72nd (Middlesex) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery was an air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) raised just before the outbreak of

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 ...

, which served as part of

Anti-Aircraft Command Anti-Aircraft Command (AA Command, or "Ack-Ack Command") was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the Territorial Army anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight formations and units defending the United Kingdom. Origin ...

during and after the war.

Origin

As the international situation deteriorated in the late 1930s, the threat of air raids on the UK led to the rapid expansion in numbers of anti-aircraft (AA) units manned by members of the part-time TA. Formed on 1 November 1938, 72nd (Middlesex) was the third of a new group of three TA searchlight regiments raised by 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 ...

(previous TA S/L units had all been part of the

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 heade ...

and/or converted from infantry battalions).Brigstock.
It consisted of HQ and Nos 465–467 Companies (later Batteries) based at a newly built drill hall at Vicarage Road,

Heston Heston is a suburban area and part of the Hounslow district in the London Borough of Hounslow. The residential settlement covers a slightly smaller area than its predecessor farming village, 10.8 miles (17.4 km) west south-west of Charing ...

.Frederick, pp. 860–2, 872.Litchfield, p. 179. Shortly afterwards, the regiment moved to

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

. It was equipped with the new '90 cm Projector Anti Aircraft', a smaller and lighter piece of equipment than previous searchlights, with a more powerful high current density

arc lamp An arc lamp or arc light is a lamp that produces light by an electric arc (also called a voltaic arc). The carbon arc light, which consists of an arc between carbon electrodes in air, invented by Humphry Davy in the first decade of the 1800s, ...

with automatic carbon feed.

World War II

90cm_Projector_Anti-Aircraft_Flickr_8616022073

Anti-Aircraft Command mobilised in August 1939, ahead of the declaration of war on 3 September, and the regiment took its place in 47th AA Brigade, part of 5th AA Division tasked with defending

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. Southampton was a regular target for raids by the German ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

'' during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

in the summer of 1940, but by November 1940 the regiment had transferred to 40 AA Bde in 2nd AA Division in the Midlands. It had the responsibility for covering

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

airfields in the East Midlands and continued in that role throughout the

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...

of 1940–41. In the autumn of 1940 72nd S/L Rgt was joined by a newly-formed 501 S/L Bty. The regiment supplied a

cadre Cadre may refer to: *Cadre (military), a group of officers or NCOs around whom a unit is formed, or a training staff *Cadre (politics), a politically controlled appointment to an institution in order to circumvent the state and bring control to th ...

of experienced officers and men to 237th S/L Training Rgt at

Holywood Holy Wood or Holywood may refer to: Places * Holywood, County Down, a town and townland in Northern Ireland ** Holywood, County Down (civil parish), a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland ** Holywood railway station (Northern Ireland) * ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, where it provided the basis for a new 560 S/L Bty formed on 13 February 1941. This battery later joined 90th S/L Rgt. In late 1941 the regiment transferred within 2nd AA Division to 41 (London)AA Bde covering

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

. It remained for several years with this brigade, which by the summer of 1943 consisted only of 72nd and 82nd S/L Rgts. On 1 January 1944, 466 S/L Bty was joined by a troop of 554 S/L Bty from 82nd S/L Rgt. However, as the threat of attack by the weakened ''

'' waned, AA Command was being forced to release manpower for the planned invasion of Normandy (

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

). All Home Defence searchlight regiments were reduced from February 1944, and 72nd S/L Rgt lost 501 S/L Bty, which completed disbandment on 24 March. Then 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 ...

warned in June that AA Command would have to release manpower to provide reinforcements to

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

fighting in

North West Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The region can be defined both geographically and ethnographically. Geographic definitions Geographically, Northw ...

. The run-down began in September 1944, and the regiment and its three batteries were at

Reepham, Norfolk Reepham () is a market town and civil parish in the Broadland district of Norfolk, England. Reepham is situated on the B1145 road between the Bure and Wensum valleys. The town is northwest of Norwich.Hatfield Militia Camp near

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

under the command of 32 AA Bde, where it was joined by 80th and 82nd S/L Rgts. All three were reduced to battery strength and consolidated under the command of RHQ 72nd S/L Rgt. The other ranks of 82nd became 466 S/L Bty of 72nd S/L Rgt, while the officers and staff continued as RHQ 82nd S/L Rgt, which became a holding unit at

for surplus (older or unfit) men from S/L regiments that were being converted into RA infantry regiments.82 S/L Rgt War Diary 1945, TNA file WO 166/16822. The dispersals continued as the war ended: 465 and 466 S/L Btys entered suspended animation on 3 April, RHQ 72nd S/L Rgt on 11 June, and 467 S/L Bty on 26 June.

Postwar

When the TA was reconstituted on 1 January 1947, 72nd S/L Rgt was reformed at Twickenham as 607 Searchlight Regiment, RA (Middlesex), forming part of 67 AA Bde (the former 41 AA Bde based at

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

).Frederick, p. 1026.Farndale, Annex M, p. 340.592–638 Rgts RA at British Army 1945 on.
/ref>
/ref> In 1949, the regiment's role was altered and it was redesignated 607th (Mixed) Light Anti-Aircraft/Searchlight Regiment, RA (Middlesex) ('Mixed' denoting that members of the

Women's Royal Army Corps The Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC; sometimes pronounced acronymically as , a term unpopular with its members) was the corps to which all women in the British Army belonged from 1949 to 1992, except medical, dental and veterinary officers and cha ...

were integrated into the unit). AA Command was abolished on 10 March 1955, and 607 LAA/SL Regiment was disbanded at the same time, completing the process by 30 June.

Notes

References

* 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 Years of Defeat: Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988/London: Brasseys, 1996, . * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, . * Norman E.H. Litchfield, ''The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1992, . * Mike Osborne, ''20th Century Defences in Britain: The London Area'', Market Deeping: Concrete Publications, 2006, . * Brig N.W. Routledge, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55'', London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, {{ISBN, 1-85753-099-3

External sources

Keith Brigstock 'Royal Artillery Searchlights', presentation to Royal Artillery Historical Society at Larkhill, 17 January 2007.

British Military History

British Army units from 1945 on

Orders of Battle at Patriot Files

Royal Artillery 1939–1945

Military units and formations in London Military units and formations in Middlesex Searchlight regiments of the Royal Artillery Military units and formations established in 1938 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945