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128-545: The 1st Durham Volunteer Artillery was a unit of Britain's Volunteer Force and Territorial Army from 1860 to 1956. During World War I , it was the only coastal defence unit to engage the enemy, and it also trained siege gunners for service on the Western Front . It continued its coast defence role in World War II , after which it was converted into air defence and engineer units. An invasion scare in 1859 saw

256-556: A royal commission chaired by Viscount Eversley was appointed "to inquire into the condition of the volunteer force in Great Britain and into the probability of its continuance at its existing strength". According to the report, as of 1 April 1862, the Volunteer Force had a strength of 162,681 consisting of: Their report made a number of recommendations and observations on funding and training: To carry into effect

384-466: A '2/' prefix. In this way duplicate brigades, companies and batteries were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas. By the autumn of 1914, the campaign on the Western Front was bogging down into Trench warfare and there was an urgent need for batteries of heavy and siege artillery to be sent to France. The WO decided that the TF coastal gunners were well enough trained to take over many of

512-478: A County". On acceptance, the corps would be deemed lawfully formed. Existing corps were to continue under the new Act, although the power was given to the Crown to disband any corps. The constitution of a permanent staff consisting of an adjutant and serjeant instructors was permitted for each corps. The grouping of two or more corps into administrative regiments was recognised, and a permanent staff could be provided for

640-574: A Northumberland and Durham RGA (and spin off a battery and ammunition column for the local Royal Field Artillery (RFA) brigade), while the 4th Durham RGA in West Hartlepool was to combine with the 1st East Riding of Yorkshire RGA to form a Durham and Yorkshire RGA, the two new units covering the whole NE coast of England. These plans were radically changed, so that by 1910 the Tynemouth and East Riding elements had formed their own units, while

768-622: A massive increase in Britain's coast defences. In addition to the existing fixed defences, a number of Coast Defence Emergency Batteries were established in May and June 1940, including: Park, Gloucester and Frenchman's batteries were initially established by the Royal Navy and transferred to the RA when sufficient coastal gunners had been trained. The expansion of the RA's coast defence branch led to

896-710: A mixture of Regular and TF gunners from the RGA coast establishments together with new recruits. 44th Siege Battery formed at Sheerness in 1915 had its cadre provided by the Tynemouth RGA, while a number of others formed at Tynemouth (14 batteries in 1916 alone) may have included men from the Tynemouth RGA among the Regulars and recruits, although the War Office or Army Council Instructions did not specifically order this. Under Army Council Instruction 686 of April 1917,

1024-615: A new 64th (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Brigade based at North Shields. This unit could therefore be considered an indirect offshoot of the Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery. It saw service in World War II during the Battle of Britain and the Newcastle Blitz , North Africa , Italy , Yugoslavia and the occupation of Germany. The TA was expanded in the years of tension leading up to World War II , and

1152-646: A new 152 Heavy Battery was formed in October 1937. In 1938 the TA replaced wits traditional unit designation of 'brigade' with 'regiment', and the unit was redesignated the Tynemouth Heavy Regiment on 1 October. On the outbreak of war on 3 September the regiment was responsible for manning one 9.2-inch and four 6-inch guns. The invasion threat after the Dunkirk evacuation and Fall of France led to

1280-479: A short while before Royal Artillery blue was adopted. When the Home Service helmet was adopted, the upper scroll on the helmet plate read 'THE TYNEMOUTH' and the lower read 'TYNEMOUTH ARTILLERY VOLUNTEERS' with the RA motto 'QUO FAS ET GLORIA DUCUNT' with the royal crown. The unit wore brass shoulder titles with the lettering in three tiers: 'THE/RA/TYNEMOUTH'. From 1952, 404 (Tynemouth) Coast Regiment wore

1408-519: A wider European conflict. On 12 May 1859, the Secretary of State for War , Jonathan Peel issued a circular letter to lieutenants of counties in England, Wales and Scotland, authorising the formation of volunteer rifle corps (VRC, a.k.a. corps of rifle volunteers and rifle volunteer corps), and of artillery corps in defended coastal towns. Volunteer corps were to be raised under the provisions of

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1536-463: Is composed of Arms to which their use is not appropriate". The large number of small independent corps proved difficult to administer, and, by 1861, most had been formed into battalion-sized units, either by "consolidation": increasing an existing corps to battalion size (usually in large urban areas), or by forming administrative battalions or brigades by the grouping of smaller corps (in rural areas). An official book of drill and rifle instructions for

1664-425: Is known to have provided half the personnel of 41st Siege Bty and then to have raised 142nd Heavy Bty and provided personnel to 94th and 149th Siege Btys in 1915–16. On the morning of 16 December 1914, a German naval force under Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper approached the coast of North East England to mount a Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby . The battle cruisers SMS Seydlitz and SMS Moltke , with

1792-619: The Armistice with Germany on 11 November. On return to the UK the battery was disbanded at Sandling in Kent on 11 October 1919. Formed on 16 December 1915 at Tynemouth under War Office Instruction No 181 of December 1915, which laid down that it was to follow the establishment for 'New Army' ( Kitchener's Army ) units, this battery had a cadre of three officers and 78 men from the Durham RGA;

1920-728: The Crimean War , it was painfully clear to the War Office that, with half of the British Army dispositioned around the Empire on garrison duty, it had insufficient forces available to quickly compose and despatch an effective expeditionary force to a new area of conflict, unless it was to reduce the British Isles' own defences. During the Crimean War , the War Office had been forced to send militia and yeomanry to make up

2048-978: The Crimean War , the British military (i.e., land forces ) was made up of multiple separate forces, with a basic division into the Regular Forces (including the British Army , composed primarily of cavalry and infantry, and the Ordnance Military Corps of the Board of Ordnance , made up of the Royal Artillery , Royal Engineers , and the Royal Sappers and Miners though not including the originally civilian Commissariat Department , stores and supply departments, all of which, with barracks and other departments, were absorbed into

2176-541: The Isle of Man , and consequently the 7th (Isle of Man) Volunteer Battalion of The King's (Liverpool Regiment) continued to serve as the only remaining unit of the Volunteer Force until disbandment in 1922. (1868–1922) According to the Territorial Year Book 1909 , the Volunteer Force had the following strength over its existence: Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery The first artillery unit formed amid

