The 1st Essex Artillery Volunteers was a unit of Britain's part-time auxiliary forces raised in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

in 1860 in response to an invasion scare. It served under various designations as field artillery in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

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 ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

its units served as mountain artillery in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and as jungle artillery and medium artillery in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. Postwar it became an airborne unit until it was merged with other units in the 1950s.

Volunteer Force

The 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 ...

following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many 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. It is not clear what happened to the 1st Essex Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVC), which was apparently formed in November 1859 but was short-lived. The 2nd Essex AVC was formed at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

and its first officers were commissioned by the

Lord Lieutenant of Essex This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Essex. Since 1688, all the Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Essex. *John Petre, 1st Baron Petre *John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford 1558–? *Robert Dudley, 1st Earl ...

on 18 February 1860; it was renumbered as the 1st Essex AVC in September. Similarly, the original 3rd Essex at

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

was renumbered 2nd; its officers were commissioned on 13 September and it moved to Grays in November. A new 3rd Essex AVC was formed at Plaistow on 26 June 1861, later moving to Stratford. No administrative brigade was formed for the Essex AVCs, which were attached to various other units for administration:Frederick, p. 657.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 67–71.1st Essex AV at Regiments.org.
/ref>''Army List'', various dates. * 1st (Harwich) Essex AVC – from October 1863 to the 1st Norfolk AVC, part of the 1st Administrative Brigade, Norfolk Artillery Volunteers, from November 1864 * 2nd (Grays) Essex AVC – to 14th (Woolwich Dockyard) Kent AVC from 13 November 1863; 14th Kent AVC disbanded and 2nd Essex attached to 3rd Essex AVC from June 1870 * 3rd (Stratford) Essex AVC – initially to 5th Essex (Plaistow and Victoria Docks) Rifle Volunteer Corps; from March 1863 to 10th (Royal Arsenal) Kent AVC at Woolwich; later independent with its own

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. ...

( William Makins) and Honorary Colonel appointed in 1869 * Cadet Corps – formed and affiliated to 1st Essex AVC December 1876 A major reorganisation of the Volunteer Force in 1880 saw the 1st Norfolk Admin Brigade consolidated into a single unit, with the 1st Essex AVC due to become No 5 Battery at Harwich. Meanwhile the 2nd and 3rd Essex, with one-and-a-half batteries and eight batteries respectively, merged to form a new 1st Essex. However, the Harwich volunteers were unhappy with the arrangements and asked to be transferred to the new 1st Essex AVC, which thus had the following organisation: * Headquarters (HQ) at Artillery House, Stratford GreenStratford at Drill Hall Project.
/ref> * No 1 Battery at Harwich * No 2 Battery at Grays, with an additional half battery * Nos 3–10 Batteries at Stratford * Cadet Corps at Harwich, disbanded 1884 The unit was attached to the Eastern Division of the

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 ...

(RA) from 1 April 1882, and from September 1886 its official title was 2nd Volunteer (Essex) Brigade, Eastern Division, RA; it reverted to '1st Essex Artillery Volunteers' in 1889. It was increased to 12 batteries in April 1886. 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 1888–91 the 'position artillery' concept was revived and some Volunteer batteries were reorganised as position batteries to work alongside the Volunteer infantry brigades, the others becoming garrison companies. On 14 July 1892 the 1st Essex Volunteer Artillery was reorganised as one position battery and 11 companies:Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 4–6. EssexAV WBC 1891 01

* HQ at Stratford (by now part of the

County Borough of West Ham West Ham was a local government district in the extreme south west of Essex from 1886 to 1965, forming part of the built-up area of London, although outside the County of London. It was immediately north of the River Thames and east of the River ...

) * No 1 Battery at Stratford * No 2 Company and a half company at Harwich * No 3 Company at Sherfield Road, Grays,Grays at Drill Hall Project.
/ref>

Orsett Orsett is a village, former civil parish and ecclesiastical parish located within Thurrock unitary district in Essex, England, situated around 5 km north-east of Grays. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1771. History It has historic ...

and

Purfleet Purfleet-on-Thames is a town in the Thurrock unitary authority, Essex, England. It is bordered by the A13 road to the north and the River Thames to the south and is within the easternmost part of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater Lond ...

