97 Battery (Lawson's Company) Royal Artillery was formed on 13 September 1803 as Captain H. Douglas's Company, 8th Battalion Royal Artillery and is currently a tac battery within 4th Regiment Royal Artillery based in Alanbrooke Barracks, Topcliffe,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

. The battery was until recently a gun battery but was reduced to a tactical or tac battery in 2013 following its last operational tour of Afghanistan. It is now one of three tac batteries that call in artillery fire from

4th Regiment Royal Artillery The 4th Regiment Royal Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It was formed in 1939 as 4th Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, before being redesignated in 1961. It is currently based at Alanbrooke Barracks in Topcl ...

's two remaining gun batteries. The battery has been known by a variety of names during its existence and moved between different Royal Artillery Regiments or Battalions due to reorganisations of the Royal Regiment of Artillery and changes in role. In the First World War it fought as 87th (Howitzer) Battery, Royal Field Artillery.

History

Formation and preparation for war

The battery was formed in 1803 as part of the newly formed 8th Battalion,

Royal Regiment of 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 ...

during a period of expansion for the regiment. As was the custom at the time each of the battalion's new companies took the name of their company commander. The battery was first known as Captain Douglas's Company and stationed at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

. It remained garrisoned at the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proof test, proofing, and explosives research for ...

until November 1805, after which it marched to

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

and then onto

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

in May 1807. Captain T S Hughes then took command of the company for the subsequent embarkation to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. Captain Hughes' command did not last long as he died in Gibraltar on 18 May 1808, and was replaced by Captain Robert Lawson who was dispatched from England. The company was in the process of deploying to war for the first time and before their new commander could arrive and the company was split with half, under command of the 2nd Captain Captain H. T. Fauquier, being ordered to join a British force being sent to fight in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. The remaining part of the company fell under the command of Captain W Morrison, and it was dispatched on the Transport Ship ''Hornby'' to Mondego Bay in Portugal as part of the British force being assembled there. The half of the unit sent to Sicily was never to rejoin them and was later absorbed into another Royal Artillery unit.

Peninsular War

Lawson's Company held the unique record of having been the only

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 ...

unit to serve throughout the entire

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

, from 1808 until 1814. At least three diaries of unit officers covering this period have survived until the present day, that of Captain Lawson himself, that of Lieutenant Ingilby and finally that of Captain Johnson. Owing to the shortage of draught horses and stores, it was found impossible to equip this half company, so the 6-pounders were left in the stores at Mondego Bay. The officers and men made amends with some captured enemy pieces with the army advancing against the French towards

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. The Company took part in the famous crossing of the

Douro river The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern part of the Meseta ...

, the capture of

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, the pursuit of Marshal Soult's army to

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

and the desperate fight at the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish ...

. On 27 and 28 July, during this battle the 2nd Captain, Taylor, was severely wounded and captured. In the winter of 1809, the unit was based at

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

, however, the next year the Battery accompanied the now Lord Wellington in his campaign, which included the encounter at the

Battle of Bussaco The Battle of Buçaco () or Bussaco was fought on 27 September 1810 during the Peninsular War in the Portuguese mountain range of Serra do Buçaco, resulting in the defeat of French forces by Lord Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army. Havin ...

and also the retreat of the

Lines of Torres Vedras The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts and other military defences built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, c ...

. In 1811, Lawson advanced the company from the Lines and saw action at the

Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro At the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the Anglo-Portuguese Army under Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida. A bloody stalemate ...

in May 1811. The battery was replenished six months later with 6-pounders, and fought a hard battle at

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

, suffering casualties whilst in action, and at the

Siege of Burgos At the siege of Burgos, from 19 September to 21 October 1812, the Anglo-Portuguese Army led by General Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington tried to capture the castle of Burgos from its French garrison under the command of General ...

, before the retreat to Portugal. At the commencement of the 1813 campaign, Lawson's Company was part of the 6th Division. During the advance of the Army that summer, it was alternatively with the 5th Division at the

battle of Vittoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813), a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British, Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese and Spanish Empire, Spanish army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Marquess of Wellington bro ...

. The battery took part in the

Siege of San Sebastián The siege of San Sebastián (7 July – 8 September 1813), part of the Peninsular War, Allied forces under the command of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the city in a sie ...

where Capt Johnson and a number of men from the unit were sent into the breach with the infantry in order to seize enemy artillery pieces. Capt Johnson's diary provides graphic details of this action. Lawson's Company – then equipped with 9-pounders – took part in the Passage of Bidassoa in October 1813, and in the

battle of Nivelle The Battle of Nivelle (10 November 1813) took place in front of the river Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops (20, ...