2304-474: The Napoleonic Wars compared with the linear tactics of the standing army. Many units initially favoured green and grey (colours until then used by British and German rifle units in the army) rifleman uniforms as opposed to the red coats of the infantry and engineers of the army and militia. In turn, the army was glad not to have amateur volunteers wear the scarlet of the regulars . The provisions of

2432-725: The Reserve Forces , most of these had been allowed to lapse after the Napoleonic Wars, although the Yeomanry was maintained to potentially support the civil authorities against civil unrest, as at the 1819 Peterloo massacre , the Militia remained as a paper tiger , and rifle clubs were encouraged as the backbone against which the Volunteer force might be re-raised. The Militia and Volunteer Force were both re-organised in

2560-554: The River Sambre on 23 October. As the regimental historian relates, 'The guns of Fourth Army demonstrated, on 23 October, the crushing effect of well co-ordinated massed artillery. they simply swept away the opposition'. IX Corps stormed across the canal on 4 November (the Battle of the Sambre ), after which the campaign became a pursuit of a beaten enemy, in which the slow-moving heavy guns could play little part. The war ended with

2688-569: The Second Boer War , when the prolonged campaign necessitated an increase in the size of British forces in South Africa. Volunteer Battalions formed Volunteer Active Service Companies that joined the regular battalions of their county regiments. Following the war, the battle honour "South Africa 1900–02" was awarded to the volunteer units that provided detachments for the campaign. By 1907, when its civilian administration teetered on

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2816-559: The Third Battle of Ypres . In August the battery was joined by a section from 416th Siege Bty, just arrived from the UK, but the additional guns to bring it up to a strength of six did not arrive until November. When HAGs were converted into permanent brigades in December 1917, 41st Siege Bty joined 23rd (9.2-inch Howitzer) Bde, of which the heaviest element (the 9.2-inch howitzers) were manned by 94th Siege Bty, also formed in part from

2944-543: The Volunteer Act 1804 ( 44 Geo. 3 . c. 54), which had been used to form local defence forces during the Napoleonic Wars . Alfred Tennyson captured the spirit of the time by publishing his poem Riflemen Form in The Times on 9 May 1859. As a basis for the units, many communities had rifle clubs for the enjoyment of the sport of shooting. Originally corps were to consist of approximately 100 all ranks under

3072-401: The War Office (WO) issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by

3200-447: The War Office refused to pay for the upkeep of field guns for Volunteers and they had largely died out in the 1870s. In 1888, the 'position artillery' concept was revived and some Volunteer artillery companies were reorganised as position batteries to work alongside the Volunteer infantry brigades. On 14 July 1892, the 1st Durham Volunteer Artillery were reorganised as one position battery and six companies (seven companies by 1894). The HQ

3328-638: The bombs used in the attack manufactured in Birmingham . The perceived threat of invasion by the much larger French Army was such that, even without sending a third of the army to another Crimea, Britain's military defences had already been stretched invitingly thin. On 29 April 1859 war broke out between France and the Austrian Empire (the Second Italian War of Independence ), and there were fears that Britain might be caught up in

3456-767: The 'Great Retreat' and supported the Australians at the First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux where they decisively stopped the German advance on that front. 41st Siege Bty was in action when the Allies launched their counter-offensive at the Battle of Amiens on 8 August, and then followed the advance of Fourth Army to the Hindenburg Line . It supported the Australian Corps and II US Corps during

3584-533: The 1850s. These forces were originally local-service, embodied during wartime or emergency, and placed under the control of Lords-Lieutenant of counties, and, in British colonies , under the colonial governors . After the British Army's Regular Reserve was created in 1859, by Secretary of State for War Sidney Herbert , and re-organised under the Reserve Force Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 110),

3712-538: The 1st Devonshire Rifle Volunteers (and were often referred to as the 1st Rifle Volunteer Corps), and the Victoria Rifles (descended from the Duke of Cumberland's Sharpshooters , formed in 1803) who became the 1st Middlesex Rifle Volunteers. An order of precedence was established for ninety-two other counties, depending upon the date of establishment of the first corps in the county. The most senior artillery corps

3840-541: The 1st and 4th Durham merged to form a new Durham RGA as a 'defended ports unit' (the 4th had also spun off a battery and ammunition column to the III Northumbrian Brigade RFA ). The organisation of the Durham RGA was as follows: The companies were responsible for manning the batteries of fixed coastal guns of the Tees (4 × 6-inch guns , 2 × 4.7-inch guns ) and at Hartlepool (3 × 6-inch), while

3968-730: The 3rd Northumberland AVC on 22 March 1860, then took the vacated position as 2nd. A new 3rd Northumberland AVC of two batteries was formed at Blyth on 23 November 1860, but was disbanded in January 1864. In September that year the Newcastle members of the Tynemouth Volunteers left to form a separate 2nd Newcastle AVC and in January 1865 the Willington Quay men became the 3rd Northumberland AVC . The 1st Administrative Brigade of Northumberland Artillery Volunteers

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4096-538: The 5th Battalion Durham Light Infantry . The commanding officer was Major Leonard Ropner (1895–1977), who was a director of a local shipping firm and had won a MC commanding a battery in France during the war. His younger brother, William Guy Ropner, was also a major in the Durham Heavy Brigade. Leonard Ropner later became an MP and was created a baronet. In 1926 it was decided that the coast defences of

4224-463: The 60-pdrs for distant HF tasks, mainly to prevent the Germans from repairing the damage. Most of 8 April (which should have been the day of the attack) was devoted to CB fire to neutralise every known enemy gun position and observation post (OP), and to complete the wire-cutting. When the infantry divisions went over the top on 9 April, the 6-inch howitzers laid a standing barrage on the support line of

4352-461: The Armistice. 67th was a 'Mixed' brigade with a variety of different heavy guns and howitzers. The battery was at rest from 3 February 1918 when it was joined by section of 448th Siege Bty on 22 February to bring it up to six guns. The battery served with First Army through the battles of 1918. In the postwar 'interim army' plans, 149th Siege Bty was intended to become C Bty in 55th Bde, RGA, but

