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The Royal Gibraltar Regiment is part of British Forces Gibraltar for the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, which historically, along with Bermuda, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Malta, had been designated an Imperial fortress rather than a colony. It was formed in 1958 from the Gibraltar Defence Force as an infantry unit, with an integrated artillery troop. The regiment is included in the British Army as a defence engagement force.
Princess Caroline's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, at the junction of Willis's Road and Queen's Road. The nearby Princess Anne's Battery is often mistakenly referred to as Princess Caroline's Battery. The latter was built in 1732 and named after Princess Caroline, the daughter of King George II. Princess Caroline's Battery was updated in 1905, and a 6 inch Mark VII gun was mounted above the magazine. Later, the battery was decommissioned and the gun removed. The underground magazine is now home to the Military Heritage Centre, which includes the Memorial Chamber.
Princess Anne's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Willis's Plateau at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, below Princess Caroline's Battery. It was named after Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, the eldest daughter of George II. However, its name is often confused with those of other batteries in the area. In 1732, guns were first mounted on the battery, which also saw action during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. Princess Anne's Battery was updated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with the latter modernisation entailing the installation of four QF 5.25 inch guns with both anti-aircraft and coastal defence capabilities. The battery was manned into the early 1980s, after which it was decommissioned. The guns were refurbished in the early twenty-first century, and represent the world's only intact battery of 5.25 inch anti-aircraft guns. Princess Anne's and Amelia’s Battery are listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.
Lord Airey's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located near the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, just north of O'Hara's Battery. It was named after the Governor of Gibraltar, General Sir Richard Airey. Construction of the battery was completed in 1891. The first gun mounted on the battery was a 6-inch breech loading gun, which was replaced with a 9.2-inch Mark X BL gun by 1900. The gun at the battery was last fired in the 1970s. In 1997, it was discovered that Lord Airey's Shelter, adjacent to Lord Airey's Battery, was the site chosen for a covert World War II operation that entailed construction of a cave complex in the Rock of Gibraltar, to serve as an observation post. The battery is listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.
Breakneck Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Ministry of Defence property at the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, north of Lord Airey's Battery. It is one of a dozen batteries in Gibraltar that had 9.2-inch (233.7 mm) guns installed around the turn of the twentieth century. The emplacement features a 9.2-inch Mark X breech-loading gun on a Mark V mounting. The battery was refurbished by 10 Signal Regiment in 2012 and 2016 whilst being on Ceremonial duties whilst the Gibraltar Regiment where on exercise and is one of three surviving 9.2-inch gun emplacements at the Upper Ridge of the Rock of Gibraltar. By the late twentieth century, the 9.2-inch guns in Gibraltar, Bermuda, Portugal, South Africa, and Australia were the remaining examples of an emplacement that at one point had been mounted at strategic locations across the British Empire.
Spur Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located in the Upper Battery area of the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, just southwest of O'Hara's Battery. A 9.2-inch Mark X breech-loading gun was mounted on the emplacement in 1902, with improvements made to the battery after World War I. In 1981 the 9.2-inch gun at Spur Battery was dismantled and transferred to the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, England, for preservation. The operation was known as Project Vitello.
Levant Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Windmill Hill, at the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, below observation post Fire Control South. It was named after the Levanter cloud, below which it perched, giving it an unobstructed view. Construction started in 1901 and, by 1903, a 9.2-inch Mark X breech-loading gun had been mounted. The battery was decommissioned in the 1970s and the gun was later removed, to rest in a scrap yard. A community group has been formed to garner support for the gun's recovery and restoration.
Buena Vista Battery was an artillery battery near the Buena Vista Barracks at the southern end of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on a slight ridge in front of the nearby Buena Vista Barracks, which was once the base of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment.
The Europa Batteries are a group of artillery batteries in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Facing the North African coast, they are the most southerly batteries in Gibraltar and were built to cover ships approaching from the Mediterranean Sea. They run along the fortified clifftops of Europa Point from Camp Bay on the west side of the Rock of Gibraltar to the Europa Advance Batteries on the east side.
Spy Glass Battery or Spyglass Battery was originally a high angle artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The battery is mounted high on the rock to give extra range and protection. The battery was still in use during the Second World War as a listening post and site for a Bofors Gun.
West Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is situated on the escarpment of Windmill Hill in the south of the territory.
Governor's Lookout Battery is one of the many artillery batteries in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, which served to protect it against its many sieges. It is located off Signal Station Road within the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.
Upper Battery is a former artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It was located on the Upper Ridge of the Rock of Gibraltar at a site south of Signal Hill Battery and faced east over the Mediterranean. It mounted two 32-pdrs. in 1861. On the other side of the hill, three 24-pdrs. were mounted at Lower Battery. The two batteries were used for signalling and drill purposes.
Willis' Battery is a former artillery battery on the north side of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It overlooks the isthmus between Spain and Gibraltar.
Woodford's Battery was an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located at Europa Flats between the Defensible Barracks and the Officer's Barracks and Eliott's Battery.
The Gibraltar peninsula, located at the far southern end of Iberia, has great strategic importance as a result of its position by the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. It has repeatedly been contested between European and North African powers and has endured fourteen sieges since it was first settled in the 11th century. The peninsula's occupants – Moors, Spanish, and British – have built successive layers of fortifications and defences including walls, bastions, casemates, gun batteries, magazines, tunnels and galleries. At their peak in 1865, the fortifications housed around 681 guns mounted in 110 batteries and positions, guarding all land and sea approaches to Gibraltar. The fortifications continued to be in military use until as late as the 1970s and by the time tunnelling ceased in the late 1960s, over 34 miles (55 km) of galleries had been dug in an area of only 2.6 square miles (6.7 km2).
Prince Henry's Battery was an artillery battery built in Gibraltar during the Anglo-Spanish War of 1762–63, adjoining the Prince of Wales Lines. They mounted three 32-pdr guns with two more 18-pdrs, six 12-pdrs and three 4-pdrs on the Lines. After 1841, the battery was rebuilt as a retired battery as part of a mid-19th century remodelling of Gibraltar's southern defences. They were eventually built over in 1859–60 when the Prince of Wales Batteries were constructed on the same site.
The Windmill Hill Batteries are a series of artillery batteries situated on Windmill Hill, Gibraltar near the south of the peninsula. They are part of the fortifications of Gibraltar. The batteries were originally established by Lt General Edward Cornwallis during his governorship of Gibraltar between 1762–77, built on the site of the old windmills after which the hill was named. The singular Windmill Hill Battery refers to one particular battery almost equidistant between Genista Battery and Europa Advance Battery.
The North Mole Elbow Battery was an artillery battery situated on Gibraltar's Old Mole, at the point where the mole turns north. It is recorded as mounting three 12-pdr guns in 1903. It mounted a Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft gun during the Second World War along with a 6-pdr gun on a twin mounting for coastal defence purposes. At the end of the mole, another 6-pdr gun was installed on a twin mounting.
Victoria Battery was an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It was built in the 1840s on top of the earlier Princess of Wales Batteries following a report by Major-General Sir John Thomas Jones on Gibraltar's defences. The battery was located on the west side of Gibraltar and was one of a number of "retired" batteries in the territory, constructed to improve the coastal defences between Europa Point and the town.
References
- ↑ "Sir John Slade, The Hero of Maiwand". The Colonist: 5. 6 September 1913. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
- ↑ Hughes, p. 308
