103rd (Lancashire Artillery Volunteers) Regiment Royal Artillery

Last updated

103rd (Lancashire Artillery Volunteers) Regiment Royal Artillery
103rd (Lancashire Artillery Volunteers) Regiment Royal Artillery Crest.jpg
The crest of 103 Regiment Royal Artillery
Active1967 – present
CountryEngland
AllegianceFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Type Royal Artillery
RoleField support
Size4 Batteries
432 personnel [1]
Part of 4th Brigade
Garrison/HQJubilee Barracks, St Helens
Nickname(s)The North West Gunners / #TEAM103
Motto(s)Ubique – Everywhere.Quo Fas et Gloria Ducunt – Where Right and Glory Lead.
Colours105mm Light Gun – The Colours of the Royal Regiment of Artillery are its Guns or Weapon Systems. When on parade on Ceremonial occasions the Guns and Weapon Systems are to be accorded the same compliments as the Standards, Guidons and Colours of the Cavalry and Infantry.
MarchThe Royal Artillery Slow March
Anniversaries1 April 1967
Equipment L118 Light Gun
Insignia
Cap Badge
The cap badge of The Royal Regiment of Artillery Royal Artillery Cap Badge.png
The cap badge of The Royal Regiment of Artillery
TRF
Royal Artillery Tactical Recognition Flash RA trf.png
Royal Artillery Tactical Recognition Flash

103rd (Lancashire Artillery Volunteers) Regiment Royal Artillery is part of the Army Reserve and primarily has sub-units throughout the Greater Manchester and Merseyside area of the North-West of England, in recent years it has extended its footprint to Wolverhampton, Isle of Man, Carlisle and Nottingham. Its purpose is to provide reinforcements for units that use the 105 mm L118 Light Gun.

Contents

Formation

The Lancashire Artillery Volunteers were first raised in 1859 as part of the Volunteer Force raised in response to threats of French Invasion. [2] A total of 23 Artillery companies were raised initially. However, in Manchester, numerous units that would later form the Lancashire Artillery Gunners had existed from as early as 1804, when the Duke of Gloucester inspected the Heaton Artillery Volunteers before they were shipped off to the fronts of the Napoleonic Wars. [3]

20th Century History

Officers and men of the Lancashire Artillery Volunteers continued to give service during the two world wars of the 20th Century. [4]

In 1967, some of these units were amalgamated to form 103rd (Lancashire Artillery Volunteers) Light Air Defence Regiment Royal Artillery (Volunteers). [5] Its units were Headquarters Battery at Liverpool, 208 (3rd West Lancashire) Light Air Defence Battery at Liverpool and 209 (The Manchester Artillery) Light Air Defence Battery at Manchester. [5] In 1969 213 (South Lancashire Artillery) Light Air Defence Battery was formed at St Helens and joined the regiment. [5]

In 1976, the regiment changed its designation to 103rd (Lancashire Artillery Volunteers) Air Defence Regiment Royal Artillery (Volunteers) upon being equipped with the Blowpipe missile air-defense weapon. [5] Then, in 1986, 216 (The Bolton Artillery) Battery was formed at Bolton and joined the regiment. [5]

In 1992, as a result of the Options for Change, the regiment lost one Air-Defence Battery (213 Air-Defense Battery, which was amalgamated with HQ Battery at St Helens) and Regimental Headquarters were moved from Deysbrooke Barracks, Liverpool, to St. Helens to be co-located with HQ Battery. [5]

Modern day

In 2001, the regiment transferred from Air Defence to the Field Artillery as a Light Gun Regiment. [5]

Under Army 2020, 209 (Manchester & St Helens) Battery Royal Artillery increased to a battery size. 210 (Staffordshire) Battery Royal Artillery, based in Wolverhampton, joined this regiment from 106th (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery, and re-roled to a light gun battery. 103 Regiment is paired with the regular 4th Regiment RA under the 1st Artillery Brigade. [6] [7]

The current structure of the regiment is as follows: [8] [9]

Equipment

The 103rd Regiment is equipped with the 105mm Light Gun, a versatile, air-portable and air-mobile artillery piece. [21]

Freedoms

The regiment has received the freedom of several locations throughout its history; these include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Artillery</span> Artillery arm of the British Army

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises thirteen Regular Army regiments, the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and five Army Reserve regiments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">104th Regiment Royal Artillery</span> British Army reserve artillery regiment

104 Regiment Royal Artillery is part of the British Army Reserve and has sub-units throughout Wales and the West Midlands of England. It is equipped with the 105mm Light Gun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">105th Regiment Royal Artillery</span> British Army reserve artillery regiment

105th Regiment Royal Artillery is part of the Army Reserve and has sub-units throughout Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is currently equipped with the L118 Light Gun.

