The 1st (Hanover Square) Middlesex Artillery Volunteer Corps (1st Middx AVC) was a unit of the
Volunteer Force
The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...
raised to supplement the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
at a time of perceived crisis in 1860. The expense of maintaining a unit of this description led to its amalgamation into a better-funded corps in 1876.
History
The 1st (Hanover Square) Middlesex Artillery Volunteer Corps was raised on 16 July 1860 during the great surge of enthusiasm after an invasion scare that saw the creation of many Rifle, Artillery and Engineer Volunteer units composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
in time of need.Beckett, Appendix VIII.Frederick, p. 665. Apart from the Adjutant, Major W.B. Stevens, who had served 21 years in the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
's
Madras Army
The Madras Army was the army of the Presidency of Madras, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire.
The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government ...
, they were all enthusiastic amateurs. A second battery was formed on 22 September 1860
Initially, the unit was based in
Regent Street
Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place ...
, but by November 1860 its headquarters (HQ) was at No 3 Hanover Square in London's
Mayfair
Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...
district. In 1864 it took over commercial premises at No 28
Leicester Square
Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...
Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn
Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn (Henry Frederick;He is called simply "(His Royal Highness) Prince Henry" in the ''London Gazette'8 September 1761John Hunter the famous surgeon. Since then the square had become less socially exclusive. (The present No 28 dates from 1901.)
From 21 April 1864 The 1st Middlesex AVC formed part of the 1st Administrative Battalion, Middlesex Artillery Volunteers, which was also headquartered at 28 Leicester Square, and which shared its commanding officer and adjutant. The other unit in the Admin Battalion was the 1st Tower Hamlets AVC, also founded in 1860 and based at Poplar in East London.''Army List'', January 1866.
As civilians, the Volunteers sometimes let politics intrude into unit affairs. In 1866, members of the 1st Middlesex Artillery Volunteers were accused of fundraising for Governor
Edward Eyre
Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and Governor of Jamaica.
Early life
Eyre was born in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, shortly before his family moved to ...
of Jamaica, whose brutal suppression of the
Morant Bay Rebellion
The Morant Bay Rebellion (11 October 1865) began with a protest march to the courthouse by hundreds of people led by preacher Paul Bogle in Morant Bay, Jamaica. Some were armed with sticks and stones. After seven men were shot and killed by th ...
in the island had divided political opinion in London.
At the great Easter Volunteer Review at Brighton Racecourse in 1862 (involving the sham 'Battle of White Hawk Down'), the 1st Middx AVC appeared with their field guns pulled by horses supplied for the occasion by Messrs
Pickfords
Pickfords is a moving company based in the United Kingdom, part of Pickfords Move Management Ltd.
The business is believed to have been founded in the 17th century, making it one of the UK's oldest functioning companies, although the similar ...
, the removal contractors. This initiative was welcomed by the Royal Commission on the Volunteer Force.Beckett, pp. 178–9. In 1868 the 1st Middlesex also travelled to Portsmouth with horsed guns, for the great volunteer review there at Easter. They were also present at the Brighton Volunteer Review in 1871 - taking their horse drawn guns there by road.
But many Regular officers refused to believe that part-timers could be effective as field gunners, and despite the eloquent arguments of Lt-Col Shakespear of the 1st Middlesex Artillery Volunteers, the Secretary of State, Edward Cardwell, refused to allow the upkeep of guns, harness or horses to be paid from the Artillery Volunteers' government grant.
The cost of maintaining artillery units was high, and as a result many AVCs were wound up during the 1870s. The 1st Tower Hamlets disbanded in 1873, and in October that year the
City of London Artillery
The 1st London Artillery Brigade or City of London Artillery was a Volunteer Force (Great Britain), volunteer field artillery unit of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force and later the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army, ...
joined the 1st Admin Battalion, its CO taking over as CO of the whole battalion. In May 1876 the 1st Middx AVC was forced to amalgamate its two batteries with the better-funded
City of London Artillery
The 1st London Artillery Brigade or City of London Artillery was a Volunteer Force (Great Britain), volunteer field artillery unit of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force and later the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army, ...
.
Commanding officers
* Lt-Col Henry Creed, half-pay captain in the East India Company's Bombay Horse Artillery, appointed 21 June 1864.
* Lt-Col John D. Shakespear, half-pay captain,
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 t ...
, appointed 25 March 1871.
Honorary Colonel
The Honorary Colonel of the 1st Admin Bn was the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, appointed in 1865. He carried on that role in the City of London Artillery after amalgamation''Army List'', January 1884.
Notes
References
* Ian F.W. Beckett, ''Riflemen Form: A study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, .
* Simon Bradley & Nikolaus Pevsner, ''The Buildings of England, London 6: Westminster'', London: Yale University Press, 2003, .
* J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, .
* Norman E. H. Litchfield and Ray Westlake, ''The Volunteer Artillery 1859-1908'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1982. {{ISBN, 0-9508205-0-4
* ''Ceremonial for the dedication and unveiling of the Memorial Tablet affixed to the wall of the Church of St Lawrence Jewry facing the Guildhall in the City of London, to the Members of the 1st London (City of London) Brigade Royal Field Artillery who fell in the Great War 1914–1918'', Saturday 22 October 1921.
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...