Short History of the 39th (Deptford) Divisional Artillery

The artillery brigades and ammunition column that served the 39th Division were raised through the efforts of the Mayor and Borough Council of Deptford between May and August 1915; the brigades were numbered 174, 179, 184 and 186. The opening chapter describes in some detail the circumstances under which they were formed. The division went to France at the beginninig of March 1916 and remained on the Western Front for the rest of the war. The first part of the book provides a brief account of the artillery's battle experiences on the Somme (Beaumont Hamel, Thiepval and the Schwaben Redoubt); in the Salient through 1917; in the great retreat following the German March offensive, and finally in the Advance to Victory. In all their casualties amounted to some 1760 out of a divisional total of 27,869.The greater and more significant part of the book (sixty percent), is taken up with very informative appendices, which include: a table detailing the order of battle of the divisional artillery; the nominal roll of officers who served in it, in alphabetical order; casualties to officers and casualties to men, giving nature of casualty, i.e. killed, wounded etc. For some reason the date of casualty is given for the men (who are listed by unit, in chronological order) but not for the officers, who are not listed in any apparent order. Finally there is a list of Honours and Awards.