The 1st East Yorkshire Artillery Volunteers was a part-time unit of Britain's

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 ...

based in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

, which also contained sub-units from the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and West Ridings. Created during an invasion scare in 1859–1860, it survived to supply units to the later

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

of the 20th century.

Early history

At times of national crisis volunteers were regularly called upon to defend the vulnerable harbours on the coast of

East Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to th ...

. At the time of the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...

, the Wardens and Brethren of

Hull Trinity House The Hull Trinity House, locally known as ''Trinity House'', is a seafaring organisation consisting of a charity for seafarers, a school, and a guild of mariners. The guild originated as a religious guild providing support and almshouses for the n ...

formed four volunteer artillery companies, equipped with 20 nine-pounder cannon 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 Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 Cen ...

harbour. The companies were stood down after the Jacobite defeat at Culloden. During the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

, a mixed unit of infantry and artillery manned the fort at Bridlington harbour from 1794 until the

Treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on perio ...

in 1802, and reformed when the peace broke down in 1803. The Bridlington Volunteer Artillery disbanded in 1814.

Volunteer Force

A number of new Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVCs) were formed in the East Riding during the first enthusiasm for the

Volunteer Movement 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 ...

in 1859. The 1st Company East Yorkshire Artillery Volunteers formed at 'Burlington' (an alternative name for Bridlington) under

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Benjamin Blaydes Haworth of Haworth Hall,

Dunswell Dunswell is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, and in the civil parish of Woodmansey. Historically also known as Beer-Houses due to the presence of two Inns in close proximity, the village is located on the main Kingston upon H ...

, on 9 December 1859, and the 2nd Company at

Hunmanby Hunmanby is a large village and civil parish in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. It was part of the East Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. It is on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds, south-west of Filey, south of Scarborough a ...

under Captain Cortis on 9 February 1860. On 11 May the following year the 1st and 2nd Companies combined to form the 1st Administrative Brigade of Yorkshire (East Riding) Artillery Volunteers, under the command of Haworth (promoted to

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

), with companies at Bridlington,

Filey Filey () is a seaside town and civil parish in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the East Riding of Yorkshire, it is located between Scarborough and Bridlington on Filey Bay. Although it was a fishing ...

Flamborough Flamborough is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north-east of Bridlington town centre on the prominent coastal feature of Flamborough Head. The most prominent man-made feature o ...

Withernsea Withernsea is a seaside resort and civil parish in Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Its white inland lighthouse, rising around above Hull Road, now houses a museum to 1950s actress Kay Kendall, who was born in the town. The Pr ...

and

Hornsea Hornsea is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The settlement dates to at least the early medieval period. The town was expanded in the Victorian era with the coming of the Hull ...

. The 2nd and 3rd North Riding AVCs, based on the coast at

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

and

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

, and the 3rd West Riding AVC, based inland at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, were also included in the brigade, which had its headquarters at Scarborough. By 1872 it had assumed the following organisation:Beckett, Appendix VIII.Frederick, p. 671.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 176–9.1st East Riding Artillery Volunteers at Regiments.org
/ref> * 2nd East Riding AVC at Filey (raised 9 February 1862) * 5th East Riding AVC (raised 28 March 1869 by the Hornsea members of the 4th East Riding AVC at Hull; disbanded in late 1875) * 6th East Riding AVC at Burlington (reorganised from the 1st East Riding AVC on 6 March 1869) * 7th East Riding AVC at Flamborough (raised 6 March 1869) * 2nd North Riding AVC at Whitby (raised 27 March 1860) * 3rd North Riding AVC at Scarborough (raised 20 May 1861) * 3rd West Riding AVC at York (raised 9 February 1861) The Commanding Officer (CO) of the brigade, Major Haworth (who changed his name to Haworth-Booth in 1869) was promoted to

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

on 3 July 1861.''Army List'', various dates. Harcourt Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone (later 1st Baron Derwent), a former

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

2nd Life Guards The 2nd Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards and 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated ...

, was commissioned as Major of the brigade on 22 January 1863. The

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

, appointed on 15 January 1862, was Captain George Symons, who had won a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

as a

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in the

during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

Henry Willoughby, 8th Baron Middleton Henry Willoughby, 8th Baron Middleton (28 August 1817 Nottingham – 20 December 1877 Birdsall House, Birdsall), was an English peer. He was born at Apsley Hall, Nottingham, the eldest son of Henry Willoughby (15 December 1780 – 1849) and Char ...

, was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 1st Administrative Brigade on 17 December 1862, and his son the Hon. Digby Willoughby, (later 9th Baron), a former captain in the

Scots Fusilier Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

, was appointed second major on 30 July 1869. The 9th Baron later commanded the unit as Lt-Col, became Hon Col in turn on 29 May 1879, and held the post into the 20th century.

