Essex Royal Horse Artillery
| Essex Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.) 1/1st Essex RHA (T.F.) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 7 July 1908 – 8 October 1919 |
| Country |  First World War
|
The Essex Royal Horse Artillery was a
History
Formation
The
On 18 March 1908, Essex Royal Horse Artillery (Territorial Force) was proposed as a new unit and it was recognized by the Army Council on 7 July 1908.[3] The unit consisted of
- Battery HQ at Market Road, Chelmsford
- Essex Battery
- No. 1 Section[a] at Colchester
- No. 2 Section at Chelmsford
- Eastern Mounted Brigade Ammunition Column
- A Sub-Section at Colchester
- B Sub-Section at Chelmsford[6]
Apparently, the
First World War
| 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.[9]
1/1st Essex
The 1st Line battery was embodied with the Eastern Mounted Brigade on 4 August 1914 at the outbreak of the
- Field artillery
The battery, along with the
The brigade embarked between 15 and 18 February 1916 at
On that date, C Battery (formerly West Riding RHA) was broken up and one section joined the battery to make it up to six 18 pounders; the other section joined A Battery (former Hampshire RHA).[15] The brigade now consisted of two batteries of six 18 pounders each.[16]
While with 52nd (Lowland) Division, the division took part in the Battle of Romani (4 and 5 August 1916)[17] and the First (26 and 27 March 1917) and Second (17 – 19 April 1917) Battles of Gaza.[18]
- Horse artillery
At the end of June 1917, arrangements were made to reform the brigade as a
XX Brigade, RHA (with the Hampshire Battery) joined the
Essex RHA remained with 2nd Mounted Division (and
The division remained in Palestine on occupation duties after the end of the war. However, demobilization began immediately and most of the British war time units had left by the middle of 1919.[24] The battery was reduced to cadre in Egypt on 8 October 1919.[20]
2/1st Essex
| 2/1st Essex RHA (T.F.) | |
|---|---|
| Active | March 1915 – 1919 |
| Country | First World War
|
Essex RHA formed a 2nd line in 1914, initially designated as the Essex (Reserve) Battery RHA[25] and later given a fractional designation as 2/1st Essex Battery, RHA in March 1915.[26]
The pre-war
The battery, equipped with four
In January 1917, the division returned to England. Before leaving Ireland, the battery was made up to six 18 pounders with one section of C/CCXCVIII Battery (former 2/1st Glamorganshire Battery, RHA).[30][e]
On 2 February 1917, the division started moving overseas and by 3 March had completed its concentration in France. Shortly after arrival on the
Post war
The battery was reduced to cadre in Egypt on 8 October 1919.
See also
- List of Territorial Force horse artillery batteries 1908
Notes
- ^ A Subsection consisted of a single gun and limber drawn by six horses (with three drivers), eight gunners (riding on the limber or mounted on their own horses), and an ammunition wagon also drawn by six horses (with three drivers).[4] Two Subsections formed a Section and in a six gun battery these would be designated as Left, Centre and Right Sections.[5]
- ^ West Riding RHA was not reconstituted until 7 February 1920 when it formed 12th West Riding Battery in 3rd West Riding Brigade, RFA (later 71st (West Riding) Regiment, RA)[21] and ceased to be a Royal Horse Artillery battery.[22]
- mountain artillerybrigade.
- 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.
- ^ Elsewhere,[13] Becke says that 2/1st Glamorganshire RHA was renamed as 815th Battery, RFA and remained in the United Kingdom throughout the war.
- ^ 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 Westlake 1992, p. 3
- ^ Westlake 1992, p. 5
- ^ Frederick 1984, p. 673
- ^ Clarke 1993, p. 43
- ^ Clarke 1993, p. 45
- ^ a b Conrad, Mark (1996). "The British Army, 1914". Retrieved 27 November 2013.
- ^ "Short History". Essex Yeomanry Association. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
- ^ Clarke 2004, p. 23
- ^ a b Baker, Chris. "The Royal Horse Artillery". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
- ^ Conrad, Mark (1996). "The British Army, 1914".
- ^ Becke 1936, p. 1
- ^ Becke 1936, p. 7
- ^ a b Becke 1936, p. 6
- ^ Becke 1936, p. 4
- ^ a b c d e Becke 1936, p. 113
- ^ Farndale 1988, p. 76
- ^ Becke 1936, p. 114
- ^ Becke 1936, p. 115
- ^ a b c d Becke 1936, p. 33
- ^ a b c Frederick 1984, p. 686
- ^ Frederick 1984, p. 519
- ^ "The Sheffield Artillery Volunteers, Royal Artillery 1861-1993 at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Perry 1993, p. 27
- ^ a b Perry 1993, p. 28
- ^ Rinaldi 2008, p. 242
- ^ a b "Essex Royal Horse Artillery at regiments.org by T.F.Mills". Archived from the original on 16 August 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "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.
- ^ Becke 1937, p. 20
- ^ a b c Becke 1937, p. 21
- ^ BEF GHQ 1918, p. 80
- ^ BEF GHQ 1918, p. 19
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. (1937). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 2B. The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th) with The Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 1-871167-00-0.
- Clarke, Dale (2004). British Artillery 1914–19 Field Army Artillery. Vol. 94 of New Vanguard Series. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-688-7.
- Clarke, W.G. (1993). Horse Gunners: The Royal Horse Artillery, 200 Years of Panache and Professionalism. Woolwich: The Royal Artillery Institution. ISBN 09520762-0-9.
- 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.
- Perry, F.W. (1993). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 5B. Indian Army Divisions. Newport: Ray Westlake Military Books. ISBN 1-871167-23-X.
- 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.