2nd Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom)
The 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division (2nd AA Division) was an Air Defence formation of the British Army from 1935 to 1942. It controlled anti-aircraft gun and searchlight units of the Territorial Army (TA) defending the East Midlands and East Anglia during The Blitz. Origin In December 1935 the TA's 46th (North Midland) Division (which also acted as HQ for the North Midland Area of Northern Command) was disbanded and its headquarters was converted into 2nd Anti-Aircraft (AA) Division to control the increasing number of AA units being created. At first it administered all AA units in Great Britain outside London and the Home Counties, which were covered by 1st Anti-Aircraft Division. The new division was first organised at York, but shortly afterwards took over 46 Division's HQ at Normanton, Derby.''Monthly Army List'' 1936–39. Order of battle By the end of 1936 the division had the following order of battle, though many of the units were in an early stage of formation or conversi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Divisional Insignia Of The British Army
Formation signs at the division level were first introduced in the British Army in the First World War. They were intended (initially) as a security measure to avoid displaying the division's designation in the clear. They were used on vehicles, sign posts and notice boards and were increasingly, but not universally, worn on uniform as the War progressed. Discontinued by the regular army after 1918, only a few Territorial divisions continued to wear them before 1939. Reintroduced officially in late 1940 in the Second World War, divisional formation signs were much more prevalent on uniforms and were taken up by many other formations, independent brigades, corps, armies, overseas and home commands, military districts and lines of communication areas. The sign could be based on many things, geometry (simple or more complex), heraldry, regional or historical associations, a pun, the role of the division or a combination. First World War Until 1916, unit names were written on vehicl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Home Counties
The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often included."Home Counties" in ''Oxford Dictionary of English'', Oxford University Press, 2010. www.oxfordreference.com Retrieved 4 December 2013. Other counties further from London — such as Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, East Sussex and West Sussex — are not normally regarded as home counties, although on occasion may be thought of as such due to their proximity to London and their connection to the London regional economy. Etymology The origin of the term "home counties" is uncertain. Marcus Crouch, writing in 1975, thought that it derived from the Home Counties Circuit of courts that since at least the 18th century had surrounded London. Looking further back, he suggested that it included the counties in which, s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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31st (North Midland) Anti-Aircraft Brigade
The 31st (North Midland) Anti-Aircraft Brigade (31 AA Bde) was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army from 1936 until 1948. During the Second World War it defended West Yorkshire and later participated in the North West Europe campaign. Origins The formation was raised as 31st (North Midland) Anti-Aircraft Group on 1 November 1936 at Retford forming part of 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division. Its initial order of battle was as follows:Frederick, pp. 1048–50. * 66th (Leeds Rifles, The West Yorkshire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Brigade RA (TA) – ''Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) unit formed at Leeds in 1936 by conversion of 7th ( Leeds Rifles) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment'' ** HQ Battery ** 184th, 185th, 197th Anti-Aircraft Batteries ** 186th Anti-Aircraft Battery (at Oulton) * 67th (The York and Lancaster Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Brigade RA (TA) – ''HAA unit formed at Rotherham in 1936 by conversion of 5th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment'' ** HQ Battery ** 187t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sunderland Rifles
The Sunderland Rifles was a Volunteer unit of the British Army formed in 1860. It went on to become a Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) in the Territorial Force and saw action as infantry and pioneers in some of the bloodiest actions on the Western Front during World War I. Between the wars it became an air defence unit, serving during World War II in The Blitz and the campaign in North West Europe, when it had a special role in the Rhine crossing. Postwar it continued in the Territorial Army in the air defence role until 1975, when its successor unit reverted to infantry. Origin During an invasion scare in 1859, large numbers of part-time Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) were formed throughout Great Britain, eager to supplement the Regular British Army in case of need. The 3rd (The Sunderland) Durham Rifle Volunteer Corps was one such unit, with the first officers' commissions being issued on 6 March 1860. By 1862 the unit had six companies under the command of Major L ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is headed by the Chief Royal Engineer. The Regimental Headquarters and the Royal School of Military Engineering are in Chatham in Kent, England. The corps is divided into several regiments, barracked at various places in the United Kingdom and around the world. History The Royal Engineers trace their origins back to the military engineers brought to England by William the Conqueror, specifically Bishop Gundulf of Rochester Cathedral, and claim over 900 years of unbroken service to the crown. Engineers have always served in the armies of the Crown; however, the origins of the modern corps, along with those of the Royal Artillery, lie in the Board of Ordnance established in the 15th century. In Woolwich in 1716, the Board formed the Royal Regime ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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37th (Tyne Electrical Engineers) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