* Nos 4–7 and 10–11 Companies at Stratford * No 8 Company at Laurie Square,

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...

Romford at Drill Hall Project.
/ref> * No 9 Company at High Street,

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed ...

, and

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

* No 12 Company at

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

By April 1899 there were two companies at Harwich, and they left to combine with four newly-raised companies in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

to form a new 1st Suffolk and Harwich Volunteer Artillery grouped around the ports of Harwich,

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

and

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London. His ...

. This left the rest of the 1st Essex concentrated in the London suburbs and along the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

. 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 became the 1st Essex RGA (Volunteers). When the

City Imperial Volunteers The City of London Imperial Volunteers (CIV) was a British corps of volunteers during the Second Boer War. After the outbreak of the Second Boer War in October 1899, volunteer corps were established in most counties of the United Kingdom to prov ...

were raised to serve in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, some 240 members of the 1st Essex VA volunteered, of whom 14 non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and gunners were selected. One sergeant died while on service.1st Essex VA memorial at St Hohn's Stratford.
/ref> In 1907 the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...

, Lt-Col Amelius Lockwood, asked a

Parliamentary question A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...

implicitly criticising the small number of 15-pounder breechloading guns assigned to the one heavy battery and eight companies of the Essex RGA (V), all of which were allocated to mobile guns.

Territorial Force

When the

Volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

were subsumed into the new

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 ...

(TF) under 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 ...

of 1908, the Essex RGA (V) was split up. While one battery at Stratford remained with the RGA as the East Anglian (Essex) Heavy Battery, the bulk of the unit was assigned to the

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 ...

(RFA) as the II (or 2nd) East Anglian Brigade, with the following organisation:Frederick, p. 675.Litchfield, pp. 63–5.Conrad, ''1914''.
/ref> * HQ – Artillery House, Stratford Green
/ref> * 1st Essex Battery – Artillery House, Stratford Green * 2nd Essex Battery – 17 Victoria Road, Romford * 3rd Essex Battery – Artillery Drill Hall, Brook Road, Grays * 2nd East Anglian Ammunition Column – Artillery House, Stratford Green The three batteries were each equipped with four modernised BLC 15-pounder guns. The unit was assigned to the

East Anglian Division The 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army. The division was raised in 1908 following the creation of the Territorial Force (TF) as the East Anglian Division. During the First World War the division fo ...

of the TF. Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 125–31.54th (EA) Division at Long, Long Trail.
/ref>

World War I

Mobilisation

The East Anglian Division began its annual training on 27 July 1914, with the divisional artillery travelling to Redesdale Training Area in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. When the order to

mobilise Mobilise is a set of Christian conferences, weekend retreats and resources for students and twenties, run by the Newfrontiers family of churches in the UK. Mobilise Conference The main Mobilise event is an annual conference which has been attend ...

was given on 4 August, the units had to return to their headquarters by train and then move to their war stations. By 10 August the division had concentrated around

Brentwood, Essex Brentwood is a town in the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the East of England. It is in the London commuter belt, situated 20 miles (30 km) east-north-east of Charing Cross and close by the M25 motorway. In 2017, the popula ...

, and on 20 August it moved to

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

and formed part of the coast defences of the UK until the following May. On the outbreak of war, units of the

were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service. On 15 August 1914, the

issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas.

1/II East Anglian Brigade

The 1st East Anglian Division was employed on coast defence until May 1915, when it was concentrated at St Albans preparatory to going overseas as the 54th (1st East Anglian) Division. However, when the infantry departed for the Gallipoli Campaign, the divisional artillery was left behind. In August it joined the 2nd East Anglian Division at

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24,340 ...

and

Brandon, Suffolk Brandon is a town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. Brandon is located in the Breckland area of Suffolk, close to the adjoining county of Norfolk. It lies between the towns of Bury St Edmunds, Thetford, Mildenhall, Downham ...

