H Battery (Ramsay's Troop) Royal Horse Artillery is a

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 ...

1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery in the British Army. It currently serves in the armoured field artillery role, and is equipped with the AS90 self-propelled gun. The regiment is currently based at La ...

, part of the Royal Horse Artillery of the

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 ...

. As of 2015, it is based at

Albemarle Barracks Albemarle Barracks was a prisoner-of-war camp for British prisoners during the American Revolutionary War. History Following Gen. John Burgoyne's defeat at the Battle of Saratoga, in 1777, several thousand British and German (Hessian and Brunsw ...

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 ...

, England and is equipped with GMLRS. Formed in 1804, the battery has taken part in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

(notably the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

where it earned its Honour Title as ''Ramsay's Troop''), and 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 ...

and

Second World War 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 ...

s. Since the Second World War, it has seen a wide variety of service as towed and

self-propelled artillery Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

, a training and a

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

unit, and latterly as a precision fire battery. It has been based in Germany as part of the BAOR,

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, Northern Ireland ( Operation Banner), the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

History

Napoleonic Wars

The battery was formed on 1 June 1804 as H

Troop 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 ...

Horse Artillery Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving, and fast-firing artillery which provided highly mobile fire support, especially to cavalry units. Horse artillery units existed in armies in Europe, the Americas, and Asia, from the early 17th to t ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in 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 maintained throu ...

as a

horse artillery Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving, and fast-firing artillery which provided highly mobile fire support, especially to cavalry units. Horse artillery units existed in armies in Europe, the Americas, and Asia, from the early 17th to t ...

of the

. It remained at home for most of the

, but did take part in the Walcheren Expedition in 1809. Armed with five 9 pounder guns and a single 5½"

howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...

, it took part in the Hundred Days Campaign in 1815 under the command of

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

(

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

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

) Norman Ramsay. During the

it was ordered to support the garrison at Hougoumont. By the end of the day, it had lost four of five officers, including Ramsay. It then took part in the advance to Paris and joined the Army of Occupation. In commemoration of its performance at the Battle of Waterloo, the Honour Title "Ramsay's Troop" was officially granted to the battery on 13 October 1926. In the usual post-war reductions of the British Army, a number of troops of horse artillery were disbanded between 1815 and 1816, including D Troop (

Beane's Troop V Battery Royal Horse Artillery was a battery of the Royal Horse Artillery. Formed in 1804, the battery took part in the Napoleonic Warsnotably the Peninsular War and Battle of Waterloobefore being placed into suspended animation in 1816 as par ...

) on 31 July 1816. The remaining troops were then moved up to assume the next available letter and the H Troop became G Troop on the same date. It, too, was disbanded on 31 January 1819.

Victorian era

In the wake of the

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

and amidst the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

, the battery was re-raised on 1 December 1857 as G Battery. On 1 July 185, it was at Portobello Barracks,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

when it was assigned to the Horse Brigade,

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 ...

along with all the existing horse artillery batteries of the Royal Artillery. This was an administrative, rather than tactical, formation. As a result of the Rebellion, the

British Crown The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...

took direct control of India from the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

on 1 November 1858 under the provisions of the

Government of India Act 1858 The Government of India Act 1858 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (21 & 22 Vict. c. 106) passed on 2 August 1858. Its provisions called for the liquidation of the British East India Company (who had up to this point been ruling ...

. The Presidency armies transferred to the direct authority of the British Crown and its European units were transferred to the British Army. Henceforth artillery, the mutineers most effective arm, was to be the sole preserve of the British Army (with the exception of certain Mountain Artillery batteries). On 19 February 1862, the Horse Brigade RA became the 1st Horse Brigade RA and the

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

horse artillery formed the 2nd to 5th Horse Brigades. The 1st Brigade with 10 batteries was much larger than the other four (with four to seven batteries each). Therefore, a reorganization of the Horse Artillery on 13 April 1864 saw 1st Brigade split as A and B Brigades. The battery was moved to A Brigade, and as battery designations were tied to the brigade the battery was assigned to, it was redesignated as D Battery, A Brigade (or D/A Battery in short). The battery was at Woolwich at this time. From 1866, the term " Royal Horse Artillery" appeared in Army List hence the battery was designated D Battery, A Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery from about this time. Another reorganization, on 14 April 1877, saw the number of brigades reduced to three (of 10 batteries each); the batteryat Woolwichremained in A Brigade but dropped in seniority and became H Battery, A Brigade. The number of brigades was further reduced to two (of 13 batteries each) in 1882 without effecting the designation of the battery by which time it was at

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. The brigade system was finally abolished on 1 July 1889. Henceforth, batteries were designated in a single alphabetical sequence in order of seniority from date of formation and the battery took on its final designation as H Battery, Royal Horse Artillery. The battery did not take part 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 ...