4480-624: The Battery Commanders on their own under standing orders. At ranges of 4000 to 5000 yards the German shells fell round the batteries without scoring a direct hit. Heugh Battery engaged first the Seydlitz and then the Moltke until they passed out of its arc of fire, and then concentrated on the stationary Blucher which was firing at Lighthouse Battery. Lighthouse Battery scored a direct hit on Blucher's forebridge, disabling two guns of

4608-773: The British Army when the Board of Ordnance was abolished in 1855). and the Reserve Forces . After the 1855 consolidation of the Regular Forces (ignoring minor forces such as the Yeomen Warders and the Yeomen of the Guard ) into the Regular Force (i.e., the British Army ), there still remained a number of British military (not to be confused with naval ) forces that were not part of the British Army; specifically

4736-557: The British public at the time. The commanding officer and three gun captains of the Durham RGA were later decorated, Lt-Col Robson receiving a Distinguished Service Order , Sgt T. Douthwaite a Distinguished Conduct Medal for extracting a live cartridge from the breech of the Lighthouse Battery gun after a misfire, and Acting Bombardier J.J. Hope and Bombardier F.W. Mallin each received the Military Medal . These were

4864-639: The Corps of Rifle Volunteers and volunteer regulations were published in 1859 and 1861 respectively. From 1860 Cadet Corps were also formed, consisting of school-age boys, which were the forerunners of the Army Cadet Force and Combined Cadet Force . Like the adult volunteers, the boys were supplied with arms by the War Office, for which they had to pay a fee, which reduced the longer they remained members. Cadet Corps were usually associated with private schools. They paraded regularly in public. In 1862,

4992-630: The Durham RFA ( see below ). The brigade was part of XIX Corps in Fifth Army when the German Spring Offensive was launched on 21 March 1918. 41st Siege Bty's forward section of three guns was almost overrun as the German infantry broke through the line out of the mist, but the officer commanding, Maj Reginald Fillingham, was able to put the guns and ammunition out of action just in time. The remaining section fought throughout

5120-512: The Force. The lord-lieutenant of a county, or the commanding officer of a corps or administrative regiment was empowered to appoint a court of inquiry into any corps, officer, non-commissioned officer or volunteer. Part II of the Act dealt with "Actual Military Service". The terms for calling out of the force were altered: this would now happen in "the case of actual or apprehended invasion of any part of

5248-583: The German Spring Offensive opened, 94th Siege Bty was supporting Fifth Army. After firing its SOS tasks in support of the infantry, the battery had to withdraw under fire. During the 'Great Retreat' the battery moved 85 miles (137 km) by road, prepared 13 positions, firing from nine of them, and had fired over 1500 rounds. Casualties had been light. In the summer of 1918, the battery supported Australian Corps' surprise attack on Hamel on 4 July, then III Corps at Amiens on 8 August. During

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5376-454: The German front trench system, then, when the creeping barrage fired by field guns ahead of the infantry reached this line, the standing barrage was shifted onto the second objective. VII Corps' two right-hand divisions were held up in front of the Hindenburg Line, where the distant wire had not been cut, but the two on the left penetrated as much as 2 miles (3.2 km) into the German positions, with relatively light casualties, largely thanks to

5504-401: The German warships approached. The Germans planned to bombard the batteries for 15 minutes to suppress them before turning the attention to the town. The Seydlitz opened fire at 08.10 and Lt-Col Robson rushed from his home to take up his post as Fire Commander and Battery Medical Officer at Heugh Battery. The first shell cut the Fire Commander's telephone lines, so the whole action was fought by

5632-428: The Gommecourt Salient on the First day on the Somme . The bombardment programme was extended to seven days before Z day (1 July). On Z Day 94th Siege Bty succeeded in firing 100 rounds per gun in the 65 minutes preceding the attack, a remarkable feat that caused significant damage to the howitzers' buffers and recuperators due to overheating. However, the attack was a failure. 94th Siege Bty then moved to Fifth Army for

5760-450: The Hindenburg Line south of Arras . 39th Heavy Artillery Group, which 149th Siege Bty had joined on 11 February, supported this attack. Preliminary bombardment began on 4 April, with VII Corps assigning a range of tasks to its 6-inch howitzer batteries: cutting the barbed wire in the distant second and third German trench lines; targeting the trench systems themselves; and CB work. At night, the 6-inch howitzers might be called on to supplement

5888-431: The Regular Army after the Armistice, becoming 16th Medium Battery in 4th Medium Brigade, RGA, in 1920. The Tynemouth RGA reformed on 7 February 1920 and when the TF was reconstituted as the Territorial Army (TA) the following year, it was redesignated as the Tynemouth Coast Brigade , becoming the Tynemouth Heavy Brigade in 1924 when the RGA was subsumed into the RA. It had the following organisation: In 1926 it

6016-405: The Regular Army, but was absorbed into another battery in January 1920. Authorised on 31 October 1915, this 4-gun battery was formed from 1/1st and 2/1st Heavy Batteries of the Durham RGA. It embarked for the Western Front on 21 March 1916 and joined Second Army in the Ypres Salient . On 31 July the battery transferred to Fifth Army fighting the Battle of the Somme, where the 60-pounder guns of

6144-413: The Regular Army. This culminated in the Childers Reforms of 1881 which nominated rifle volunteer corps as volunteer battalions of the new "county" infantry regiments, which also consisted of regular and militia battalions within a defined regimental district. Over the next few years many of the rifle volunteer corps adopted the "volunteer battalion" designation and the uniform of their parent regiment. This

6272-403: The Reserve forces, to avoid confusion, were generally known as the Auxiliary Forces or Local Forces . The Regulation of the Forces Act 1871 removed the Lord-Lieutenant as head of the county reserve forces and they were increasingly integrated with the British Army. A large number of Volunteer Corps were formed during the French Revolutionary War but were stood down afterwards. Following

6400-476: The Special Reserve, which provided a body of trained men available for drafting to regular battalions as required during wartime). The total cost of the TF was to be met in future by central government. In addition to the introduction of terms of service for volunteers, most of the units lost their unique identities, becoming numbered territorial battalions of the local army regiment, albeit with distinctive badges or dress distinctions. The 1907 act did not extend to

