Royal Artillery.

41st (5th North Staffordshire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery

"Searchlight regiments of the Royal Artillery"

1st Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
26th (Mixed) Searchlight Regiment (London Electrical Engineers), Royal Artillery
27th (London Electrical Engineers) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
28th (Essex) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
29th (Kent) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
30th (Surrey) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
31st (City of London Rifles) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
32nd (7th City of London) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
33rd (St Pancras) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
34th (Queen's Own Royal West Kent) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
35th (First Surrey Rifles) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
36th (Middlesex) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
37th (Tyne Electrical Engineers) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
38th (The King's Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
39th (The Lancashire Fusiliers) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
40th (The Sherwood Foresters) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
41st (5th North Staffordshire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
42nd (Robin Hoods, Sherwood Foresters) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
43rd (5th Duke of Wellington's Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
44th (The Leicestershire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
45th (Royal Warwickshire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
46th (The Lincolnshire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
47th (Durham Light Infantry) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
48th (Hampshire) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
49th (The West Yorkshire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
50th (The Northamptonshire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
51st (Highland) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
52nd (Queen's Edinburgh, Royal Scots) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
53rd (Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
54th (Durham Light Infantry) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
55th (Durham Light Infantry) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
55th Light Anti-Aircraft/Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
56th (5th Battalion, Cameronian Scottish Rifles) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
57th (8th Battalion, Cameronian Scottish Rifles) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
58th (Middlesex) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
59th (Warwickshire) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
60th (Middlesex) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
61st (South Lancashire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
62nd (Loyals) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
63rd (Queen's) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
64th (Essex Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
65th (Essex Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
69th (3rd City of London) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
70th (Sussex) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
71st (East Lancashire) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
72nd (Middlesex) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
73rd (Kent Fortress) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
74th (Essex Fortress) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
75th (Middlesex) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
76th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
77th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
81st Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
86th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
89th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
91st Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
93rd Searchlight Regiment
256th (Devon) (Mixed) Light Anti-Aircraft/Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
344th (Sussex Yeomanry) Light Anti-Aircraft/Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
441st Light Anti-Aircraft/Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
463rd (7th Durham Light Infantry) Light Anti-Aircraft/Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
526th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
537th Searchlight Regiment (Tyne Electrical Engineers), Royal Artillery
562nd Searchlight Regiment RA (27th London Electrical Engineers)
563rd Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (28th Essex)
564th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (Kent)
565th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
567th (7th City of London) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
568th (St Pancras) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
569th (The Queen's Own) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
571st Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (Middlesex)
576th (5th North Staffordshire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
577th (The Robin Hoods, Sherwood Foresters) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
585th (The Northamptonshire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
589th (Durham Light Infantry) Light Anti-Aircraft/Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
595th (9th Battalion Middlesex Regiment) Light Anti-Aircraft/Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
597th (The Loyal) Light Anti-Aircraft/Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
604th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (The Royal Fusiliers)
607th (Middlesex) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery

41st (5th North Staffordshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, R.E. (T.A.)
HQ, 362nd-365th Coys: Stoke-on-Trent

The regiment formed part of 54th AA Brigade at the outbreak of war and under 32nd AA Brigade in February 1941. It transferred to the Royal Artillery on 1 August 1940 as 45th (5th Battalion, The North Staffordshire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, R.A. (T.A.) with 362nd-65th Batteries. 365th Battery left on 23 January 1942 and the regiment was retitled 41st Searchlight Regiment, R.A. (5th North Staffordshire Regiment)(T.A.) on 18 February 1942. In June 1944 it was waiting in England under 31st AA Brigade for deployment in France. It moved to Normandy in July 1944 under command of 51st AA Defence HQ and under United States control. It moved to Brussels on 23 October 1944 as part of 101st Brigade and was later deployed in the South Scheldt under 105th AA Brigade. In April 1945, it was under 76th AA Brigade in the South Scheldt.

Cheers Jerry,

I had already found some of the information that you had posted from Wikipedia hence my understanding that they served with the 21st Army Group. I still do not know if a search light regiment would have worn the A.A. Command F/S or if they were ever attached to 30 Corps.

Simon

I know this is a very old post but I have only just found it.

My father was in the 41st Searchlight Regiment and was very proud to be in the R.A. - But interestingly, after he passed away I asked for his service record which stated on demob that he was "Sapper Wilson", i.e. Royal Engineers ?

After enlistment which Corps did he actually join?

Very interesting thread. Is there any way to know which searchlight or artillery units had ATS girls in them, i.e. mixed batteries?

Thanks,

Terry

We're not Searchlight units RA pre-war, transfering to RE around 1940?

Other way round. RE then RA.

Tim

Yep, my typo - dated photos of uncle Sid show him badged as RE in 1940, RA in 1944 (can't blame auto correct for that one though I did have to "incorrect" from "RS").

They had "Mixed" as part of the titles? (They did post war by 1949).

Originaly searchlight units were of the Royal Engineers. They called them Anti-Aircraft Battalions.

So, in 1936
5th Battalion, The North Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's) (TA)
became
41st (5th Bn, The North Stafffordshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Royal Engineers (TA)
In 1940 all AA units were concentrated in the RA
41st (5th Bn, The North Staffordshire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
In 1947 resurrected as
576th (5th Bn, The North Staffordshre Regiment) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (TA)
etc.

BTW these were regiments that used searchlights, not light regiments that searched. :D