First World War

The brigade system was reintroduced on 1 March 1901, this time as tactical formations, and the battery was assigned to the VII Brigade-Division, RHA (redesignated as VI Brigade, RHA on 1 October 1906) along with K Battery. In 1903, it was stationed at Meerut. QF13pounderBouncingNYTribune20October1918

QF13pounderBouncingNYTribune20October1918

By the time 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 ...

broke out, the battery had been re-equipped with six quick-firing

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 and was stationed at Trowbridge, still assigned to VI Brigade with K Battery and attached to the 2nd Cavalry Brigade. Initially, it remained in the United Kingdom on mobilisation while the 2nd Cavalry Brigade joined The Cavalry Division and departed for France. However, on 28 September it was assigned to VII Brigade, RHA in 1st Cavalry Division as a permanent replacement for L Battery which had been almost destroyed at

Néry Néry () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The commune includes the hamlets of Huleux, Vaucelles, and Verrines. The Church of Saint-Martin in Néry dates from 1140 with later additions. The Manoir de Huleux was built in 15 ...

. It remained with the 1st Cavalry Division and served with it on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

for the rest of the war. In practice, the batteries were permanently assigned to the cavalry brigades from September 1914 onwards and the battery was attached to 2nd Cavalry Brigade. It missed the earlier actions of 1914, but took part in the Race to the Sea, notably the

Battle of Messines Battle of Messines may refer to: *Battle of Messines (1914) *Battle of Messines (1917) The Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917) was an attack by the British Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer), on the Western Front, near the village of ...

. In 1915, it took part in the Second Battle of Ypres (

Battle of Frezenberg During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pre ...

, 9–13 May, and Battle of Bellewaarde Ridge, 24 May). The only action in 1916 was at the

Battle of Flers-Courcelette A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

(15 September) when it was in reserve to

XIV Corps 14 Corps, 14th Corps, Fourteenth Corps, or XIV Corps may refer to: * XIV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XIV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World ...

of Fourth Army. In 1917, it supported the division in a number of major actions including the Battle of Arras (April,

First Battle of the Scarpe The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the French city of Arras on the W ...

) and the Battle of Cambrai (November and December, including the Tank Attack, the Capture of Bourlon Wood and the German Counter-attacks). At other times, the battery served in the trenches as infantry. 1918 saw greater action as the war of movement resumed, including the German Operation Michael (March, the Battle of St. Quentin, the

First Battle of Bapaume Operation Michael was a major German Army (German Empire), German Offensive (military), military offensive during the First World War that began the German Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the Hindenburg Line, in the vi ...

and the

Battle of Rosières A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

), the

Advance to Victory Advance commonly refers to: *Advance, an offensive push in sports, games, thoughts, military combat, or sexual or romantic pursuits * Advance payment for goods or services * Advance against royalties, a payment to be offset against future royalty p ...

(August, Battle of Amiens), the

Second Battle of the Somme The Second Battle of the Somme of 1918 was fought during the First World War on the Western Front from late August to early September, in the basin of the River Somme. It was part of a series of successful counter-offensives in response to th ...

(August, Battle of Albert) and the battles of the Hindenburg Line (October, Battle of Cambrai and the Pursuit to the Selle). At the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

, it was still serving with 2nd Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.