6528-431: The TA was reduced into the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve in 1967, 439 (Tyne) LAD Rgt became the HQ Battery of the amalgamated 101 (Northumberland) Regiment RA (V), the battery regaining its subtitle 'Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery' in 1993. In July 2006, the battery was disbanded, but the name was perpetuated in the Radar (Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery) Troop, of 204 Battery, RA (V). The original uniform of

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6656-447: The TF units were well enough trained to take over many of the duties in the coastal defences, releasing Regular RGA gunners for service in the field. Soon the TF RGA companies that had volunteered for overseas service were also supplying trained gunners to RGA units serving overseas and providing cadres to form new units, although complete defended port units never went overseas. Thus the siege batteries formed in late 1915–early 1916 were

6784-418: The TF was reorganised as the Territorial Army (TA) and the unit was designated as the Durham Coast Brigade, RGA . The RGA was subsumed into the Royal Artillery on 1 June 1924 and the unit was redesignated again as the Durham Heavy Brigade, RA . It fell within the 50th (Northumbrian) Divisional Area . The HQ was still at The Armoury in West Hartlepool, which was shared with the 3rd (Durham) Battery, RFA, and

6912-399: The Tees and Hartlepool guns were organised as follows: After the Armistice with Germany , the TF was demobilised and the Durham RGA placed in suspended animation in 1919. When the TF was reconstituted on 7 February 1920 the Durham RGA reformed at West Hartlepool, with one battery (later numbered 186) from Nos 1–3 Companies and one battery (later 187) from No 4 Company at Hartlepool. In 1921

7040-423: The Tyne defences contained the following guns: All three regiments came under the command of IX Corps HQ by May 1942. By then the threat from German attack had diminished and there was demand for trained gunners for the fighting fronts. A process of reducing the manpower in the coast defences began. 265/509 Coast Bty was placed in suspended animation on 20 June, just before 397 Bty arrived, and 261/508 Coast Bty

7168-425: The Tynemouth Artillery Volunteers was the same as the Rifle Volunteers of the area: a silver-grey tunic with black braid and scarlet facings , grey trousers with black stripes, and black belts with bronze ornaments for other ranks, silver for officers wore. The headdress was a grey Shako with scarlet plume. The artillery wore a gun badge on the shako and pouch in place of the riflemen's bugle. This uniform only lasted

7296-578: The Tynemouth Heavy Regiment being split into three coast regiments on 14 July 1940: Formed with A, B and C Batteries. On 31 December it was joined by 348 Coast Bty from 554th Coast Rgt at Poole , Dorset . On 1 April 1941 A Bty was split up and the regiment was reorganised as: Formed with A and B Batteries. On 31 December it was joined by 312 and 314 Coast Btys, and on 1 April 1941 A and B Btys were numbered: Formed with A Bty, joined by 311 (formed at Gloucester Battery) and 313 Coast Btys on 31 December 1940: At their height in September 1941,

7424-468: The UK into infantry battalions, primarily for line of communication and occupation duties in North West Europe, thereby releasing trained infantry for frontline service. On 15 January 1945, all the remaining Tyne batteries were transferred to the command of 526th (Durham) Coast Rgt , while RHQ 508th Coast Rgt and Tynemouth Fire Control HQ were converted into 616 (Tynemouth) Regiment, RA . After infantry training in Scotland with 301st Infantry Brigade ,

7552-448: The UK would be manned by the TA alone. In 1932, HQ of the Durham Heavy Bde moved to the Drill Hall in Ward Street, Hartlepool and on 1 October 186 Battery was converted to a Medium Battery and transferred to the 54th (Durham and West Riding) Medium Bde RA. The unit raised a new battery numbered 174 in October 1937. In line with the RA"s modernisation of its terminology, the unit was entitled the Durham Heavy Regiment on 1 November 1938. At

7680-455: The United Kingdom (the occasion being first communicated to both Houses of Parliament if parliament is sitting, or declared in council and notified by proclamation if parliament is not sitting.)" As well as being entitled to pay and billets, relief was also to be given to the wives and families of volunteers. A bounty of one guinea was to be paid to volunteers on release from actual military service, such release being notified in order by writing by

7808-461: The Volunteer infantry brigades. The Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery were re-equipped with 20-pounder field and 40-pounder fort guns in 1889 and on 14 July 1892 they were reorganised as a position battery and six companies: In 1893, the batteries at Tynemouth Castle were equipped with modern 6-inch breech-loading guns on hydro-pneumatic disappearing carriages , and the Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery immediately began training to operate them. This

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7936-429: The Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908, the Tynemouth RGA was intended to combine with the 1st Durham RGA to form a Northumberland and Durham RGA (and spin off a battery and ammunition column for the local RFA brigade). These plans were radically changed, so that by 1910 the Tynemouth and 1st Durham elements had formed their own units. The Tynemouth RGA (TF)

8064-403: The advance in late August 1918, the battery's forward observation officer, Capt R.A.E. Somerville, found two abandoned German 7.7 cm field guns near Marincourt. With the assistance of his telephonists, he turned one gun round and fired over 100 rounds at the retreating enemy, for which he was awarded a Military Cross . The two guns were sent home as trophies, one to the Durham RGA and one to

8192-434: The armoured cruiser SMS Blücher , concentrated on Hartlepool, which was a base for light Royal Navy warships. The port was defended by two batteries. On the day in question, 11 officers and 155 other ranks of the Durham RGA were manning Heugh Battery (two 6-inch guns manned by No 4 Company) and Lighthouse Battery (one 6-inch gun). As was normal practice, the gunners 'stood to' at 06.30 and so were ready for action when

8320-505: The artillery support. Bitter fighting, with progressively less success, went on along the Arras front for several more weeks before the offensive was called off in mid-May. 149th Siege Bty moved back to 35th HAG on 30 May, then to 58th HAG on 9 June, while minor operations continued against the Hindenburg Line, then it returned to 39th HAG on 16 June. There was then a quiet phase on Third Army's front while attention moved elsewhere. 149th Siege Bty came under 59th HAG from 9 August, but then it