, rearmed with modern 18-pounder guns and handed over its obsolete 15-pounders to the 2nd Line batteries.Becke Pt 2b, pp. 31–9. On 17 November 1915 the 54th Divisional Artillery embarked for France, where it joined 33rd Division, a '

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the Fi ...

' division whose artillery were still under training. After a month on the Western Front, during which parties of officers and men had been attached for training to other divisions in the Front Line, 54th Divisional Artillery was warned that it was to be transferred to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

to rejoin its parent division, which had been withdrawn from Gallipoli. Embarkation began at

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

on 30 January 1916 and disembarkation was completed at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

by 14 February. The divisional artillery rejoined 54th (EA) Division at Mena Camp near

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

and in April moved into No 1 (Southern) Section of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

defences, where it began training for desert warfare.Farndale, ''Forgotten Fronts'', p. 71. On 26 May 1916 1/II East Anglian Brigade was renumbered CCLXXI (271) Brigade, RFA, and its batteries became A, B and C. On 20 December it was reorganised into two six-gun batteries, with C Battery split up between A and B, and was joined by A Bty from 272 (H) Bde (the old 1/1st Suffolk Bty in 1/III East Anglian Howitzer Bde), which became C (H)/271 Bty equipped with four 4.5-inch howitzers and with its share of 272's Brigade Ammunition Column.Frederick, p. 687. CCLXXI Brigade then took part in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, including the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

(26–7 March),

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

(17–9 April) and Third Battles of Gaza (27 October–7 November) and the final capture of Gaza (1–7 November). At the end of the year the division was engaged in the Battle of Jaffa (21–22 December). 54th (EA) Division was next engaged in the action at Berukin (9–10 April 1918). Finally it took part in the opening stage of Allenby's final offensive (the Battle of Megiddo), known as the

Battle of Sharon The Battle of Sharon fought between 19 and 25 September 1918, began the set piece Battle of Megiddo (1918), Battle of Megiddo half a day before the Battle of Nablus (1918), Battle of Nablus, in which large formations engaged and responded to mov ...

(19–23 September). The division was then taken out of the line and concentrated at

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, where it was engaged in repairing communications for the rapidly advancing army. It next moved to

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, where it was concentrating when the

Armistice of Mudros Concluded on 30 October 1918 and taking effect at noon the next day, the Armistice of Mudros ( tr, Mondros Mütarekesi) ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I. It was signed by th ...

was signed with Turkey and hostilities ended on 31 October. In late November 1918 the division was ordered to return to Egypt, the artillery proceeding by sea and arriving in mid-December. Demobilisation began in January 1919, and the TF units were slowly reduced to cadres. In March and April, when its guns had been handed in and about one-third of its men had left, 54th Divisional Artillery was converted into an ''ad hoc'' cavalry regiment to act as mounted police during disturbances in Cairo. Demobilisation recommenced in May and was completed in June.

2/II East Anglian Brigade

The volunteers pouring into the depots manned the 2nd Line TF units. Training for the 2nd Line artillery was hindered by the shortage of equipment, and several months passed before guns, horses and harness were received. Even then, only obsolete French

De Bange 90 mm cannon The de Bange 90 mm cannon (Mle 1877) was a type of field artillery piece developed in France by Colonel Charles Ragon de Bange in 1877, and adopted by the French Army that same year. It superseded the earlier Reffye cannon (1870/73) and the L ...

were available for training. Early in 1915 the 2nd East Anglian Division (which was numbered 69th in August 1915) concentrated round Thetford, where it formed part of First Army in

Central Force In classical mechanics, a central force on an object is a force that is directed towards or away from a point called center of force. : \vec = \mathbf(\mathbf) = \left\vert F( \mathbf ) \right\vert \hat where \vec F is the force, F is a vecto ...

. The divisional artillery was distributed around Brandon,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and

Tuddenham Tuddenham is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. In 2005 it had a population of 450. falling to 423 at the 2011 Census. RAF Tuddenham Between 1943 and 1963, RAF Tuddenham was a Royal Air F ...