Inter-war period

Still with the 1st Cavalry Division, it took part in the advance of the Second Army into

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, crossing the border on 1 December and the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

by 13 December. The battery transferred from Germany to II Brigade, RHA at Bordon in early 1919. Between December 1919 and March 1920, it moved to India with II Brigade and was stationed at Sialkot. On 1 May 1924, the battery reverted to Royal Artillery status as H Battery, RA in 8th Field Brigade, RA. It was replaced in II Brigade by L Battery. In 1938, field artillery brigades were reorganized from three six-gun batteries to two 12-gun batteries. Rather than disband existing batteries, they were instead linked in pairs. As a result, on 11 May, H Battery rejoined II Brigade, RHAfrom 8th Field Brigade, RAand simultaneously linked with I Battery as H/I Battery, RHA. With effect from May 1938, brigades were redesignated as regiments and II Brigade became 2nd Regiment, RHA on 21 May. By August 1939 the battery had been fully mechanized and equipped with 18/25 pounders.

Second World War

At the outbreak of the

, the battery was still linked with I Battery as H/I Battery in 2nd Regiment, RHA. It remained with the 2nd RHA throughout the war. Initially part of the 1st Armoured Division in the United Kingdom, in October 1939 it moved to France, where the regiment was placed under direct command of General Headquarters, BEF. It was still serving with the BEF when 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 ...

broke out in May 1940. After evacuation from the continent, it joined the 2nd Armoured Division and was transferred to Egypt with the division in November and December 1940. From January to May 1941 it took part in the

Battle of Greece The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

with the 1st Armoured Brigade. The experience of the BEF in 1940 showed the limitations of having artillery regiments formed with two 12-gun batteries: field regiments were intended to support an infantry brigade of three battalions (or armoured brigade of three regiments). This could not be managed without severe disruption to the regiment. As a result, field regiments were reorganised into three 8-gun batteries. Surprisingly, it was not until April 1942 that H/I was unlinked. At this point the battery was armed with eight

25 pounder The Ordnance QF 25-pounder, or more simply 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was the major British field gun and howitzer during the Second World War. Its calibre is 3.45-inch (87.6 mm). It was introduced into service just before the war started, combin ...

s. From 21 April 1942, it served with

22nd Guards Brigade The 22nd Guards Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw distinguished active service during the Second World War. History The 22nd Infantry Brigade was formed by the redesignation of the 29th Infantry Brigade on 3 Septemb ...

under command of

2nd South African Division The South African 2nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the army of the Union of South Africa during World War II. The division was formed on 23 October 1940 and served in the Western Desert Campaign and was captured (save for one ...

in the

Battle of Gazala The Battle of Gazala (near the village of ) was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the ( Erwin Rommel) consisting of German and I ...

. On 25 June, it transferred to

22nd Armoured Brigade The 22nd Armoured Brigade was an armoured brigade of the British Army that saw service during and after the Second World War. The brigade was formed on the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939 from Territorial Army (TA) armoured regiments. ...

and took part in the Battle of Mersa Matruh and the Defence of the El Alamein Line. On 24 August 1942 it rejoined the 1st Armoured Division. It served with this division throughout the rest of the Western Desert Campaign and the Tunisia Campaign, in particular, the battles of

El Alamein El Alamein ( ar, العلمين, translit=al-ʿAlamayn, lit=the two flags, ) is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Arab's Gulf, Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. , it had ...

Tebaga Gap The Tebaga Gap of southern Tunisia is a low mountain pass located in rough rocky broken country giving entry to the inhabited coastal plain to the north and east from much less hospitable desert dominated terrain in southern and south-western Tun ...

, Akarit, El Kourzia and

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

. It moved with the division to

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 ...

in May 1944, fighting at the Battle of Coriano on the

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...

. The regiment left 1st Armoured Division on 26 September 1944 and came under direct command of Headquarters, Allied Armies in Italy where it remained until the end of the war.

Post-war

Post-war, the battery remained part of the 2nd RHA, equipped with Sexton

self-propelled gun Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

s. Initially stationed 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 ...

, by 1950 it was at

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...

in Germany as part of the BAOR. On 3 December 1951, it once again reverted to the Royal Artillery as H Battery, RA and joined 6th Field Regiment in exchange for O Battery in the

Suez Canal Zone 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 ...

. Still equipped with Sextons, it returned to Germany in 1954 ( Hohne, then

Munsterlager Munster Training Area (German: ''Truppenübungsplatz Munster'') is a military training area in Germany on the Lüneburg Heath. It comprises two separate areas with different purposes: Munster North (''Munster-Nord'') (size: ) and Munster South ( ...