. 2nd Captain Mosse was in command of the company when it repulsed the French attacks on 10 and 11 December. Captain Robert Lawson's Company, 8th Battalion Royal Artillery, left Spain on 22 July 1814 on board bound for

General duties 19th century

The post war period was a quiet one for the company. The company was not sent overseas to fight at the

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

, but moved in 1821 to

and later to

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

, then part of the British governed

United States of the Ionian Islands The United States of the Ionian Islands was a Greeks, Greek state (polity), state and Protectorate#Amical_protection, amical protectorate of the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1864. The succession of states, successor state of the Septinsular R ...

. It was based there during the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

and a period of tense relations with the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

which lead to a number of engagements at sea in the area. The company afterwards was stationed at

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

, Ireland and

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, before returning to Woolwich in 1856. On the introduction of the brigade system, the company was converted into a field battery as 'H' Battery, 8 Brigade in 1861. It then went to India in 1867. Ten years later, the Company became 'H' Battery, 3 Brigade Royal Artillery, and in 1884 was converted into a Depot Field Battery for 3 Brigade Royal Field Artillery at

Hilsea Hilsea is a district of the city of Portsmouth in the English county of Hampshire. Hilsea is home to one of Portsmouth's main sports and leisure facilities – the Mountbatten centre. Trafalgar School (formerly the City of Portsmouth Boys' Scho ...

. Only later, in 1895, did the Company recover its status as a service battery under the designation of 87 Field Battery Royal Artillery. The battery was deploy to South Africa for the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

in December 1900 and saw action

Eastern Transvaal Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

mostly in sections or single guns working with small mobile columns. In 1914 the Battery – then equipped as a

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

battery and based in Ireland – was deployed to France again with XII (12th) Brigade.

World War I

Known as 87 Battery Royal Field Artillery, and based in Ireland, when the First World War broke out the battery were immediately mobilised along with the rest of 12th (Howitzer) Brigade Royal Field Artillery, under the 6th Division. It spent the war fighting in the relatively small battlefields of France and Belgium, in extremely poor conditions in the trenches of the

First Battle of the Aisne The First Battle of the Aisne () was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army (led by Alexander von Kluck) and the Second Army (led by Karl von Bülow) as they retreated after the First Battle of the ...

, Somme, Ypres, Cambrai and the Hindenburg Line. During the Battle of Aisne, the battery fired throughout the day and night for 48 hours in the Aisne heights. A month later, the

Battle of Armentières The Battle of Armentières (also Battle of Lille) was fought by German and Franco-British forces in northern France in October 1914, during reciprocal attempts by the armies to envelop the northern flank of their opponent, which has been called ...

began. In August 1915, the battery saw action at the Battle of Hooge. The battery then moved to fight in the Somme. In May 1916, 87 Battery was transferred from the 12th (Howitzer) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery to the 2nd Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. The Battery split again, one section was peeled off to form D Howitzer Battery after joining with another section from 43 Howitzer Battery. The Battery then fought in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

on 15 September 1916 to the end on 22 April 1917. Between 23 and 28 November, the battery supported units in the Capture of Bourbu Wood and continued to engage throughout the German counterattack from 30 November until 3 December. Between 21 and 22 March 1918, the battery returned to the Somme and helped win a crushing defeat on the Kaiser's army at the Battle of St. Quentin (1918). From there, it moved onto the Battle of the Lys, which started on 13 April. On 18 September, it moved to engage the enemy at the

Battle of Épehy The Battle of Épehy was fought during the First World War on 18 September 1918, involving the British Fourth Army under the command of General Henry Rawlinson against German outpost positions in front of the Hindenburg Line. The village of Ép ...

, and then to the

Battle of St Quentin Canal The Battle of St Quentin Canal was a pivotal battle of World War I that began on 29 September 1918 and involved British, Australian and American forces operating as part of the British Fourth Army under the overall command of General Sir Hen ...

on 24–30 September. It saw further action in the second

Battle of Cambrai (1918) The Battle of Cambrai, 1918 (also known as the Second Battle of Cambrai) was fought between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle to ...

, and what was to become known as the Battle of the Hindenburg Line, fighting with the Fourth Army, in the IX (9) Corps as part of 2nd Brigade Royal Field Artillery. 87 Field Battery took part in the Final Advance in

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

, notably at the

Battle of the Selle The Battle of the Selle (17–25 October 1918) took place between Allied forces and the German Army, fought during the Hundred Days Offensive of World War I. Prelude After the Second Battle of Cambrai, the Allies advanced almost and liberat ...

from 17 to 25 October 1918. During the war the battery was an early adopter of air land integration; working on several occasions with 6 Squadron Royal Flying Corps (now No. 6 Squadron RAF) who would support artillery spotting.