8448-401: The beginning of the final Allied Hundred Days Offensive . It was among the mass of artillery supporting IX Corps ' assault crossing of the St Quentin Canal on 29 September, and continued with it at the Battle of the Selle on 17 October, when one German counter-attack was broken up when all available guns were turned onto it. 79th Brigade was part of IX Corps' artillery reserve for the advance to

8576-452: The brigade transferred to 21st Army Group on 9 May 1945, and landed on the Continent on 15 May (a week after VE Day ), where it came under the command of First Canadian Army . The regiment was placed in suspended animation on 31 October 1945, completing the process on 24 November. When the TA was reconstituted on 1 January 1947, 508 and 509 Coast Rgts were reformed as 404/405 (Tynemouth) Coast Regiment in 103 Coast Brigade, while 510

8704-415: The brink of insolvency, the Volunteer Force had become indispensable to British defence planning, as well as an enabler of the Regular Army's drawing its own forces away from home defence stations. Consequently, the government passed the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 , which merged the Volunteer Force with the Yeomanry to form the Territorial Force in 1908 (while the Militia was re-organised as

8832-425: The coastal defence companies of the RGA (TF) were reorganised. The four serving companies of the Tynemouth RGA (1/1st, 1/2nd/ 1/3rd and 1/4th) were reduced to three (1st, 2nd and 3rd) albeit with a slightly larger establishment of five officers and 100 men, and were to be kept up to strength with Regular recruits. By early 1918 the companies were serving in No 18 Coastal Fire Command based at Tynemouth. In April 1918

8960-402: The command of a captain, with some localities having subdivisions of thirty men under a lieutenant. The purpose of the rifle corps was to harass the invading enemy's flanks, while artillery corps were to man coastal guns and forts. Although not mentioned in the circular letter, engineer corps were also formed, principally to place underwater mines for port defence. Stretcher-bearers attached to

9088-435: The creation of many Volunteer units composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need. Four Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVCs) were raised in County Durham , with their officers' commissions being issued on 14 March 1860: The first Captain Commandant of the 1st Durham AVC at Sunderland was the local politician Sir Hedworth Williamson, Bt (1827–1900). He commanded it for 28 years and

9216-633: The detachment's return and the beer is still brewed in Sunderland. Ernest Vaux later commanded the 7th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry (TF) (known as 'Vaux's Own') from 1911 and throughout World War I . Under the Haldane Reforms , the Volunteer Force was subsumed into the new Territorial Force . In the original 1908 plans for the TF, the 1st Durham RGA was to combine with the Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery to form

9344-494: The divisions on 1 July 1887 saw the 1st Durham AVC regain its independence, with HQ at Sunderland and eight batteries, attached to the Western Division , with the subtitle '(Western Division Royal Artillery)' added to its designation. As well as manning fixed coast defence artillery, some of the early Artillery Volunteers manned semi-mobile 'position batteries' of smooth-bore field guns pulled by agricultural horses. But

9472-439: The duties in the coastal defences, releasing Regular RGA gunners for service in the field, and 1st line TF RGA companies that had volunteered for overseas service had been authorised to increase their strength by 50 per cent. Although complete defended ports units never went overseas, they did supply trained gunners to RGA units serving overseas. They also provided cadres to form complete units for front line service. The Durham RGA

9600-478: The early Artillery Volunteers manned semi-mobile 'position batteries' of smooth-bore field guns pulled by agricultural horses. The Tynemouth Artillery Volunteers were supplied with light 9-pounder field guns in 1869. But the War Office refused to pay for the upkeep of field guns for Volunteers and they had largely died in the 1870s. In 1888 the 'position artillery' concept was revived and some Volunteer companies were reorganised as position batteries to work alongside

9728-648: The end of the war. 79th Brigade was with Second Army in April during the second phase of the German spring offensive , the Battle of the Lys . The heaviest guns were sent to the rear but the 60-pdrs remained with the field artillery firing in support of the hard-pressed infantry. On 28 June 79th Bde supported XI Corps in a limited counter-attack on La Becque, which was described as 'a model operation' for artillery cooperation. 79th Brigade joined Fourth Army on 18 August, soon after

9856-505: The enthusiasm that created the British Volunteer Force in the mid-19th Century was the 1st Northumberland Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVC), which was raised after a public meeting at Tynemouth on 7 May 1859. The meeting was held in response to statements by Commander Bedford Pim , Royal Navy, that a modern ironclad warship could do untold damage to the towns of Tyneside due to the poor state of their defences. The unit

9984-559: The first two MMs to be gazetted after the institution of the award in April 1916. Hope's medal was the first MM minted, and the first to be presented. In 1920, all members of the Durham RGA in action that day were made eligible for the British War Medal, normally only awarded to those who saw active service overseas. Although the unit never went overseas, the Durham RGA did supply trained gunners for RGA batteries and other units on active fronts (by 1916, for example, Sgt Douthwaite

10112-600: The following guns were in place around the Tyne: Tyne Garrison Following the Armistice with Germany the Tynemouth RGA was placed in suspended animation in 1919. The battery was formed on 12 July 1915 at Sheerness from a cadre provided by the Tynemouth RGA and Regular RGA gunners brought back from the defences of Gibraltar and Malta . It went out to the Western Front on 24 January 1916, manning two 12-inch railway howitzers and

10240-545: The grouping. However the individual corps were to continue to exist. As in the earlier legislation, a volunteer could resign with fourteen days notice, with the addition that if a commanding officer refused to remove a volunteer from the roll of the corps, then he could appeal to two justices of the peace of the county. An annual inspection by an officer of the regular army was instituted, and efficiency standards were to be set by Order in Council , as were regulations for governing

10368-430: The hands of care and maintenance parties. On 18 October 1944, 510th Coast Rgt was placed in suspended animation and its units (264, 312, 314, 397 Coast Btys, 68 COD) were transferred to 508th Coast Rgt, and the positions manned by 259, 260, 262, 263 and 444 Coast Btys were placed under care and maintenance. Then, in January 1945, the War Office began to reorganise surplus anti-aircraft and coastal artillery regiments in