37th may refer to: *37th (Howitzer) Brigade Royal Field Artillery, a brigade of the Royal Field Artillery which served in the First World War * 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot, raised in Ireland in February 1702 * 37th (Northern Ontario) Battalion, CEF, raised in Halton during World War I *37th Academy Awards honored film achievements of 1964 *37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron (37th ARRS), a rescue squadron of the USAF active during the Vietnam War * 37th Air Army of the High Supreme Command (Strategic Purpose), the strategic bomber force of the Russian Air Force from 1998 to 2009 *37th Air Division (37th AD), an inactive United States Air Force organization *37th Airlift Squadron (37 AS), part of the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany *37th Annie Awards, honoring the best in animation for 2009, held in 2010 at Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California * 37th Arkansas Infantry Regiment (1862–1865), a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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64th (Northumbrian) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
The 64th (Northumbrian) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, was an air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) formed on Tyneside during the 1930s. After defending the UK during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz early in World War II, it went on to see service in North Africa, Italy, Yugoslavia and Germany. It continued in the postwar TA until it was amalgamated in 1954. Origins As Britain expanded its anti-aircraft (AA) defences in the 1930s, one of the new units created was 64th (Northumbrian) AA Brigade of the Royal Artillery. Formed on 10 December 1936 and based at North Shields on Tyneside, it brought together two existing medium batteries (both had originally been heavy batteries of the Tynemouth Heavy Brigade):Litchfield, pp. 192–3.Frederick, pp. 755, 771.''Monthly Army List'', various dates. * 179 (Tynemouth) AA Battery at North Shields – ''converted from 150 Medium Battery of 51st (Midland) Medium Brigade'' * 180 (Tynemouth) AA Battery at Seat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps
The 2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps was a part-time unit of Britain's Royal Artillery raised in County Durham by the Marquess of Londonderry, Vane-Tempest family during an invasion crisis in 1860. It became a permanent part of the Volunteer Force (Great Britain), Volunteer Force and later the Territorial Force, and fought as field artillery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in World War I. Before World War II it became an anti-aircraft unit that served in the Battle of Britain, the Blitz and in the Far East where it converted to medium artillery in the Burma Campaign. Postwar, it continued to serve in the air defence role in the Territorial Army (United Kingdom), Territorial Army until 1955. Origin The enthusiasm for the Volunteer Force (Great Britain), Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle, Artillery and Engineer Volunteer units composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Artillery
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. History Formation to 1799 Artillery was used by the English army as early as the Battle of Crécy in 1346, while Henry VIII established it as a semi-permanent function in the 16th century. Until the early 18th century, the majority of British regiments were raised for specific campaigns and disbanded on completion. An exception were gunners based at the Tower of London, Portsmouth and other forts around Britain, who were controlled by the Ordnance Office and stored and maintained equipment and provided personnel for field artillery 'traynes' that were organised as needed. These personnel, responsible in peacetime for maintaining the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2nd East Riding Artillery Volunteers
The 2nd East Riding Artillery Volunteers was a part-time unit of Britain's Royal Artillery based at Hull and along the Humber Estuary. Its successor units provided field artillery on the Western Front during World War I and air defence artillery during and after World War II. Latterly it formed part of the Humber Artillery based at Hull. Early history At times of national crisis volunteers were regularly called upon to defend the vulnerable harbours on the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire. At the time of the Jacobite rising of 1745, the Wardens and Brethren of Hull Trinity House formed four volunteer artillery companies, equipped with 20 nine-pounder cannon taken from a ship lying in Hull Roads. These were the first volunteer artillery units formed in Yorkshire, though there may have been others manning the cannon in the fort covering Bridlington harbour. The companies were stood down after the Jacobite defeat at Culloden. Hull Trinity House organised a new artillery ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sunderland, Tyne And Wear
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the historic county of Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on the River Wear's mouth to the North Sea. The river also flows through Durham roughly south-west of Sunderland City Centre. It is the only other city in the county and the second largest settlement in the North East after Newcastle upon Tyne. Locals from the city are sometimes known as Mackems. The term originated as recently as the early 1980s; its use and acceptance by residents, particularly among the older generations, is not universal. At one time, ships built on the Wear were called "Jamies", in contrast with those from the Tyne, which were known as "Geordies", although in the case of "Jamie" it is not known whether this was ever extended to people. There were three original settlements by the River's mouth which are part of the modern-day city: Monkwearmouth, settled in 674 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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30th (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Brigade
The 30th (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army from 1936 until 1955, which defended Tyneside and Sunderland during the Second World War. Origins The formation was raised as 30th (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Group on 1 November 1936 at Sunderland forming part of 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division. Its initial order of battle was as follows:Frederick, pp. 1048–50. * 62nd (North and East Riding) Anti-Aircraft Brigade, Royal Artillery (RA) – ''Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) unit formed in 1936 by conversion of 73rd (Northumbrian) Field Brigade, RA'' ** HQ at Kingston upon Hull ** 172nd (1st East Riding) AA Battery ** 173rd (2nd East Riding) AA Battery ** 174th (1st North Riding) AA Battery ** 175th (2nd North Riding) AA Battery * 63rd (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Brigade RA – ''HAA unit formed in 1936 by conversion of 55th (Northumbrian) Medium Brigade, RA'' ** HQ at Sunderland ** 176th (Durham) AA Battery ** 177th (Durham) AA ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |