B Battery, Honourable Artillery Company
| B Battery (2nd City of London Horse Artillery), Honourable Artillery Company | |
|---|---|
| Active | 22 November 1781 – 16 February 1920 |
| Country |  First World War
|
B Battery (2nd City of London Horse Artillery), Honourable Artillery Company was a horse artillery battery that was formed from the Field Artillery, HAC in 1899. It transferred to the Territorial Force in 1908 as artillery support for the South Eastern Mounted Brigade.
It saw active service during the
The second line battery – 2/B Battery, HAC – was formed in 1914 and served on the Western Front in 1917 and 1918 as part of an Army Field Artillery Brigade; the third line – B (Reserve) Battery, HAC – was formed in 1915 to provide trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line batteries.
Post war, the battery, along with
History
Formation
The Battery traces it history back to 22 November 1781 when the
In 1899 it was once again converted, this time to horse artillery as B Battery (2nd City of London Horse Artillery), HAC. At the same time the Horse Battery, HAC was redesignated as A Battery (1st City of London Horse Artillery), HAC. The Horse Battery originated in 1891 and was the first to form a horse artillery battery, hence the senior designation.[1]
The batteries sponsored the field battery of the
Territorial Force
The
On 1 April 1908, the battery transferred to the Territorial Force without a change in title.
First World War
| South Eastern Mounted Brigade |
|---|
|
Organisation on 4 August 1914 |
|
In accordance with the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (7 Edw.7, c.9) which brought the Territorial Force into being, the TF was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country. However, on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, many members volunteered for Imperial Service. Therefore, TF units were split into 1st Line (liable for overseas service) and 2nd Line (home service for those unable or unwilling to serve overseas) units. 2nd Line units performed the home defence role, although in fact most of these were also posted abroad in due course. Later, a 3rd Line was formed to act as a reserve, providing trained replacements for the 1st and 2nd Line batteries.[8]
1/B Battery, HAC
The 1st Line battery was embodied with the South Eastern Mounted Brigade on 4 August 1914 at the outbreak of the
In November 1914, the 2nd Mounted Division moved to Norfolk on coastal defence duties.[11] Artillery headquarters was established at Cromer, before joining the divisional headquarters at Hanworth in December, and the battery was at Gayton (1st South Midland Mounted Brigade was at King's Lynn).[12]
- Overseas service
In March 1915, the division was put on warning for overseas service. In early April, the division starting leaving
The 2nd Mounted Division was dismounted in August 1915 and served at
- Imperial Mounted Division
The
The battery, and its brigade, served with the Imperial Mounted Division in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign as part of the
- Australian Mounted Division
In June 1917, the Desert Column was reorganised from two mounted divisions of four brigades each (
In March 1918, the 5th Mounted Brigade left the division for the new
Still part of the Desert Mounted Corps, the division took part in the
Its final action was the
After the Armistice of Mudros, the division was withdrawn to Egypt and started to demobilise. The last of the Australians returned home in April and May 1919.[23] B Battery, HAC were reduced to cadre in Egypt on 25 October 1919.[2]
2/B Battery, HAC
| 2/B Battery, Honourable Artillery Company | |
|---|---|
| Active | September 1914 – 1919 |
| Country | First World War
|
B Battery formed a 2nd line in September 1914, initially designated as the B (Reserve) Battery HAC. It was redesignated as 2/B Battery, HAC on 26 September.[28]
In July 1915, the battery became an overseas unit – that is, liable for service overseas. In December 1915, the battery received four
- Army Field Brigade
At the Armistice, the battery (six 18 pounders) was still with CXXVI Brigade, RFA[35] serving as Army Troops with the First Army.[36] The battery entered Germany on 16 January 1919,[29] and was disbanded later the same year.[37]
B (Reserve) Battery, HAC
B (Reserve) Battery, HAC was formed in 1915 to replace the original reserve battery which had been redesignated as 2/B Battery on 26 September 1914.[28] It never left the United Kingdom and was disbanded later.[37]
Post war
On 7 February 1920, the Honourable Artillery Company was authorized to reconstitute four batteries of horse artillery in the Territorial Force. Only two were actually formed (A and B Batteries), and authorization for the other two was rescinded in 1921. The batteries were amalgamated with the
- Headquarters at Finsbury Barracks
- A Battery at Armoury House, Finsbury
- B Battery at Armoury House, Finsbury
- C Battery at Bunhill Row, formed by reduction of the City of London Yeomanry[2]
See also
- List of Territorial Force horse artillery batteries 1908
Notes
- Lieutenant-Colonel. Artillery brigades were redesignated as regiments in 1938. Note that the battery strength refers to a battery of six guns; a four-gun battery would be about two thirds of this.
- ^ The other three batteries were Nottinghamshire RHA, Berkshire RHA, and A Battery, HAC.[21] All four batteries were originally part of the 2nd Mounted Division.[15]
- ^ Not to be confused with the original 2nd Mounted Division that served dismounted at Gallipoli.
- 4.5" howitzer brigade[32] and proceeded to France with the division at the end of July 1915.[33] It served with the division on the Western Front until 28 January 1917 when it was broken up.[34]
- ^ Army Field Artillery Brigades were artillery brigades that were excess to the needs of the divisions, withdrawn to form an artillery reserve.
References
- ^ a b "1st Regiment, Honourable Artillery Company at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 16 August 2007. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
- ^ a b c d Frederick 1984, p. 112
- ^ Williams, Basil; Childers, Erskine, eds. (1903). The H.A.C. in South Africa : a record of the services rendered in the South African War by members of the Honourable Artillery Company. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 2.
- ^ a b Westlake 1992, p. 3
- ^ Westlake 1992, p. 5
- ^ a b Conrad, Mark (1996). "The British Army, 1914". Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ^ Clarke 2004, p. 23
- ^ a b c d Baker, Chris. "The Royal Horse Artillery". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ^ Conrad, Mark (1996). "The British Army, 1914".
- ^ Rinaldi 2008, p. 59
- ^ a b Rinaldi 2008, p. 36
- ^ a b c d Becke 1936, p. 16
- ^ "The Royal Artillery". Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
- ^ Baker, Chris. "What was an artillery brigade?". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
- ^ a b Becke 1936, p. 12
- ^ a b Frederick 1984, p. 449
- ^ a b Becke 1936, p. 14
- ^ Farndale 1988, p. 357
- ^ James 1978, p. 35
- ^ Becke 1936, p. 17
- ^ a b Perry 1992, p. 54
- ^ Farndale 1988, p. 83
- ^ a b c d e Perry 1992, p. 56
- ^ Becke 1936, p. 34
- ^ "5th Australian Light Horse Brigade". Australian Light Horse Studies Centre. 24 December 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
- ^ Farndale 1988, p. 123
- ^ Farndale 1988, Annex 9
- ^ a b Rinaldi 2008, p. 242
- ^ a b c d e f Becke 1936, p. 24
- ^ James 1978, pp. 21, 22, 30
- ^ Becke 1945, p. 135
- ^ Becke 1945, p. 75
- ^ Becke 1945, p. 78
- ^ Becke 1945, p. 76
- ^ BEF GHQ 1918, p. 79
- ^ BEF GHQ 1918, p. 7
- ^ a b Frederick 1984, p. 113
Bibliography
- Becke, Major A.F. (1936). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 2A. The Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territorial Force Divisions (42–56). London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 1-871167-12-4.
- Becke, Major A.F. (1945). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 3B. New Army Divisions (30–41) & 63rd (RN) Division. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 1-871167-08-6.
- Clarke, Dale (2004). British Artillery 1914–19 Field Army Artillery. Vol. 94 of New Vanguard Series. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-688-7.
- ISBN 1-870114-05-1.
- Frederick, J.B.M. (1984). Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978. Wakefield, Yorkshire: Microform Academic Publishers. ISBN 1-85117-009-X.
- James, Brigadier E.A. (1978). British Regiments 1914–18. London: Samson Books Limited. ISBN 0-906304-03-2.
- Perry, F.W. (1992). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 5A. The Divisions of Australia, Canada and New Zealand and those in East Africa. Newport: Ray Westlake Military Books. ISBN 1-871167-25-6.
- Rinaldi, Richard A (2008). Order of Battle of the British Army 1914. Ravi Rikhye. ISBN 978-0-97760728-0.
- Westlake, Ray (1992). British Territorial Units 1914–18. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85532-168-7.
- Order of Battle of the British Armies in France, November 11th, 1918. France: General Staff, GHQ. 1918.
External links
- "1st Regiment, Honourable Artillery Company at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 16 August 2007. Retrieved 2015-01-08.
- The Royal Horse Artillery on The Long, Long Trail
- The Great War Royal Horse Artillery