10496-703: The heavies' CB fire. The battery rejoined Fifth Army on 1 September in time for the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge and subsequent battles of the Flanders Offensive . By the final Second Battle of Passchendaele conditions for the British artillery were very bad: batteries were clearly observable and suffered badly from CB fire, while their own guns sank into the mud and became difficult to aim and fire. Having been moved from one HAG to another, 142nd Heavy Bty joined 79th HAG on 18 December 1917, shortly before it became 79th Bde, remaining with it until

10624-548: The heavy batteries were called upon for counter-battery (CB) fire. On 5 October 1916 142nd Heavy Bty was brought up to a strength of six guns when it was joined by a section from 176th Heavy Bty. In April 1917 142nd Heavy Bty supported the Canadian Corps ' successful attack on Vimy Ridge as part of the Arras Offensive . Maximum use was made of observation balloons and aircraft to pinpoint opposing batteries for

10752-417: The heavy battery was mobile and responsible for the landward defence of the batteries (heavy batteries were usually armed with obsolescent 4.7-inch guns). The commanding officer was Lt-Col Lancelot Robson, a doctor and former mayor of Hartlepool, who had first been commissioned into the 4th Durham RGA in 1893. On the outbreak of war, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service and on 15 August 1914,

10880-606: The height of the Battle of the Somme. It transferred to 14th HAG on 16 October. Once the Somme offensive was over, 149th Siege Bty went back to 3rd HAG on 2 December. This group was now with Fifth Army but transferred to Fourth on 22 December. However, on 24 December149th Siege Bty was ordered to 35th HAG with Third Army, which it joined on 31 December. While Canadian Corps with First Army attacked Vimy Ridge on 9 April 1917 ( see above ), VII Corps with Third Army simultaneously assaulted

11008-573: The later stages of the Somme offensive, which finally died down in November. The battery took part in minor operations on the Ancre in early 1917, including CB fire for II Corps' attack on Miraumont on 17 February. Shortly afterwards the Germans began their planned withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line ( Operation Alberich ). Following up was especially difficult for the heavy artillery, with all

11136-408: The latest Vickers BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzers . Capt O.L. Trechmann, previously commanding No 4 Company of the Durham RGA, was appointed second-in-command of the new battery, and took over its command in November 1916. The battery spent the early months of 1916 with II Corps in the relatively quiet Armentières sector. RGA brigades were redesignated Heavy Artillery Groups (HAGs) in April 1916, and

11264-409: The lord-lieutenant. If disabled on service, officers and volunteers were to receive a pension. Part III dealt with discipline and part IV with the rules and property of the corps. Part V dealt with the process of acquiring land for shooting ranges. Apart from the corps taking ownership of the land, a municipal corporation or private company could grant a licence to the volunteers to use their land for

11392-624: The lord-lieutenant. The Isle of Man was also to dealt with as if it were a county of England, with the Lieutenant-Governor performing the same role as a county lord-lieutenant. In 1872, under the provisions of the Regulation of the Forces Act 1871, jurisdiction over the volunteers was removed from the county lord-lieutenants and placed under the Secretary of State for War . Volunteer units became increasingly integrated with

11520-527: The outbreak of war in September 1939, the Durham Heavy Rgt was under the orders of Northern Command . The coast artillery branch was greatly expanded after the Dunkirk evacuation , when the UK was in imminent danger of invasion. On 14 July 1940 the Durham Heavy Rgt was reorganised as 511 (Durham) and 526 (Durham) Coast Regiments . Volunteer Force (Great Britain) The Volunteer Force

11648-403: The outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service, and they began forming Second Line units (distinguished from the original First line by a '2/' prefix). By October 1914, the campaign on the Western Front was bogging down into Trench warfare and there was an urgent need for batteries of siege artillery to be sent to France. The War Office decided that

11776-787: The part-time Reserve Forces , which had at various times included the Honourable Artillery Company , Militia Force (also referred to as the Constitutional Force , and originally an infantry force), the Yeomanry Force (made up of mounted units, organised similarly to the Volunteer Force), Volunteer Force , and Fencibles . Equivalents were also raised in the Crown Dependencies and many colonies. Known collectively as

11904-510: The policy now was to move batteries between them as required. 41st Siege Bty transferred in June to 25th HAG on the Somme where it fought throughout the whole Somme Offensive from July to November, sustaining heavy casualties from enemy shellfire in July. During 1917 the battery supported the attacks at the Battle of Vimy Ridge , the Battle of Messines (when it sustained more heavy casualties) and

12032-531: The postwar army, but this was rescinded after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and it disbanded at Dover on 24 June 1919. 149th Siege Bty was formed at Hartlepool on 22 May 1916 under Army Council Instruction 1091 of 29 May 1916, which laid down that it was to follow the establishment for New Army units, with a cadre of four officers and 78 men from the Durham RGA. It went out to the Western Front on 21 August and joined 3rd HAG with Fourth Army on 28 August at

12160-905: The purpose. Justices of the peace were given the power to close rights of way adjacent to ranges. The Act concluded by defining the counties to which the corps were to belong: for the purposes of the Act the Isle of Wight , the Tower Hamlets and the Cinque Ports were separate counties, with the Governor of the Isle of Wight, the Constable of the Tower of London and the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports commissioning officers in place of

12288-469: The recommendations of the commission, and to replace the 1804 legislation, the Volunteer Act 1863 ( 26 & 27 Vict. c. 65) was passed. Part I of the Act dealt with the organisation of the Volunteer Force. It became lawful for "Her Majesty to accept the services of persons desiring to be formed under the Act into a Volunteer Corps, and offering their services to Her Majesty through the Lieutenant of

12416-545: The rest of the men would be Regulars and New Army recruits from the Tynemouth Garrison. The Nominal Rolls of the battery show large numbers of men with home addresses in Hartlepool and the surrounding area. Commanded by Major Daniel Sandford , 94th Siege Battery landed in France on 30 May 1916 equipped with four BL 9.2-inch howitzers Mark I and immediately began preparing to support Third Army 's Attack on

12544-536: The rifle corps subsequently formed volunteer medical detachments affiliated to the Army Medical Corps . In a handful of counties, units of light horse or mounted rifles were formed. Two volunteer units whose services had been accepted by Queen Victoria during the early 1850s became the two senior rifle corps of the new force. These were the Exeter and South Devon Volunteers , formed in 1852, who became

