306th (East Africa) Field Regiment, E.A.A.

The Regimental H.Q. of the 306th (E.A.) Field Regiment, E.A.A. opened at Gilgil on 1st November 1943.  Regimented were the 63rd, 64th and  65th (E.A.) Field Batteries.  Lt. Colonel J.C. Alexander was the Commanding Officer.  The Regiment was under the command of H.Q. West Sub Area.[1]

The Regiment moved to camp at Naivasha for training on 1st December 1943.  Training continued there for much of 1944.  Lt. Colonel J.E.F. Meadmore took command of the Regiment on 2nd May 1944.  With the loss of the 301st (E.A.) Field Regiment, the 306th Regiment was selected to replace that unfortunate regiment as part of the divisional artillery, 11th (E.A.) Infantry Division, which had moved from Ceylon to Burma in June 1944.  The 306th Regiment left Naivasha to join the Division in September 1944.[2]

Leaving Naivasha by train on 3rd September 1944, the Regiment embarked on H.M.T. Aronda at Mombasa the next day.  The ship lay off Mombasa until 6th September when it sailed for India via Ceylon.  The personnel disembarked at Calcutta on 20th September and went to Alipore Transit Camp.  On 22nd September, the Regiment left Alipore for Dimapur which was reached on 28th September.  Here, the Regiment came under command of the 11th (E.A.) Infantry Division.  The camp at Dimapur was hot, dirty and insect ridden and all men were glad to leave it on 5th October for Kakching, which was reached the next day.   Happily, the camp at Kakching was much more pleasant.[3]

Prior to moving to Bishenpur, the Regiment took on twenty-four 25-pounder guns on 14th October 1944.  It moved to Bishenpur on 16th October where it remained in training.  During November and December, several Officers were attached to forward units in action in the Kabaw Valley to gain battle experience.  However, there was no sign that the Regiment would join the 11th (E.A.) Infantry Division in action.  Instead, the Regiment moved to Amrajan, near Dimapur, between 22nd and 23rd December.[4]

The Regiment left Amrajan on 6th June 1945 for exercise at Jaipur, Bihar State.  On completion of the exercise, it moved to Ranchi, arriving between 17th and 18th June.  The 9th July was a holiday for the African Other Ranks, who were visited by tribal chiefs from Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika and Nyasaland.  In the evening, films were shown in Swahili.   On 23rd July, reinforcements arrived from the 302nd (E.A.) Field Regiment, which had recently been declared as a holding unit.  In November, all British and African Other Ranks due for release from service and who lived in Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland and Tanganyika were inoculated against Yellow Fever.  Lt. Colonel Meadmore left on LIAP (Leave in Addition to Python) on 11th December 1945 and was succeeded by Major C.J.W. Pollard.  Three hundred and thirty African gunners visited the Rehabilitation Centre at Divisional H.Q. on 29th December.[5]

During the latter half of 1945 and into 1946, British Officers and Other Ranks left the Regiment on leave or demobilisation.  African gunners who met similar service requirements as their British counterparts, were first posted to the 302nd (E.A.) Regiment, now a holding unit, while awaiting shipping for the return to East Africa.  For those remaining, visits were arranged for British and African personnel to sites such as the Tata Steel Works at Asansol and R.A.F. Ranchi.  African reinforcements continued to arrive, many the products of training with East African Artillery regiments in East Africa.[6] 

On 15th February 1946, Major J.G. Boyle took command of the Regiment when Major Pollard left on release.  Lt. Colonel Grimshaw was posted to command of the Regiment on 28th February, (wef 26th February).  However, Lt. Colonel Meadmore returned from leave and reassumed command on 8th March.  His stay was, however, short lived, for on 23rd March he left to take up an appointment in South India and Major Boyle once again assume command.  The first African talking movie, Akili Mali was shown beginning in March.  The guns and vehicles were handed in during April and on 20th April the personnel left for Bombay on the first leg of the journey home to East Africa.[7]

Arriving at a transit camp at Kalyan on 23rd April 1946, the men embarked on H.M.T. Corfu at Bombay on 28th April and sailed the next day.  The ship arrived at Mombasa on 5th May and the men disembarked the next day to entrain for Athi River.  They reached Athi River the next day.  All Nyasaland personnel left on 12th May, other Africans left during the month and on 29th May, the few remaining Africans were posted to the Athi River Depot.  Major Boyle was promoted to Lt. Colonel on 3rd June and left for the Staff College, Quetta (India).  Major J.F. Nutman assumed command of the Regiment which was disbanded on 10th June.[8]

18 March 2025