The Irish War of Independence

The battery returned to their barracks in Ireland just as the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

broke out and were involved in fighting the rebels as part of flying columns. At the end the conflict, it returned to the British mainland. In 1926, the

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

(RFA) branch of the

was amalgamated with the

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

(RGA) branch. As a result, all RFA and RGA battery's simply became Royal Artillery battery's. In the same year the battery applied for the honour title 'Lawson's Company' in recognition of its heroism and service during the Peninsular War. This was granted by order 20/Arty/4544/AG6a on 18 Oct 1926Page 89: ''Royal Regiment of Artillery; The Blue List 2015'', by

. Royal Artillery, Larkhill, 2015. and the battery was from then on known as 87 Battery (Lawson's Company) Royal Artillery.

World War II

Between 1939 and 1940, the battery was in France as part of I Corps with the new 25-pounder guns. It was evacuated from

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

HMS Worcester Eight ships and a training establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Worcester'', after the English city of Worcester: * was a 48-gun ship launched in 1651. She was renamed HMS ''Dunkirk'' in 1660. * was a 50-gun ship launched ...

, having destroyed the guns and handed over all ammunition and rifles. It was then in the UK from 1940 to 1942, before returning to campaign service in North Africa with General Montgomery in 1943. Between 1944 and 1945, the battery was in action in

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

and Italy, in support of 31 infantry brigade, during the Anzio bridgehead and the push north through

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

towards

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. During the batteries service in Italy it again saw service with No. 6 Squadron RAF with whom the battery had served during the first world war.

Post war

On 1 May 1947, the Battery was renumbered 97 Battery as part of a wider reorganisation of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. All Royal Artillery Batteries were renumbered in accordance with their seniority in the Royal Artillery as part of a postwar rationalisation. The Battery became an Airborne unit and was known as 97 (Lawson's Company) Airborne Light Battery. The Battery formed part of 33 Airborne Light Regiment and deployed on internal security duty in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

until the spring of 1948 when it was stationed at

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg's ...

later joined the rest of the Regiment at

Fallingbostel Bad Fallingbostel (Northern Low Saxon: ''Bad Fambossel'') is the district town (''Kreisstadt'') of the Heidekreis, Heidekreis district in the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1976 the town has had a state-recognised Kneipp spa and ha ...

Suez Conflict

Lawson's Company was loaded onto the transport ship HMS Theseus, deploying to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in preparation for operations as part of the Suez Crisis. Once in Cyprus the battery commander's party, with the regiments commanding officer and his tactical group, left Nicosia flying out on a de Havilland aircraft and parachuting onto Gamil Airfield at the start of the action between 4 and 5 November 1956. The rest of the battery was loaded onto a

Landing Ship Logistics ''Landing ship logistics'' (LSL) was a term used by the United Kingdom armed forces to describe the Round Table class landing ship logistics, Round Table class of Amphibious assault ship, landing ship used in the support of amphibious warfare m ...

(LSL) and transport ships and sailed for

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

at the same time. The Battery was recovered to Cyprus at the end of the Suez Crisis and took part in operations against the

EOKA The Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA ; ) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla organization that fought a campaign for the end of Cyprus#Cyprus under the British Empire, British rule in Cyprus, and for enosis, eventual union with K ...

terror group in Cyprus.

1960s and 70s

The battery moved back to

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

. where it stayed until 1961, and occasionally deployed to

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and Hong Kong. The Battery was also based in Bulford before taking part in the

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

campaign around 1 April 1965. In 1971, the battery deployed to

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

, and suffered a number of casualties due to shootings and bombings by the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

. A year later, Lawson's Company returned to Northern Ireland based at the

Long Kesh Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

prison and surrounding area. During this tour, three soldiers were seriously injured, and one killed as a result of a direct mortar hit on an OP hangar. It stayed there until 1977 and later replaced 7th Regiment Royal Horse Artillery as the artillery Regiment supporting the Airborne Brigade. The battery was formally affiliated to No. 6 Squadron RAF during this period as a result the batteries historic service with the squadron during the first and second world wars. No. 6 Squadron RAF, as a result of their cooperation had long held the motto 'the eyes of the Army' and still to this day carry a 'Gunner Stripe' featuring the Royal Artillery's Zig Zag motif on their aircraft.