12672-502: The roads forwards having been destroyed, and 94th Siege Bty had to haul its howitzers across the devastated countryside. The battery came back into action during the Arras offensive, supporting the First attack on Bullecourt (11 April). It joined Second Army for the Battle of Messines, being involved in exchanges of CB fire with Germans batteries before the explosion of huge mines launched

12800-557: The secondary armament, but suffered a number of misfires due to an electrical fault. The action ended at 08.52 when the batteries fired their last rounds at 9200 yards' range at the withdrawing warships. The Germans had fired 1150 shells, killing 112 and wounding over 200 civilians and doing extensive damage to the town and docks. The Durham RGA suffered two killed, and in firing a total of 123 rounds had inflicted at least seven direct hits, killing 8 German seamen and wounding four. The bombardment of civilian targets caused great outrage among

12928-658: The shortfall of soldiers in the Regular Army . The situation had been complicated by the fact that both auxiliary forces were under the control of the Home Office until 1855. Tensions rose between the United Kingdom and France following the Orsini affair , an assassination attempt on Emperor Napoleon III on 14 January 1858. It emerged that the would-be assassin, Felice Orsini had travelled to England to have

13056-560: The successful Battle of the St Quentin Canal (29 September) and the following advance. It then fired in support of XII Corps in the set-piece battles of the Selle (17 October) and Sambre (4 November). After that the pursuit was too fast for the 6-inch howitzers to keep up, and the battery was in billets when the Armistice with Germany came into force on 11 November. Postwar the battery briefly became 41st Battery, RGA , in

13184-501: The successful assault on 7 June. The battery then spent the summer with Fourth Army on the Flanders coast awaiting a breakthrough at Ypres that never came. However, the battery received its heaviest casualties of the war from CB fire. It was rested in late 1917. On 6 December, 94th Siege Bty joined 23rd Bde, remaining with it until the Armistice. It was increased to six guns when a section joined on 15 January from 190th Siege Bty. When

13312-546: The title, asserting their primacy, and in August were renamed The Tynemouth Artillery Volunteers (with emphasis on the definite article 'The'). The unit became part of the RA's Northern Division on 1 April 1882, then the Western Division on 1 July 1889. By now the unit had eight batteries. In the early years, the volunteer gunners practised on whatever guns were available, including those at Tynemouth Castle. But in addition to manning fixed coast defence artillery, some of

13440-559: The town of Sunderland. The battery then took part in several of the set-piece battles of the Hundred Days Offensive including the Australian–US attack at the St Quentin Canal. However the 9.2-inch howitzers were too clumsy to be much use in the pursuit. The battery's last action was at the assault crossing of the Sambre on 4 November. 94th Siege Bty was intended to form 144th Bty, RGA, in the interim order of battle for

13568-475: The volunteers having to purchase their own rifles and uniforms was felt by some to exclude the lower classes. Unlike regular rifle regiments, the volunteer units had colours often made and presented by the women of the community. These were unauthorised, however, with the Volunteer Regulations stating "Neither Standards nor Colours are to be carried by Corps on parade, as the Volunteer Force

13696-602: Was Hon Col from 1906, was a member of the prominent Vaux brewing family of Sunderland, and the family name frequently appears among the lists of Durham Volunteer Artillery officers. Among them was Major Ernest Vaux , who volunteered for the Imperial Yeomanry during the 2nd Boer War and commanded the Maxim gun detachment of the 5th Imperial Yeomanry, winning a Distinguished Service Order (DSO). The family brewery introduced Double Maxim brown ale in 1901 to celebrate

13824-713: Was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated with the British Army after the Childers Reforms in 1881, before forming part of the Territorial Force in 1908. Most of the regiments of the present Army Reserves Infantry , Artillery , Engineers and Signals units are directly descended from Volunteer Force units. Prior to

13952-588: Was abolished and the number of AA units reduced on 10 March 1955, 405 (Tynemouth) HAA Rgt was amalgamated into 324 (Northumbrian) HAA Regiment (successor to the 1st Northumberland Artillery Volunteers from which the Tynemouth had separated in 1884 see above ). The RA's Coast Artillery branch was also abolished the following year, and 404 (Tynemouth) Coast Rgt amalgamated into 439 Light AA Regiment (the old Tyne Electrical Engineers) at Tynemouth on 30 October 1956, forming P (Tynemouth) Battery . The regiment became 439 (Tyne) Light Air Defence Regiment in 1964. When

14080-542: Was added to the Admin Brigade in 1873. The Volunteers were consolidated into larger units in 1880, and the Administrative Brigade became the 1st Northumberland and Durham Artillery Volunteers on 23 July with its HQ at Newcastle: However, the Tynemouth Volunteers were withdrawn to become independent again in April 1884. They were supposed to become the new 3rd Northumberland, but objected to

14208-481: Was appointed its Honorary Colonel in 1888 after command of the unit passed to Lt-Col Edwin Vaux. The 2nd (Seaham) Corps was initially the largest of the four Durham AVCs, and the other three were attached to it for administrative purposes from August 1863. However, the attachment of the 1st Durham AVC was changed to the 1st Administrative Brigade of Northumberland Artillery Volunteers in November 1873. When that brigade

14336-560: Was called upon to move north to the Ypres sector to join 81st HAG with Fifth Army on 31 August. This was the period of the battles of the Menin Ridge Road and Polygon Wood . When Second Army took over the lead in the offensive, the battery joined it and came under 72nd HAG on 4 October for the final battles of Passchendaele. 149th Siege Bty joined 67th HAG (67th Bde, RGA) with First Army on 15 December 1917 and remained with it until

14464-476: Was consolidated on 23 July 1880 to form the 1st Northumberland and Durham AVs (renamed the 1st Northumberland (Northumberland and Sunderland) from April 1882), the 1st Durham AVC provided Nos 13–15 Btys, later renumbered as Nos 7–9 Btys when another corps left the brigade. The 1st Northumberland Brigade became part of the Northern Division of the Royal Artillery , on 1 April 1882. A reorganisation of

