grandfather beret

[G-spot]

I was looking through some of my grandfathers WWll stuff and came across his beret which is black.  What I wondering is that when he enlisted, he was with 83rd field battery but he drove a half track for the entire war.  Why did he have a black beret if he was artillery?

 

[Michael Dorosh]

I was looking through some of my grandfathers WWll stuff and came across his beret which is black.  What I wondering is that when he enlisted, he was with 83rd field battery but he drove a half track for the entire war.  Why did he have a black beret if he was artillery?

Artillery wore dark, dark navy blue berets beginning in the 1950s.  Could be a postwar beret if he stayed in the Army in the 50s.

If he drove a half track it is possible he was in an armoured unit; he probably enlisted in the 83rd Battery and transferred to another unit, this was not uncommon.  Do you have his service records?  Halftracks weren't commonly seen outside of Armoured Regiments, Motor Battalions, and other supporting units.  Some infantry battalions "acquired" them and I do know that artillery regiments had armoured scout cars (wheeled), so anything is possible, but the likeliest explanation is that either your grandfather transferred (even if the artillery unit he was with did use halftracks he would not have worn the black beret), or else the hat was not his.  Is his name inside it?

 

[childs56]

the old Artillery Berets were dark blue  could look as if it was black over time. did it have a cap badge on it and if it does what does it look like. good luck in finding out what exactly it is. worst case go to a local military musieum  can be found at the local reserv unit usually and ask their curator.

 

[G-spot]

he enlisted with the 83rd field battery RCA, then transferred to petawawa and there the battery became part of the 23rd field regiment RCA, of the 4th armoured divison

thats what his military history says.  But how could the 23rd field regiment be part of the 4th armoured?

 

[Michael Dorosh]

he enlisted with the 83rd field battery RCA, then transferred to petawawa and there the battery became part of the 23rd field regiment RCA, of the 4th armoured divison

thats what his military history says.  But how could the 23rd field regiment be part of the 4th armoured?

Every armoured division had several artillery regiments - what do you mean?  Field (both self-propelled and towed), anti-aircraft and anti-tank regiments were all part of an armoured division.  23rd was self propelled if I remember correctly, meaning they used M7 Priests and/or Sextons.

 

[GREENPATCH]

Graeme:
My dad was also in the 83rd Battery, of the 23rd Field Regiment of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division which was part of the 2nd Canadian Corp., of the 1st Canadian Army.  You can check out an article on the 23rd Field Regiment on www.wikipedia.org and
in the search box type in the exact words "23rd Field Regiment, RCA".  If the article doesn't show right away, then look at the
list of possible articles that are displayed and click on the one with this same wording, with a high % probabilty. 
In this article it explains how the 83rd battery was one of the batteries in the 23rd  Regiment and what activities they were involved in
in WW11. It will give you some understanding of where your grandfather was and when., but sorry it doesn't include anything on
the color of berets they wore.

 

[Hawk]

Here's another thought. My Dad was artillery during WWII. When he came home, he had a tank suit. It appears the soldiers swapped kit, and acquired whatever they thought would be useful. Scroungers, all of them, from what Dad had to say. Perhaps your grandfather liked the black beret better. Perhaps he lost his own, and somehow acquired the black one.

Tracking your ancestry? Its a fun ride!!


Hawk