The Ayrshire Royal Horse Artillery was a

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 ...

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link r ...

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

that was formed in Ayrshire in 1908. It saw active service during the

First World War 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 ...

in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign with the ANZAC Mounted Division from 1916 to 1918. It was disembodied after the end of the war and was not reconstituted in the post-war Territorial Force.

History

Formation

The

(TF) was formed on 1 April 1908 following the enactment of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (7 Edw.7, c.9) which combined and re-organised the old

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

, the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

and the

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles. History Origins In the 1790s, f ...

. On formation, the TF contained 14

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

s and 14 mounted yeomanry

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

s. Each yeomanry brigade included a horse artillery

and an

ammunition column An Ammunition Column was a support echelon of a British or Dominion brigade or division during the First World War and consisted of dedicated military vehicles carrying artillery and small arms ammunition for the combatant unit to which the col ...

. On 18 March 1908, Ayrshire Royal Horse Artillery (Territorial Force) was proposed as a new unit and it was recognized by the Army Council on 26 May 1908. The unit consisted of :Battery HQ at

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

:Ayrshire Battery at Ayr :Lowland Mounted Brigade Ammunition Column also at Ayr The battery was equipped with four Ehrhardt 15-pounder guns and allocated as artillery support to the

Lowland Mounted Brigade The Lowland Mounted Brigade was a formation of the Territorial Force of the British Army, organised in 1908. After service in the Gallipoli Campaign, it was absorbed into the 1st Dismounted Brigade in February 1916. Formation Under the terms ...

First World War

The battery was embodied with the Lowland Mounted Brigade on 4 August 1914 at the outbreak of the

. The brigade moved to

Cupar Cupar ( ; gd, Cùbar) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fi ...

, Fife on coast defence duties where it remained until September 1915. In late September 1915, the Lowland Mounted Brigade (without the battery) was dismounted and left Fife for Devonport en route to Gallipoli. The battery remained in the United Kingdom until February 1916 when it (and its ammunition column) was embarked at

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 ...

and transported to

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, Alexandri ...

in Egypt. ;Service with IV Brigade British 18 pounder Romani 1916 AWM H03786

IV Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.) IV Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (Territorial Force), along with its sister III Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.), was a Royal Horse Artillery brigade of the Territorial Force that was formed in Egypt in April 1916 for the ANZAC Mounted ...

was formed in April 1916 in the

Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–15), at the beginning ...

with the Ayrshire and

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in popula ...

Batteries, RHA. It was assigned to the ANZAC Mounted Division to provide artillery support. In practice, the batteries were permanently attached to the mounted brigades of the division and Ayrshire RHA joined the

New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade was a brigade of the New Zealand Army during the First World War. Raised in 1914 as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, it was one of the first New Zealand units to sail for service overseas. The ...

. The battery served with the ANZAC Mounted Division in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign throughout the rest of the war. With the division, it saw action at the

Battle of Romani The Battle of Romani was the last ground attack of the Central Powers on the Suez Canal at the beginning of the Sinai and Palestine campaign during the First World War. The battle was fought between 3 and 5 August 1916 near the Egyptian town ...

(414 August 1916) as part of No. 3 Section, Suez Canal Defences. This saw the repulse of the final Turkish attempt to cut the Suez Canal. The division then joined the

Desert Column The Desert Column was a First World War British Empire army corps which operated in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign from 22 December 1916.There is no war diary for Desert Column for December. See The Column was commanded by Lieutenant General ...

and with it took part in the advance across the Sinai. It fought at the

Battle of Magdhaba The Battle of Magdhaba took place on 23 December 1916 during the Defence of Egypt section of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War.The Battles Nomenclature Committee assigned 'Affair' to those engagements between forces small ...

(23 December 1916) and the

Battle of Rafa The Battle of Rafa, also known as the Action of Rafah, fought on 9 January 1917, was the third and final battle to complete the recapture of the Sinai Peninsula by British forces during the Sinai and Palestine campaign of the First World War. T ...

h (9 January 1917). The batteries were then re-equipped with four

18 pounder The Ordnance QF 18-pounder,British military traditionally denoted smaller ordnance by the weight of its standard projectile, in this case approximately or simply 18-pounder gun, was the standard British Empire field gun of the First World War ...

s each before taking part in 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 ...