14592-523: Was decided that the coast defences of the UK would be manned by the TA alone. On 1 October 1932, 152 Heavy Battery at Seaton Delaval left to be converted into 152 Medium Battery in 55th (Northumbrian) Medium Brigade . Then on 1 April 1934 150 Heavy Battery at North Shields also left to be converted into 150 Medium Battery in 51st (Midland) Medium Brigade . However, on 10 December 1936 these two batteries left their new brigades and were converted again into 179 and 180 (Tynemouth) Anti-Aircraft batteries forming

14720-546: Was designated as a Defended Ports unit with the following organisation: The unit formed part of North Eastern Coast Defences, which also included the Regulars of Nos 12 and 47 Companies RGA at Tynemouth. These units were responsible for the manning the following guns in the Tyne defences: On the outbreak of war, the Tynemouth Volunteer Artillery deployed to its war stations in the Tyne Garrison. Shortly after

14848-534: Was disbanded 10–17 October. 322/510 Coast Bty went to War Office Control on 7 May 1943, but was replaced by 444 Coast Bty, newly formed at Gloucester Battery. 420/508 Coast Bty was disbanded on 20 September 1943. IX Corps HQ left for North Africa ( Operation Torch ) and was replaced by Corps Coast Artillery HQ, Northumbrian District, by the end of 1942. The manpower requirements for the forthcoming Allied invasion of Normandy ( Operation Overlord ) led to further reductions in coast defences in April 1944. 509th Coast Rgt

14976-527: Was disbanded in 1919 after the Treaty of Versailles. After so many TF coast gunners had departed to units in the field, the remaining companies of the defended ports units were consolidated in April 1917. In the case of the Durham RGA this meant reorganising the seven remaining companies (1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 2/1, 2/2, 2/3, 2/4) into Nos 1–3 Companies in the Tees and Hartlepool Garrison of Northern Command . By April 1918

15104-484: Was far from universal, however, with some corps retaining their original names and distinctive dress until 1908. The artillery volunteers were similarly remodelled as reserve formations of the Royal Artillery , eventually being redesignated as Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers) in 1902, while the Engineer Volunteers became Royal Engineers (Volunteers). The volunteers finally saw active service during

15232-534: Was formally disbanded. 404 and 405 Regiments, based at North Shields and Blyth respectively, had recruited sufficiently to become separate units by September 1948, but as it had been decided to reduce the number of TA coast regiments, 405 Coast Rgt was converted into 405 (Tynemouth) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment that year. On 1 January 1954, 405 HAA Rgt absorbed 464 (Northumbrian) HAA Rgt (the successor of 64th (Northumbrian) HAA Rgt formed in 1936, see above ) providing RHQ, P and Q Btys. When Anti-Aircraft Command

15360-463: Was formed at Tynemouth on 12 January 1860 but in May 1860 it was absorbed into the 1st as its second battery; four other batteries were raised at Willington Quay , Newcastle upon Tyne and North Shields . Other AVCs were also being formed in the area: the Percy Artillery , raised from tenants of the Duke of Northumberland and named after a previous volunteer unit of 1805, was formed as

15488-412: Was formed at Tynemouth on 4 April 1866 and included the 1st Northumberland (Tyneside Volunteers) and both its offshoots, the 2nd Newcastle and the 3rd Northumberland. (The 1st Newcastle and 2nd Northumberland (Percy Artillery) AVCs remained independent.) The 2nd Newcastle was absorbed into the 3rd Northumberland in 1868, in which year the brigade's HQ moved from Tynemouth to Newcastle. The 1st Durham AVC

15616-507: Was in Sunderland, except No 6 Company at Southwick . On 1 June 1899, all the Volunteer artillery units became part of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) and with the abolition of the RA's divisional organisation on 1 January 1902, the unit became the 1st Durham RGA (Volunteers) . 'Position batteries' were redesignated 'heavy batteries' in May 1902. Edwin Vaux (1844–1908), who commanded the 1st Durham AVC from 1888, and

15744-457: Was involved in the preparatory bombardment for the Battle of the Somme later that year. The battery remained in action throughout the Somme fighting of 1916. Thereafter the heavy howitzers were in great demand it was frequently shifted around the railway network behind the Western Front from one army to another. It ended the war attached to Fifth Army supporting the great Allied Hundred Days Offensive . 44th Siege Battery continued in

15872-532: Was placed in suspended animation on 1 April 1944 and its remaining batteries (264, 312, 314, 397) were regimented with 508th Coast Rgt. 70 Coast Observer Detachment was also disbanded in April 1944. As the campaign in North West Europe progressed after D Day , the manpower demands of 21st Army Group led to further reductions in coastal artillery. By this stage of the war many of the coast battery positions were manned by Home Guard detachments or in

16000-476: Was raised by Edward Potter of Cramlington , a local coal mining engineer. By 25 May 1859, the first drill was held for Rifle and Artillery volunteers at Tynemouth, formal enrolment for the 1st Northumberland Artillery Volunteers opened on 2 August, and the corps was formally accepted on 16 August 1859. In November 1859, the new unit held its first gun practice, on two 70-year-old muzzle-loading smoothbore cannon at Tynemouth Castle . A 2nd Northumberland AVC

16128-639: Was reflected in the War Office Mobilisation Scheme for that year, which allocated the unit to the Tynemouth fixed defences. On 1 June 1899 the RA was split into Royal Field Artillery and Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA), which was responsible for all coastal and fortress artillery; the Volunteers were affiliated to the RGA. On 1 January 1902 the RA abandoned its divisional organisation and the unit changed its designation to Tynemouth Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers) . When

16256-465: Was the 1st Northumberland formed at Tynemouth on 2 August 1859. Initially, there were attempts at class distinction with the middle class seeing the formation of rifle units as a contrast with the strict class divide between the officers of the gentry and the other ranks of the working class and farm labourers of the militia and the standing army. Some also compared the initiative, small unit tactics and marksmanship principles of rifle regiments of

16384-480: Was with a siege battery and Bdr Mallin was a sergeant with an infantry battalion). 41st Siege Battery was formed in Plymouth Garrison on 2 July 1915, half the strength being Regular details returned from the garrisons of Hong Kong and Singapore and half from Territorials of the Durham RGA. The battery formed part of 34th Brigade, RGA, and sailed with it to France on 9 December, equipped with four of

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