It could be said that the history of the
Royal Artillery extends back to an incident which occurred during the Battle
of Crecy, when a French foot soldier was killed by a British cannon (nothing
new here!), and there have been gunners serving in British armies since then.
However, it wasn't until 1485 that the first official gunners were appointed,
as part of what became the Board of Ordnance. Throughout the next 400 years
the forts around Britain had master gunners permanently appointed by the Board
of Ordnance. Trains of artillery were formed for campaigning both at home and
abroad, with guns and the men to serve them.
1716 TO 1800
In 1716, under a Royal Warrant, two
companies of artillery, each of 100 men, were formed at the Woolwich Warren
(later the Royal Arsenal) to ensure that a regular force of gunners was
available when needed. Woolwich has been the spiritual home of the 'Gunners'
ever since that time, although the Regiment had moved to its famous barracks
on Woolwich Common by 1805.
The Regiment expanded rapidly in the 18th
century and saw service in every campaign and every garrison world-wide. In
1793, the Royal Horse Artillery was formed to provide greater mobility in the
field, and soon became associated with the role of supporting cavalry. The RHA
performed so well that it became a corps d'elite within the Regiment.
THE 19th CENTURY
During the early part of the Peninsular War
the Royal Artillery were very light on the ground. For example, in May 1808,
the artillery support for the British army and the Kings German Legion
consisted of three batteries (6 guns each battery) of light 6-pdrs and three
batteries of 3-pdrs. The 3pdrs were considered to be of very limited hitting
power. By June 1813, during the Vittoria campaign, the strength had been
increased to seven batteries of 9-pdrs, two of heavy 6-pdrs and four of light
6-pdrs. It was only by the Waterloo campaign that all the Royal Artillery foot
brigades were equipped with five 9-pdrs and one 5½-in howitzer. Other
ordnance used by the Royal Artillery were a mountain battery formed for the
crossing of the Pyrenees. They were equipped with six 3-pdrs, which were
broken down and carried on the backs of mules, and were crewed by a mixture of
British and Portuguese gunners.
The 19th century saw the Regiment heavily
engaged in the Crimean War and the South African War. Throughout the century,
it was campaigning in India alongside the separate artilleries of the East
India Company. This led to their amalgamation with the British Army after the
Indian Mutiny, bringing some famous batteries into the Regiment.
THE 20th CENTURY
The science of artillery grew rapidly under
the pressure of the Industrial Revolution and by the end of the 19th century,
the need for indirect fire brought major changes. Guns became ever more
powerful, firing more efficient munitions to longer ranges with increased
accuracy and greater speed. The Great War of 1914-18 was to prove an artillery
war, and the number of gunners increased dramatically, serving 6,655 guns by
the end of the war, with anti-aircraft (AA) guns joining in against the new
threat from the air.
The inter-war years provided active service
on the fringes of the Empire, but the 1930s saw the Regiment once again arming
for war. Full mechanisation now replaced the horses which had served the
Regiment for so long. In the war which ensued, the Regiment again provided
firepower in every theatre, on land, at sea in the Maritime Artillery, and in
the air with Air Observation Posts. Gunners manned huge numbers of AA guns
both in the field and in the home base. Many of the AA Regiments were formed
from Territorial Army units. Most of the Light AA gunners began the war as
infantrymen.
Despite the reduction of the Army in the
post-war years, the Regiment has been armed with some of the most potent,
long-ranged weapons it has ever manned. Today it uses the wide span of
technology of all the Arms, with virtually no branch of military science
unexplored.
But the Regiment's history is the foundation
stone on which it rests. For over 280 years of unbroken service since 1716,
and reaching back a further 400 years to the first bombard, artillerymen have
provided the Army with the firepower it has needed in defence and attack. In
1833, King William IV recognised that to continue granting Battle Honours to
the Regiment would result in an excessive list, and granted instead a single
Battle Honour, the motto Ubique (Everywhere), with an accompanying motto Quo
Fas Et Gloria Ducunt (Whither Right and Glory Lead).
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