. In November the divisional artillery took over the 15-pounder guns released by its 1st Line (''see above''). The division's role throughout the war was to train drafts of reinforcements for units serving overseas. In May 1916, 2/II East Anglian Brigade was numbered CCCXLVI (346) Bde, the batteries became A, B and C, and it was joined by 2/2nd Suffolk (Howitzer) Bty from 2/III East Anglian Brigade, which became D (H) Bty.69th (2nd EA) Division at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> The following month the division was transferred to Northern Command and moved to

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

in North Yorkshire. On 10 November 1916, B Bty was broken up to bring A and C Btys up to six-gun strength, and the following month CCCXLV (2/I East Anglian) Bde was broken up, with C (2/3rd Norfolk) Bty becoming B Bty in CCCXLVI Bde. On 22 December a group of new six-gun 18-pdr batteries were formed at Harrogate in 69th (2nd EA) Division's billeting area, and on 30 December two of these, 384 and 385, were attached to CCCXLVI Bde, affiliated to A and B Bty respectively. This gave the brigade the following organisation: * A Bty – former 2/1st Essex + half 2/2nd Essex ** 384 Bty * B Bty – former 2/3rd Norfolk + half 2/2nd Norfolk ** 385 Bty * C Bty – former 2/3rd Essex + half 2/2nd Essex * D (H) Bty – former 2/2nd Suffolk (H) After training alongside CCCXLVI Bde, 384 and 385 Batteries joined CLXVI Bde and went with it in September 1917 to join

14th Indian Division The 14th Indian Division was formed during World War I, for service in the Mesopotamian Campaign. It was composed of battalions of the Regular British Army, the British Territorial Force and the British Indian Army. History The Division now pa ...

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

. At the beginning of May 1917 69th (2nd EA) Division moved to

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

, remaining in Northern Command, with the artillery at

Welbeck Welbeck is a village in Nottinghamshire, England, slightly to the south-west of Worksop. The village population is included in the civil parish of Holbeck. Welbeck became a coal-mining centre in 1912 and has a famous stately home, Welbeck Ab ...

Camp. The following winter it went into winter quarters in Doncaster. By now many of the original infantry units had left the division, which lost its territorial designation, becoming simply 69th Division. It never went overseas, spending the whole war providing reinforcement drafts for units serving overseas.

Demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...

began after the

Armistice with Germany The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

, and the divisional artillery had virtually disappeared by 27 January 1919.

3/II East Anglian Brigade

A 3rd Line Depot brigade (3/II East Anglian Brigade) was formed early in March 1915. At first, training had to be carried out without any guns, harness or horses. In May the unit was affiliated to No 4 TF Artillery School at

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...

, which took over training while 3/II became a holding and draft-finding unit. The 3rd Line East Anglian brigades were merged into the school in August 1916, when it became 4th Reserve Brigade, RFA (TF).

Interwar

85th (East Anglian) Field Brigade

When the TF was reformed on 7 February 1920 the unit was reformed in 54th (East Anglian) Division as 2nd East Anglian Brigade, RFA, with a new 4th Essex Bty at

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

. On the reconstitution of the TF as the Territorial Army in 1921 it was numbered as 85th (East Anglian) Brigade, RFA, with the following organisation:Frederick, pp. 491, 522, 531. * RHQ at Artillery House, Stratford Green * 337 (Essex) Field Bty at Artillery House, Stratford Green * 338 (Essex) Field Bty at Hornchurch Road, Romford * 339 (Essex) Field Bty at 17 Sir Isaac's Walk, Colchester * 340 (Essex) Field Bty (Howitzers) at 40 Brook Road, Grays * 1st Cadet Battery The establishment of a TA divisional artillery brigade was four 6-gun batteries, three equipped with 18-pounders and one with 4.5-inch howitzers, all of World War I patterns. However, the batteries only held four guns in peacetime. The guns and their first-line ammunition wagons were still horsedrawn and the battery staffs were mounted. Partial mechanisation was carried out from 1927, but the guns retained iron-tyred wheels until pneumatic tyres began to be introduced just before

. When the RFA merged into the Royal Artillery on 1 June 1924, the unit became a 'Field Brigade, RA' In July 1925 the subtitle of the Colchester battery was changed to 'Essex RHA', commemorating the