) until August 1962 when the regiment returned to England, where it was stationed at Larkhill as part of the

Royal School of Artillery The Royal School of Artillery (RSA) is the principal training establishment for artillery warfare in the British Army. Established in 1915, it is located at Larkhill, Wiltshire, on the south edge of Salisbury Plain in the United Kingdom. The Schoo ...

. In January 1966, it moved with the regiment to

Terendak Camp Terendak Camp is a Malaysian Army military base located in Sungai Udang, Central Melaka District, Melaka, Malaysia. It belonged to the Commonwealth of Nations before being handed over to the Malaysian Armed Forces in 1970. It is right next to ...

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

. The battery was now armed with 105mm Pack Howitzers. On 10 May 1968, 6th Regiment was placed in suspended animation and H Battery moved to

39th Regiment Royal Artillery 39 Regiment Royal Artillery was part of the Royal Artillery. Its name is pronounced "three nine", The Regiment was one of the Depth fire units of 1st Artillery Brigade, part of the British Army. It was formed in 1947, and placed into suspended a ...

. H Battery joined 39th Regiment, RA on 1 May 1968 at Sennelager and was equipped with towed 8" M115 howitzers. From November 1972 it was equipped with self-propelled 8" M110 howitzers (M110A1 variants from 1979). It undertook four

roulement Roulement is a term used by the British Army to signify major combat units (usually battalion strength) that are deployed on short tours of duty, normally for six months. It is also used in the wider British Military to mean the deployment of a st ...

tours to Northern Ireland ( Operation Banner) in the

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 marine i ...

role (25 October 197327 February 1974, 4 December 19756 April 1976, 12 January11 May 1978, and 24 November 198011 April 1981). The battery was placed in suspended animation in April 1982. The battery was reformed in January 1994 and joined

7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery 7th Parachute Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (7 Para RHA) is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It serves in the field artillery role with 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, and is equipped with the L118 Light Gun. The ...

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

as the

battery. It subsequently saw postings in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

as part of

UNFICYP The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is a United Nations peacekeeping force that was established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting following intercommunal violen ...

(June to December 1994),

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

and

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

( Operation Agricola) in June 1999, Northern Ireland in 19992000,

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

( Operation Silkman) in May 2000,

(

Operation Jacana Operation Jacana is the codename for a series of operations carried out by coalition forces in Afghanistan. The operations were carried out most notably by 45 Commando Royal Marines. U.S. forces, Australian SAS and Norwegian FSK also participa ...

) in 20012002, the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

(

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 ...

) from March 2003, and Afghanistan again ( Operation Herrick) in 2008.

Current status

Under Army 2020 plans, 7th RHA was reduced from five to three batteries; V Battery was placed in suspended animation in May 2013 and H Battery was transferred to 1st RHA in August of the same year. Although 1st RHA is based at

Tidworth Tidworth is a garrison town and civil parish in south-east Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Lying on both sides of the A338 about north of the A303 primary route, the town is approximately west of Andover, south o ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, the battery (as of February 2015) is at

until accommodation at Tidworth is ready for them. The battery is equipped with the

Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (M270 MLRS) is an American-developed armoured fighting vehicle, armored, self-propelled artillery, self-propelled, multiple rocket launcher. The U.S. Army variant of the MLRS vehicle is based on the chassis ...

. H Battery will disband in 2019 and its equipment and personnel will be moved to 19 (Gibraltar 1779 - 1783) Battery,

26th Regiment Royal Artillery 26th Regiment Royal Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. The regiment is equipped with MLRS and is 3rd (United Kingdom) Division's divisional fires regiment. History The regiment was formed from 4th Field Regiment ...

. As part of the Future Soldier Programme, the battery will be reformed as H Parachute Headquarters Battery (Ramsay's Troop) to act as the headquarters battery for 7th Parachute Regiment, RHA.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{Royal Horse Artillery Royal Horse Artillery batteries Royal Artillery batteries 1804 establishments in the United Kingdom 1857 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1804 Military units and formations disestablished in 1819 Military units and formations established in 1857 British military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars