| Western Division, RA | |
|---|---|
 Cap Badge of the Royal Regiment of Artillery | |
| Active | 4 April 1882–31 December 1901 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Administrative division |
| Part of | Royal Artillery |
| Garrison/HQ | Plymouth (1882–89) Devonport (1889–1901) |
The Western Division, Royal Artillery, was an administrative grouping of garrison units of the Royal Artillery, Artillery Militia and Artillery Volunteers within the British Army's Western District from 1882 to 1902.
Under General Order 72 of 4 April 1882 the Royal Artillery (RA) broke up its existing administrative brigades [lower-alpha 1] of garrison artillery (7th–11th Brigades, RA) and assigned the individual batteries to 11 new territorial divisions. These divisions were purely administrative and recruiting organisations, not field formations. Most were formed within the existing military districts into which the United Kingdom was divided, and for the first time associated the part-time Artillery Militia with the regulars. Shortly afterwards the Artillery Volunteers were also added to the territorial divisions. The Regular Army batteries were grouped into one brigade, usually of nine sequentially-numbered batteries and a depot battery. For these units the divisions represented recruiting districts – batteries could be serving anywhere in the British Empire and their only connection to brigade headquarters (HQ) was for the supply of drafts and recruits. The artillery militia units (sometimes referred to as regiments) already comprised a number of batteries, and were redesignated as brigades, losing their county titles in the process. The artillery volunteers, which had previously consisted of numerous independent Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVC) of various sizes, sometimes grouped into administrative brigades, had been consolidated into larger AVCs in 1881, which were now affiliated to the appropriate territorial division. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Western Division, RA, listed seventh in order of precedence, was organised within Western District with the following composition: [1] [2] [3] [5] [6] [7] [8]
In 1889 the garrison artillery was reorganised again into three large territorial divisions of garrison artillery and one of mountain artillery. The names of the divisions seemed arbitrary, with the Scottish units being grouped in the Southern Division, for example, but this related to where the need for coastal artillery was greatest, rather than where the units recruited. The artillery militia units regained their county designations. From 1 August 1891 garrison artillery batteries were termed companies, and some were grouped into double companies at this time before reverting to their previous numbers in March 1894. [4] [6] [2] [3] [7] [8] [9] [10]
In 1899 the Royal Artillery was divided into two distinct branches, field and garrison. The field branch included the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) and the newly named Royal Field Artillery (RFA). The garrison branch was named the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) and included coast defence, position, heavy, siege and mountain artillery. The division became Southern Division, RGA. The division became Western Division, RGA. The RGA retained the divisions until they were scrapped on 1 January 1902, at which point the Regular RGA companies were numbered in a single sequence and the militia and volunteer units were designated '--- shire RGA (M)' or '(V)' as appropriate. [6] [2] [3] [7] [8] [11]
The 1st Wessex Artillery was a volunteer unit of the British Army that existed under various titles from 1860 to 1971, including active service in Mesopotamia in World War I and North Africa and Italy in World War II.
The 1st Essex Artillery Volunteers was a unit of Britain's part-time auxiliary forces raised in Essex in 1860 in response to an invasion scare. It served under various designations as field artillery in Palestine during World War I. During World War II its units served as mountain artillery in Italy and as jungle artillery and medium artillery in Burma. Postwar it became an airborne unit until it was merged with other units in the 1950s.
The 2nd Devonshire Artillery Volunteers was a unit of the British Volunteer Force and Territorial Army. The unit and its successors defended Plymouth Dockyard and the Devon coast from 1861 to 1961.
The 1st Kent Artillery Volunteers was a part-time unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery from 1860 to 1956. Primarily serving as coastal artillery defending the Port of Dover and other harbours in South-East England, the unit's successors also served in the heavy artillery role on the Western Front during World War I and as anti-aircraft artillery during the Blitz and later in the North African and Italian campaigns of World War II.
The 1st East Yorkshire Artillery Volunteers was a part-time unit of Britain's Royal Artillery based in the East Riding of Yorkshire, which also contained sub-units from the North and West Ridings. Created during an invasion scare in 1859–1860, it survived to supply units to the later Territorial Force of the 20th century.
The Cheshire Artillery Volunteers was a brigade of Volunteer artillery units raised in the county of Cheshire in the mid-19th Century. Their successors served as field artillery in Palestine during World War I and as anti-aircraft (AA) gunners in the Middle East in World War II. They continued in the air defence role in the Territorial Army until 1955.
The 1st Carnarvonshire Artillery Volunteers was a part-time unit of the British Army in North Wales from 1862 to 1922. It fought on the Western Front in World War I. Postwar it was amalgamated with the Denbighshire Hussars as a medium artillery regiment that served in World War II.
The 1st Lancashire Artillery Volunteers, popularly known as 'Brown's Corps', was an auxiliary unit of the British Army raised in Liverpool in 1859. As the Lancashire & Cheshire Royal Garrison Artillery in the Territorial Force it was responsible for defending the Mersey Estuary and the coastline of North West England. It was one of the few coast defence units to fire a shot during World War I but also provided personnel for a number of siege batteries that saw action on the Western Front. It continued in the coast defence role during World War II, at the end of which it sent troops to work in the rear areas in Europe. It was reformed postwar but was broken up when the coast artillery branch was abolished in 1956.
The Northern Division, Royal Artillery, was an administrative grouping of garrison units of the Royal Artillery, Artillery Militia and Artillery Volunteers within the British Army's Northern District from 1882 to 1889.
The Lancashire Division, Royal Artillery, was an administrative grouping of garrison units of the Royal Artillery, Artillery Militia and Artillery Volunteers within the British Army's Northern District from 1882 to 1889.
The Cinque Ports Division, Royal Artillery was an administrative grouping of garrison units of the Royal Artillery, Artillery Militia and Artillery Volunteers within the British Army's South Eastern District from 1882 to 1889.
The London Division, Royal Artillery, was an administrative grouping of garrison units of the Royal Artillery and Artillery Volunteers within the British Army's Home and Woolwich Districts from 1882 to 1889.
The Scottish Division, Royal Artillery, was an administrative grouping of garrison units of the Royal Artillery, Artillery Militia and Artillery Volunteers within the British Army's Scottish District from 1882 to 1889.
The Welsh Division, Royal Artillery, was an administrative grouping of garrison units of the Royal Artillery, Artillery Militia and Artillery Volunteers in the British Army's Western District from 1882 to 1889.
The North Irish Division, Royal Artillery, was an administrative grouping of garrison units of the Royal Artillery and Artillery Militia in Ireland from 1882 to 1889.
The South Irish Division, Royal Artillery, was an administrative grouping of garrison units of the Royal Artillery and Artillery Militia in Ireland from 1882 to 1889.
The Eastern Division, Royal Artillery, was an administrative grouping of garrison units of the Royal Artillery, Artillery Militia and Artillery Volunteers within the British Army's Eastern District from 1882 to 1902.
The Southern Division, Royal Artillery, was an administrative grouping of garrison units of the Royal Artillery, Artillery Militia and Artillery Volunteers within the British Army's Southern District from 1882 to 1902.
The Mountain Division, Royal Artillery, was an administrative grouping of mountain artillery units of the Royal Artillery from 1889. It continued as a distinct branch of the Royal Garrison Artillery until World War I.