Essex Royal Horse Artillery The Essex Royal Horse Artillery was a Territorial Force Royal Horse Artillery battery that was formed in Essex in 1908. It saw active service during the First World War in Egypt and Palestine from 1916 to 1918, initially as field artillery with ...

that had been disbanded in 1919. On 1 October 1932, 339 (Essex RHA) Bty transferred to 104th (Essex Yeomanry) Fd Bde and was replaced by 213 Bty, converted from 232 Medium Bty (formerly the East Anglian (Essex) RGA, ''see above'') of 58th (Essex and Suffolk) Medium Bde. This battery had always shared the brigade's HQ at Stratford.Essex RHA at Regiments.org.
/ref> In 1938 the RA modernised its nomenclature and a lieutenant-colonel's command was designated a 'regiment' rather than a 'brigade'; this applied to TA field brigades from 1 November 1938. The TA was doubled in size after the

Munich Crisis The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...

, and most regiments split to form duplicates. Part of the reorganisation was that field regiments changed from four six-gun batteries to an establishment of two batteries, each of three four-gun

troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Ro ...

. 85th (East Anglian) Field Rgt formed 134th Field Rgt as its duplicate from 24 June 1939:Sainsbury, pp. 17–20; Appendix 2. 18pdrMkIVOnCarriageMkVWoodenWheels1940

85th (East Anglian) Field Regiment * Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) at Stratford Green * 337 (Essex) Fd Bty * 338 (Essex) Fd Bty 134th Field Regiment * RHQ at Stratford Green * 213 (Essex) Fd Bty * 340 (Essex) Fd Bty

World War II

Both 85th and 134th (East Anglian) Field Rgts were serving with 54th (EA) Division in Eastern Command when it mobilised on the outbreak of war.Joslen, p. 89. One of the lessons learned from the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

was that the two-battery organisation did not work: field regiments were intended to support an infantry brigade of three battalions. As a result, they were reorganised into three 8-gun batteries, but it was not until late 1940 that the RA had enough trained battery staffs to carry out the reorganisation. 85th (EA) Field Rgt accordingly formed 'R' Fd Bty on 4 November 1940 when the regiment was stationed at

Gosforth Park Gosforth Park is a park north of Gosforth in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It houses Newcastle Racecourse, Virgin Money Unity Arena, a Britannia hotel, two golf courses, a garden centre and a football centre. It is also home to Go ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, while 54th (EA) Division was serving in

X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

; it was numbered 461 Fd Bty by 31 January 1941. Similarly, 134th Fd Rgt formed 498 Fd Bty about 1 January 1941 when it was stationed at

Stanley, County Durham Stanley is a former colliery town and civil parish in County Durham, North East England. Centred on a hilltop between Chester-le-Street and Consett, the town lies south west of Gateshead. Stanley was formerly divided into three distinct set ...

. 134th Field Rgt was authorised to adopt its parent unit's 'East Anglian' subtitle on 17 February 1942. In January 1942 54th (EA) Division was placed on a lower establishment, an acknowledgement that it was not going to be sent on active service. 85th (East Anglian) Field Rgt later served in

Persia and Iraq Command The Persia and Iraq Command was a command of the British Army established during the Second World War in September 1942 in Baghdad. Its primary role was to secure from land and air attack the oilfields and oil installations in Persia (officially ...

(PAIFORCE) and then converted to mountain artillery, in which role it fought in the Italian Campaign. It was placed in suspended animation on 27 September 1945. 134th Field Rgt was shipped to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, where it first became a jungle field regiment and then a medium regiment, in which role it served in the Burma Campaign. It passed into suspended animation on 31 March 1946.

Postwar

When the TA was reconstituted on 1 January 1947, 134th Medium Rgt was disbanded and 85th Mountain Rgt was reformed as 285 (Essex) Airborne Light Rgt with RHQ and P Bty at Artillery House, Stratford Green.Frederick, pp. 1001–2.266–288 Rgts RA at British Army 1945 on.
/ref> The regiment formed part of the TA's

16th Airborne Division The 16th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Territorial Army. It was first commanded by Major-General Roy Urquhart, and had its divisional headquarters in London. It was raised in 1947, to compensate for the los ...