101 (Northumbrian) Medium Regiment Royal Artillery is part of the Army Reserve and has sub units throughout the north east as well as one sub unit in Leeds, West Yorkshire. It is equipped with M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">42nd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)</span> Brigade of the British Army

The 42nd Infantry Brigade, also known as 42 Brigade, was a brigade of the British Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">37th Signal Regiment (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

37th Signal Regiment is a military communications regiment of the Royal Corps of Signals, part of the British Army. The regiment was one of ten Territorial Army,, units formed following the complete reorganisation of the Territorial Army in 1967. Until the Army 2020 programme in 2012, the regiment provided national communications support and its squadrons providing support to the regional brigades, notable 143rd and 160th (Welsh) Brigades. However, from 2014 the regiment was re-roled and now paired with 2nd Signal Regiment supporting 1st Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry</span> Military unit

The Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry (DLOY) was a yeomanry unit of the British Army from 1798 to 1992. Originally raised as part-time cavalry for home defence and internal security, the regiment sent mounted infantry to serve in the Second Boer War. During World War I it carried out mounted duties in Egypt and Palestine and on the Western Front. By 1917 the reserve units at home had become cyclists and the regiment serving on the Western Front joined an infantry battalion, seeing action at the Battle of Passchendaele, against the German Spring Offensive and in the final Allied Hundred Days Offensive. At the beginning of World War II the regiment gave up its horses and formed two regiments of medium artillery, which served in the Middle East, Italy and North West Europe. Postwar it became an armoured unit. Today its lineage is maintained by B Squadron, the Queen's Own Yeomanry.

In September 1939, the British Army was in process of expanding their anti-aircraft and mobile assets. Among these new changes was the formation of Anti-Aircraft Command which was formed on 1 April 1939, and the 1st Armoured Division formed in 1937. The list below will include the British Army units, colonial units, and those units which were in the process of formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Artillery Brigade (United Kingdom)</span> Military unit

The 1st Artillery Brigade was a support formation of the British Army from 1961-77 and from 1997. Part of the 3rd Division, it oversaw all army close support artillery and deep fires units. Under the Future Soldier programme, the brigade merged with 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade to form 1st Deep Reconnaissance Strike Brigade Combat Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Structure of the British Army</span> Organisation of the British Army

The page contains the current structure of the British Army. The British Army is currently being reorganised to the Future Soldier structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment</span> Military unit

The 5th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment, was a unit of the British Army's Reserve Forces first established in St Helens, Lancashire, in 1860. It served as infantry in some of the bitterest fighting on the Western Front in World War I and as a searchlight regiment in Anti-Aircraft Command during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mill Street Barracks, St Helens</span>

Mill Street Barracks is a military installation in St Helens, Merseyside.

The following is a hierarchical outline for the structure of the British Army in 1989. The most authoritative source for this type of information available is Ministry of Defence, Master Order of Battle, and United Kingdom Land Forces, HQ UKLF, UKLF ORBAT Review Action Plan, HQ UKLF, 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimberley Barracks</span> English military installation

Kimberley Barracks is a military installation on Deepdale Road in Preston in Lancashire, England PR1 6PR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Reserve Headquarters, Royal Artillery</span> Military unit

The 100th (Yeomanry) Regiment, Royal Artillery, formerly the National Reserve Headquarters, Royal Artillery is an Army Reserve administrative group of the Royal Artillery which oversees the recruitment and maintaining of specialist reserve units and personnel.

Ubique Barracks, Widnes is a military installation of the British Ministry of Defence occupied by the British Army located in Widnes, Cheshire WA8 6TH, England.

References

  1. "Army – Question for Ministry of Defence". p. 1. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  2. "Sources for the history of the militia and volunteer regiments in Lancashire" (PDF). p. 18. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  3. "Salford Hundred ancestry, annals and history". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  4. "British Artillery Officer's Sword to 2nd Lancashire Artillery Volunteers". Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Royal Regiment of Artillery, Volunteer Regiments". Archived from the original on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  6. "Summary of Reserve Structure and Basing Changes, page 4" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2013.
  7. "Army 2020 Report, page 12" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2014.
  8. "Information regarding locations of Army Reserve units" (PDF). What do they know?. 6 July 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  9. "103 Regiment Royal Artillery". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 "Jubilee Barracks, Prescot Road, St Helens WA10 3UB". Army Careers. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Army Reserve Centre, Nelson Street, Bolton BL3 2RW". Army Careers. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  12. "Brigadier Philip Toosy Barracks, Aigburth Road, Liverpool L17 9PH". Army Careers. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  13. "Army Reserve Centre, Lord Street, Douglas, Isle of Man IM1 1LE". Army Careers. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  14. "Isle of Man Welcomes First Reserve Unit For 50 Years". Forces Network. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  15. "Army Reserve Centre, Belle Vue Street, Manchester M12 5PW". Army Careers. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  16. "Wolseley House, Fallings Park, Wolverhampton WV10 9QR". Army Careers. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  17. "Saragarhi Day 2021 commemorated in Wolverhampton". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  18. "The Royal Lancers and Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum" . Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  19. "C Troop celebrates a year in Nottingham" . Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  20. "Army Reserve Centre 221 Hucknall Lane, Bulwell, Nottingham NG6 8AQ". Army Careers. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  21. "105mm Light Gun Restoration". North East Military Motor Club. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  22. "Army Battery awarded Freedom of Liverpool". ITV News. 16 October 2017.
  23. Griffiths, Niall (27 October 2020). "Marcus Rashford should be awarded freedom of Manchester, says councillor". Manchester Evening News.

Publications