Falklands Campaign

The Battery set sail with

to the

Falklands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Du ...

on board the QE II alongside 3/29 (Corunna) Battery Royal Artillery. The Battery cross-decked to the P&O Cruiser SS Canberra and sailed for

Port San Carlos Port San Carlos is located on the northern bank of the inlet known as Port San Carlos, off San Carlos Water on the Western coast of East Falkland, in the Falkland Islands. It is sometimes nicknamed "KC" after former owner Keith Cameron. The po ...

, inside the

Falkland Sound The Falkland Sound () is a sea strait in the Falkland Islands. Running southwest-northeast, it separates West and East Falkland. Name The sound was named by John Strong in 1690 for Viscount Falkland, the name only later being applied to th ...

, arriving 2 June 1982. The battery served with 4th Brigade throughout the conflict.

1990s

The battery remained in

after the Falklands War. It then shifted to

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

Germany, re-rolling from their airborne artillery role to a heavy artillery unit. The unit later augmented

4th Royal Tank Regiment The 4th Royal Tank Regiment (4 RTR) was an armoured regiment of the British Army from its creation in 1917, during World War I, until 1993. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps. History The regiment or ...

and undertook a further tour of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

at Middletown and

Keady Keady () is a town and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is south of Armagh and near the border with the Republic of Ireland. It is situated mainly in the historic barony of Armagh with six townlands in the barony of Tiranny ...

. The battery also carried out exchange deployments with the French 1er Régiment d'Artillerie de Marine and sent detachments to support other batteries during the regiments

Operation BANNER Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007, as part of the Troubles. It was the longest continuous deployment in British military history. The British Army was initia ...

deployment to

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

in 1994. In 1997, the unit was ordered to

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

to help stabilise the peace established by the

Dayton Agreement The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Dejtonski mirovni sporazum, Дејтонски мировни споразум), and colloquially kn ...

. Lawson's deployed as a battery group with a troop from 88 (Arracan) Battery Royal Artillery to Sanski Most Coal Mine, to provide the

SFOR The Stabilisation Force (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian War. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It was replaced by EUFOR Alt ...

commander with offensive fire support with their

AS90 The AS-90 ("Artillery System for the 1990s"), known officially as Gun Equipment 155 mm L131, is an armoured self-propelled artillery formerly used by the British Army and subsequently donated for use by Ukrainian Army. It can fire standa ...

self-propelled 155 mm guns.

Iraq and Afghanistan

During

Operation TELIC Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

and

Operation HERRICK Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assi ...

the battery completed numerous deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan. During its deployments to Afghanistan it re-rolled from the AS90 to the 105mm Light Gun for each deployment before returning to the AS90 afterwards. This was due to the practical difficulties of deploying the tracked armoured AS90 platform to Afghanistan and the larger calibre of this weapon. Their final deployment to Afghanistan was Operation HERRICK 17 (Oct 2012- Mar 2013) during which the Battery was attached to 1st (Cheshire) Battalion of the Mercian Regiment. The Battery HQ was located at Forward Operating Base Shawqat with the battlegroup HQ with forward observer parties attached to infantry companies in patrol bases across

Nad Ali Nad Ali or Nad-e Ali is a district in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Marja is an unincorporated agricultural district in Nad Ali. The area is irrigated by the Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority (HAVA).Patrol Base Salaang and Patrol Base Wahid. The Gun group were deployed to PB ATTAL in the Gereshk valley. During this deployment British Forces began to withdraw from Afghanistan and the Battery helped to close most of the Patrol Bases in the Nad Ali area, withdrawing back to

Camp Bastion Camp Shorabak (formerly Camp Bastion) is a former British Army airbase, located northwest of the city of Lashkargah in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The camp was situated in a remote desert area, far from population centres. The camp was buil ...

and returning to the UK.

Post Afghanistan reorganisation

Shortly after returning to the UK Lawson's Company celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Vittoria, taking part in the tercentenary celebrations in Spain which included members from both the Duke of Wellington and Napoleons families. During the same period 4th Regiment Royal Artillery was restructured and re-rolled; converting from an armoured regiment equipped with 3x AS90 and 2x armoured tac batteries to a light role regiment equipped with the 2x 105mm Light gun batteries and 3x light role tac batteries. Lawson's Company was the battery selected to be reduced to a tac battery and its gun group was disbanded at a ceremony which included a fly past by the members of 6 Squadron RAF with which the battery has been associated with since WW1. During this reorganisation the battery also absorbed the regiments TAC Party of Forward Air Controllers (FAC).

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{cite book , last = Royal Artillery , year = 2015 , title = Royal Regiment of Artillery; The Blue List 2015 , publisher = The Royal Regiment of Artillery , location = Larkhill , isbn =

External links

Official site
Royal Artillery batteries Military units and formations established in 1803 British military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Peninsular War