. On 28 May 1951 the regiment became 285 (Essex) Airborne Field Rgt, and on 27 June 1955 it was redesignated again as 285 (Essex) Parachute Field Rgt. However, 16th Airborne Division was disbanded in 1956 and the number of air-portable units was reduced. On 31 October 1956 the regiment merged with 292 (5th London) Parachute Field Rgt to form 289 Parachute Light Rgt in 44th Independent Parachute Brigade Group. This regiment in turn was reduced to 289 Parachute Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, in 1967.

Honorary colonels

The following served as Honorary Colonel of the unit: * Thomas White, appointed to 3rd Essex AVC 20 February 1869 *

Sir William Makins, 1st Baronet Sir William Thomas Makins, 1st Baronet (16 March 1840 – 2 February 1906) was a barrister and Conservative politician. Makins was the eldest son of Charles Makins of St. Mark's, Woodhouse, Leeds. He was educated at Harrow School, and at Trini ...

, MP, VD, former CO, appointed to 3rd Essex AVC 23 April 1874 * R.M. Laurie, DSO, TD, former CO, appointed 7 March 1922 *

Charles Howard-Bury Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury DSO, DL, JP (15 August 188120 September 1963) was a British-Irish soldier, explorer, botanist and Conservative politician. Background and education A member of the Howard family, he was born at ...

, DSO, MP, appointed 30 July 1927 * H.R. Wilson, DSO, TD, former CO, appointed 30 July 1932 * W.J. Bransden, TD, former CO, appointed 21 March 1938

Memorials

There is a memorial plaque to the men of the 1st Essex VA who served in the Second Boer War in St John's Church, Stratford. There is a memorial at the Army Reserve Centre at Romford, originally at Artillery House, Stratford, in memory of the men of 2nd East Anglian Bde, RFA, and the other units based there who died in 1914–18.IWM WMR Ref 12425.
/ref>

Notes

References

* Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2a: The Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territorial Force Divisions (42–56)'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1935/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-39-8. * Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions,'' London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-39-8. * Ian F.W. Beckett, ''Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908'', Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, ISBN 0 85936 271 X. * Gen Sir

Martin Farndale General Sir Martin Baker Farndale, (6 January 1929 – 10 May 2000) was a British Army officer who reached high office in the 1980s. Military career Educated at Yorebridge Grammar School, Askrigg, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Farnda ...

, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base 1914–18'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988, ISBN 1-870114-05-1. * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-009-X. * Lt-Col H.F. Joslen, ''Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1960/London: London Stamp Exchange, 1990, ISBN 0-948130-03-2/ Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 1-843424-74-6. * Norman E.H. Litchfield, ''The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1992, ISBN 0-9508205-2-0. * Norman Litchfield & Ray Westlake, ''The Volunteer Artillery 1859–1908 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1982, ISBN 0-9508205-0-4. * Osborne, Mike, 2006. Always Ready: The Drill Halls of Britain's Volunteer Forces, Partizan Press, Essex. * F.W. Perry, ''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 5b: Indian Army Divisions'', Newport, Gwent: Ray Westlake, 1993, ISBN 1-871167-23-X. * Lt-Col J.D. Sainsbury, ''The Hertfordshire Batteries, Royal Field Artillery: An Illustrated History 1908–1920'', Welwyn: Hertfordshire Yeomanry and Artillery Historical Trust/Hart Books, 1996, ISBN 0-948527-04-8. * War Office, ''Army Council Instructions Issued During December 1916'', London: HM Stationery Office. * War Office, ''Titles and Designations of Formations and Units of the Territorial Army'', London: War Office, 7 November 1927 (RA sections also summarised in Litchfield, Appendix IV).

External sources

Chris Baker, ''The Long, Long Trail''

British Army units from 1945 on

Imperial War Museum, War Memorials Register

* ttp://www.steppingforwardlondon.org Stepping Forward: A Tribute to the Volunteer Military Reservists and Supporting Auxiliaries of Greater London
Graham Watson, ''The Territorial Army 1947''
{{refend

Military units and formations in Essex Military units and formations established in 1860