(2627 March 1917) and Second Battles of Gaza (1719 April 1917). ;Service with XVIII Brigade In June 1917, the Desert Column was reorganised from two mounted divisions of four brigades each (ANZAC and

Imperial Mounted Division The Australian Mounted Division originally formed as the Imperial Mounted Division in January 1917, was a mounted infantry, Australian Light Horse, light horse and yeomanry division (military), division. The division was formed in Egypt, and alon ...

s) to three mounted divisions of three brigades each (ANZAC,

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

Imperial Mounted Division renamedand the new Yeomanry Mounted Division). Consequently, the British

22nd Mounted Brigade The North Midland Mounted Brigade (later numbered as the 22nd Mounted Brigade) was a yeomanry brigade of the British Army, formed as part of the Territorial Force in 1908. It served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War. ...

was transferred from the ANZAC to the Yeomanry Mounted Division on 6 July 1917. With a reduction to three brigades, there was a corresponding reduction in the artillery to three batteries. The Leicestershire Battery, RHA (T.F.) departed on 20 June to join XX Brigade, RHA (T.F.) in the Yeomanry Mounted Division. This led to a reorganization of ANZAC Mounted Division's artillery. A new headquarters,

XVIII Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.) XVIII Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (Territorial Force) was a Royal Horse Artillery Brigade#United Kingdom, brigade of the Territorial Force that was formed by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in Palestine in July 1917 for the ANZAC Mounted Di ...

, was formed for the division and took command of Inverness-shire and Ayrshire RHA. They were joined by Somerset RHA of

III Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.) III Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (Territorial Force), along with its sister IV Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.), was a Royal Horse Artillery brigade of the Territorial Force that was formed in Egypt in April 1916 for the ANZAC Mounted ...

. Ayrshire RHA remained attached to the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade. The batteries were still equipped with 18 pounders when the new brigade was organised but were re-equipped with

13 pounder The Ordnance QF 13-pounder ( quick-firing) field gun was the standard equipment of the British and Canadian Royal Horse Artillery at the outbreak of World War I. History The QF 13-pounder was developed as a response to combat experience gained ...

s (four per battery) in time for the

Third Battle of Gaza The Third Battle of Gaza was fought on the night of 1–2 November 1917 between British and Ottoman forces during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I and came after the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) victory at the ...

at the end of October 1917. The brigade, and its batteries, remained with the ANZAC Mounted Division for the rest of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. As part of the

Desert Mounted Corps The Desert Mounted Corps was an army corps of the British Army during the First World War, of three mounted divisions renamed in August 1917 by General Edmund Allenby, from Desert Column. These divisions which served in the Sinai and Pales ...

, the division took part in the Third Battle of Gaza, in particular the Capture of Beersheba (31 October) and the

Battle of Mughar Ridge The Battle of Mughar Ridge, officially known by the British as the action of El Mughar, took place on 13 November 1917 during the Pursuit phase of the Southern Palestine Offensive of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the First World War. Figh ...

(13 and 14 November), and the defence of Jerusalem against the Turkish counter-attacks (27 November3 December). At the beginning of 1918, the division was attached to XX Corps and helped to capture Jericho (1921 February) and then formed part of Shea's Force for the First Trans-Jordan Raid (21 March2 April). It returned to the Desert Mounted Corps for the Second Trans-Jordan Raid (30 April4 May), the

Battle of Abu Tellul The Battle of Abu Tellul (called the Affair of Abu Tellul by the British Battles Nomenclature Committee) was fought on 14 July 1918 during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I after German and Ottoman Empire forces attacked the Briti ...

(14 July) and the capture of Amman (25 September). After 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 ...

, the division was withdrawn to Egypt. The Australian brigades departed for home in March and April 1919 and the New Zealanders by the end of July. The brigade was broken up some time after April 1919.

2nd Line

In accordance with the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (7 Edw.7, c.9) which brought the

into being, the TF was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country. However, on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, many members volunteered for Imperial Service. Therefore, TF units were split into 1st Line (liable for overseas service) and 2nd Line (home service for those unable or unwilling to serve overseas) units. 2nd Line units performed the home defence role, although in fact most of these were also posted abroad in due course. Unlike almost all of the other Territorial Force RHA Batteries, the Ayrshire RHA did not form a 2nd line in the First World War.

Post war

The Ayrshire Royal Horse Artillery was not reconstituted in the Territorial Force in 1920.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

External links

''The Royal Horse Artillery'' on The Long, Long Trail
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayrshire Royal Horse Artillery Royal Horse Artillery batteries Artillery units and formations of World War I Military units and formations established in 1908 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 Military units and formations in Ayrshire 1908 establishments in Scotland