Reorganisation

The Volunteer Force was reorganised in 1880, and in April the administrative brigade was consolidated as the 2nd East Riding AVC, rapidly changing to 1st Yorkshire (East Riding) Artillery Volunteers, with the cumbersome (if accurate) subtitle of (East Riding, West Riding and North Riding). The unit had the following organisation: * HQ at Scarborough * No 1 Battery at Filey, formerly 2nd East Riding Corps * No 2 Battery at Bridlington, formerly 6th East Riding Corps * No 3 Battery at Flamborough, formerly 7th East Riding Corps * No 4 Battery at Whitby, formerly 1st Bty, 2nd North Riding Corps * No 5 Battery at Whitby, formerly 2nd Bty, 2nd North Riding Corps * No 6 Battery at Scarborough, formerly 1st Bty 3rd North Riding Corps * No 7 Battery at Scarborough, formerly 2nd Bty, 3rd North Riding Corps * No 8 Battery at York, formerly 1st Bty, 3rd West Riding Corps * No 9 Battery at York, formerly 2nd Bty, 3rd West Riding Corps This was reduced to eight batteries in 1886, and seven by 1889. On 1 April 1882 all artillery volunteer units were affiliated to one of the territorial divisions of the

(RA) and the unit was assigned to the Northern Division. When the number of divisions was reduced from 1 July 1889 it changed to the Western Division. The unit's HQ moved to York in the 1880s, but returned to Scarborough by 1889.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 4–6. As well as manning fixed coast defence artillery, some of the early Artillery Volunteers manned semi-mobile 'position batteries' of smooth-bore field guns pulled by agricultural horses. But the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

refused to pay for the upkeep of field guns for Volunteers and they had largely died out in the 1870s. In 1888 the 'position artillery' concept was revived and some Volunteer companies were reorganised as position batteries to work alongside the Volunteer infantry brigades. On 14 July 1892 the 1st East Riding Volunteer Artillery were reorganised as 1 position battery and 6 companies. By 1893 the War Office Mobilisation Scheme had allocated the Garrison Artillery companies to the Humber defences and its position battery of 40-pounder Armstrong rifled breechloading guns to the Western Counties Volunteer Field Brigade, which would concentrate around Guildford in the event of mobilisation. On 1 June 1899 all the volunteer artillery units became part of the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

(RGA) and with the abolition of the RA's divisional organisation on 1 January 1902 the unit was redesignated 1st East Riding of Yorkshire RGA (Volunteers) when the divisional structure was abolished.

Territorial Force

With the creation of the

by the

Haldane Reforms The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the " Childers Reforms" of the ...

in 1908, the RGA Volunteers were extensively reorganised. In the original plan, the 1st East Riding Artillery Volunteers would have formed two RGA units: * Durham and Yorkshire RGA (in combination with the 4th Durham RGA) * West Riding RGA However, these plans were revised in 1910, so that the North and East Yorkshire portion of the proposed Durham and Yorkshire RGA instead joined the 2nd Northumbrian Brigade,

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

, providing the 3rd North Riding Battery at Scarborough and part of the brigade ammunition column. The remainder of the 1st East Riding RGA, the batteries at York, became the West Riding Heavy Battery, RGA and its attendant ammunition column. This unit saw service during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and beyond, but no longer had any links with the East Riding.Litchfield, pp. 264–5.

Insignia

Around 1859–60 the 1st East Riding AVC wore an embroidered

forage cap Forage cap is the designation given to various types of military undress, fatigue or working headwear. These varied widely in form, according to country or period. The coloured peaked cap worn by the modern British Army for parade and other dress o ...

badge consisting of crossed cannons surmounted by a crown and with a scroll underneath bearing the word 'BURLINGTON'. Waistbelt clasps and enrolment medals bore the same badge with a wheel superimposed on the crossed guns. An alternative brass forage cap badge comprised a grenade, with the figure '1' superimposed on a

Yorkshire Rose The White Rose of York (Latinised as ''rosa alba'', blazoned as ''a rose argent'') is a white heraldic rose which was adopted in the 14th century as a heraldic badge of the royal House of York. In modern times it is used more broadly as a sy ...

on the ball.

Notes

References

* Ian F.W. Beckett, ''Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot, The Ogilby Trusts, 1982, . * ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953. * Col John K. Dunlop, ''The Development of the British Army 1899–1914'', London: Methuen, 1938. * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-009-X. * Norman E.H. Litchfield, ''The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1992, . * Norman Litchfield & Ray Westlake, ''The Volunteer Artillery 1859–1908'' (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1982, . * R.W.S. Norfolk, ''Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteer Forces of the East Riding 1689–1908'', York: East Yorkshire Local History Society, 1965. * Edward M. Spiers, ''The Army and Society 1815–1914'', London: Longmans, 1980, {{ISBN, 0-582-48565-7.

External sources

''London Gazette''

The Peerage.com

Military units and formations established in 1859 Military units and formations disestablished in 1908 Military units and formations in the East Riding of Yorkshire Military units and formations in Scarborough, North Yorkshire 1859 establishments in England 1908 disestablishments in England