New member introduction - 58th Regiment of Foot & M Battery R.A.

Posts : 1 Join date : 2023-04-05

Hello to all,
My main interest is with the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot. I am a military volunteer at the Northamptonshire Regimental Museum and I am presently transcribing the 58th Regimental Journal (War Diary) covering the regiment's involvement in both the Zulu War and First Boer War. In addition I collect the South Africa Medal 1877-1879 (a very expensive hobby) and currently have three medals to the 58th, including a casualty to Laing's Nek.
I am expanding my collection to other units and recently acquired a medal to a gunner with M Battery, 6th Brigade. While I can find my way around the Infantry Muster and Pay Rolls at the National Archives; following my latest visit to Kew, I realise tracing artillery batteries is somewhat different. I found M battery with 6th Brigade for the period April 1878 and October 1879 easily enough but for dates either side of these years I got stuck. I assume a R.A. Battery would change Brigades and enquire if anyone can inform me where to look etc.

Posts : 3463 Join date : 2021-01-04

Welcome to the forum Folwell43.
That sounds like a fascinating place to volunteer.
Are you hoping to publish the diary once it is transcribed?
Kate

Folwell43,

I think that you might be in for something of a slog with the Royal Artillery battery. The R.A. underway a major reform around the time of the Franco-Prussian War, a number of a garrison batteries were reduced to create six new R.H.A. and twenty field batteries.

As an example I will use N Battery, 5th Battery, R.A., some of the battery’s officers came from No. 8 Battery, 15th Brigade to join K Battery, 16th Brigade. In 1875 K/16 was renamed F/24 and in 1877 it became N/5. Following the events of the Zulu War & 1st Boer War in 1882, N/5 became N/4. In 1884 N/4 became Depot Battery, 2nd Brigade. In 1889 it became 2/1 Depot and in 1895 that in turn became 86th Battery.

Somewhat difficult to understand and utterly confusing, as you can see.

Details of M/6th’s service in the 1879 campaign are on the forum, extracted from MacKinnon & Shadbolt’s South African Campaign of 1879. Please see https://www.1879zuluwar.com/t6622-gunner-1448-william-bibby-royal-artillery-6th-bde-m-battery?highlight=Shiffner#45859

JY

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