West Riding Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.) 1/1st West Riding RHA (T.F.) | |
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Active | 21 July 1908 – 30 December 1916 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Artillery |
Size | Battery |
Part of | Yorkshire Mounted Brigade V Lowland Brigade, RFA (T.F.) |
peacetime HQ | Rotherham |
Equipment | Ordnance QF 15-pounder Ordnance QF 18-pounder |
Engagements | First World War |
The West Riding Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1908. It saw active service as field artillery with 52nd (Lowland) Division in Egypt during the First World War before being broken up at the end of 1916. Post-war, it was reconstituted as a Royal Field Artillery battery.
The Territorial Force (TF) was formed on 1 April 1908 following the enactment of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (7 Edw.7, c.9) which combined and re-organised the old Volunteer Force, the Honourable Artillery Company and the Yeomanry. On formation, the TF contained 14 infantry divisions and 14 mounted yeomanry brigades. [1] Each yeomanry brigade included a horse artillery battery and an ammunition column. [2]
On 18 March 1908, West Riding Royal Horse Artillery (Territorial Force) was proposed as a new unit to be raised from amongst the 4th West Yorkshire Artillery Volunteers, RGA. It was recognized by the Army Council on 21 July 1908. [3] The unit consisted of
The unit was equipped with four [1] Ehrhardt 15-pounder [5] guns and allocated as artillery support to the Yorkshire Mounted Brigade. [6] [7]
Yorkshire Mounted Brigade |
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Organisation on 4 August 1914 |
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The battery was embodied with the Yorkshire Mounted Brigade on 4 August 1914 and apparently remained in Yorkshire. [9] The yeomanry regiments left the brigade for other formations in 1915 and it ceased to exist. [10]
The battery, along with the Essex and Hampshire RHA, joined V Lowland Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (T.F.) when it was formed on 13 January 1916 at Leicester. Before departing for the Middle East, the battery were re-equipped with four 18 pounders. [11]
The brigade embarked between 15 and 18 February 1916 at Devonport and arrived at Port Said on 2 March. It joined 52nd (Lowland) Division at El Qantara on 17 March in the Suez Canal Defences. The brigade was renumbered as CCLXIII Brigade, RFA (T.F.) on 28 May and the battery as C/CCLXIII Battery on the same date. On 15 September, the brigade was renumbered as CCLXIV Brigade, RFA (T.F.) (the battery became C/CCLXIV Battery) and on 30 December back to CCLXIII Brigade, RFA (T.F.). [11]
On that date, the battery was broken up: one section [lower-alpha 1] went to A Battery (formerly Hampshire RHA) and the other section to B Battery (former Essex RHA). [11] The brigade now consisted of two batteries of six 18 pounders each. [14]
While with 52nd (Lowland) Division, the battery took part in the Battle of Romani on 4 and 5 August 1916. [15]
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. [6]
Unlike almost all of the other Territorial Force RHA Batteries, the West Riding RHA did not form a 2nd line in the First World War. [6] [lower-alpha 2]
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) [17] and ceased to be a Royal Horse Artillery battery. 3rd West Riding Brigade, RFA had also originated in the 4th West Yorkshire Artillery Volunteers in 1908. [18]
The Yeomanry Mounted Division was a Territorial Force cavalry division formed at Khan Yunis in Palestine in June 1917 from three yeomanry mounted brigades. It served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War, mostly as part of the Desert Mounted Corps. In April 1918 six of the regiments were withdrawn from the division and sent to France, being converted from Yeomanry to battalions of the Machine Gun Corps. These were replaced by Indian Army cavalry regiments withdrawn from France, and the division was renamed 1st Mounted Division, the third such division to bear that title. In July the combined division was renamed as the 4th Cavalry Division.
The Yorkshire Mounted Brigade was a formation of Britain's part-time Territorial Force organised in 1908. Mobilised on the outbreak of World War I, its regiments had been posted away by 1915 so it was broken up. It never saw active service.
V Lowland Brigade, Royal Field Artillery was a field artillery brigade formed from three Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery batteries in January 1916. It was assigned to the 52nd (Lowland) Division to replace I Lowland Brigade, RFA (T.F.) and joined the division in Egypt.
The Hampshire Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Hampshire in 1909. It saw active service during the First World War in Egypt and Palestine from 1916 to 1918, initially as field artillery with 52nd (Lowland) Division before being converted back to horse artillery and serving with the Yeomanry Mounted Division and 1st Mounted / 4th Cavalry Division. A second line battery, 2/1st Hampshire RHA, served on the Western Front in 1917 and 1918 as part of an Army Field Artillery Brigade. Post-war, it was reconstituted as a Royal Field Artillery battery.
The Essex Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Essex in 1908. It saw active service during the First World War in Egypt and Palestine from 1916 to 1918, initially as field artillery with 52nd (Lowland) Division before being converted back to horse artillery and serving with the 2nd Mounted / 5th Cavalry Division. A second line battery, 2/1st Essex RHA, served on the Western Front in 1917 and 1918 as part of an Army Field Artillery Brigade.
The Glamorganshire Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Glamorganshire in 1908. It saw active service during the First World War on the Western Front in 1917 and 1918 as part of an Army Field Artillery Brigade. A second line battery, 2/1st Glamorganshire RHA, served in England and Ireland before being broken up in January 1917. Glamorganshire RHA was not reconstituted in the post-war Territorial Force.
I Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery , along with its sister II Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.), was a horse artillery brigade of the Territorial Force that was formed in September 1914 for the 2nd Mounted Division at the start of World War I.
II Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery , along with its sister I Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.), was a horse artillery brigade of the Territorial Force that was formed in September 1914 for the 2nd Mounted Division at the start of World War I.
III Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery , along with its sister IV Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.), was a Royal Horse Artillery brigade of the Territorial Force that was formed in Egypt in April 1916 for the ANZAC Mounted Division.
IV Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery , along with its sister III Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.), was a Royal Horse Artillery brigade of the Territorial Force that was formed in Egypt in April 1916 for the ANZAC Mounted Division.
A Battery, Honourable Artillery Company is a L118 light gun battery that provides a reserve to 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery. Its predecessor was a horse artillery battery that was formed from Light Cavalry Squadron, HAC, in 1891. It transferred to the Territorial Force in 1908 as artillery support for the London Mounted Brigade.
B Battery, 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.
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The Ayrshire Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Ayrshire in 1908. It saw active service during the First World War in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign with the ANZAC Mounted Division from 1916 to 1918. It was disembodied after the end of the war and was not reconstituted in the post-war Territorial Force.
The Inverness-shire Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Inverness-shire in 1908. It saw active service during the First World War in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign with the ANZAC Mounted Division from 1916 to 1918. A second line battery, 2/1st Inverness-shire RHA, served in the United Kingdom throughout the war. It was disembodied after the end of the war and was reconstituted as a Royal Field Artillery battery in 1920.
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