The Northern Division, Royal Artillery, was an administrative grouping of garrison units of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, Artillery Militia and Artillery Volunteers within 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 ...

's Northern District from 1882 to 1889.

Organisation

Under General Order 72 of 4 April 1882 the

(RA) broke up its existing administrative brigades of garrison artillery (7th–11th Brigades, RA) and assigned the individual batteries to 11 new territorial divisions. These divisions were purely administrative and recruiting organisations, not field formations. Most were formed within the existing military districts into which the United Kingdom was divided, and for the first time associated the part-time Artillery Militia with the regulars. Shortly afterwards the Artillery Volunteers were also added to the territorial divisions. The

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...

batteries were grouped into one brigade, usually of nine sequentially-numbered batteries and a depot battery. For these units the divisions represented recruiting districts – batteries could be serving anywhere in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

and their only connection to brigade headquarters (HQ) was for the supply of drafts and recruits. The artillery militia units (sometimes referred to as regiments) already comprised a number of batteries, and were redesignated as brigades, losing their county titles in the process. The artillery volunteers, which had previously consisted of numerous independent Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVC) of various sizes, sometimes grouped into administrative brigades, had been consolidated into larger AVCs in 1881, which were now affiliated to the appropriate territorial division.Frederick, pp. 567–73, 985.Litchfield, ''Militia Artillery'', pp. 4–6; Appendix 5.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 4–6.

Composition

Northern Division, RA, listed as first in order of precedence, was organised within Northern District with the following composition:Lawes, Vol II, Index.''Monthly Army Lists''. * Headquarters (HQ) at

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

*1st Brigade ** HQ at

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

** 1st (Mountain) Bty at Weymouth – formerly 1st Bty, 7th Bde ** 2nd Bty at

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

– formerly 2nd Bty, 7th Bde ** 3rd Bty at Dover – formerly 3rd Bty, 7th Bde ** 4th Bty at

Tilbury Fort Tilbury Fort, also known historically as the Thermitage Bulwark and the West Tilbury Blockhouse, is an artillery fort on the north bank of the River Thames in England. The earliest version of the fort, comprising a small blockhouse with artill ...

– formerly 20th Bty, 9th Bde ** 5th Bty at

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

– formerly 15th Bty, 7th Bde ** 6th Bty at Bermuda – formerly 16th Bty, 7th Bde ** 7th Bty at Khyra Gully – formerly 1st Bty, 8th Bde ** 8th Bty at

Campbellpore Attock ( Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st lar ...

– formerly 2nd Bty, 8th Bde ** 9th (Mountain) Bty at

Murree Hills Murree ( Punjabi, Urdu: مری) is a mountain resort city, located in the Galyat region of the Pir Panjal Range, within the Muree District of Punjab, Pakistan. It forms the outskirts of the Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area, and is abou ...

– formerly 6th Bty, 8th Bde ** 10th Bty – new Bty formed 1886 ** Depot Bty at Newcastle upon Tyne – formerly 13th Bty 2nd Bde * 2nd Brigade at

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

– formerly

Durham Artillery Militia The Durham Artillery Militia was a part-time reserve unit of Britain's Royal Artillery based in County Durham from 1853 to 1909. Volunteers from the unit served in the Second Boer War where they distinguished themselves fighting as infantry in th ...

(6 btys) * 3rd Brigade at

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

– formerly

Northumberland Militia Artillery The Northumberland Militia Artillery was a part-time reserve unit of Britain's Royal Artillery based in the County of Northumberland, from 1854 to 1909. Background The long-standing national Militia of the United Kingdom was revived by the Milit ...

(6 btys) * 4th Brigade at

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

– formerly

Yorkshire Artillery Militia The Yorkshire Artillery Militia was a part-time reserve unit of Britain's Royal Artillery based in the East and North Ridings of Yorkshire from 1860 to 1909. Background The long-standing national Militia of the United Kingdom was revived by the ...

(6 btys) * 1st (Northumberland and Sunderland) Northumberland Artillery Volunteers at Newcastle upon Tyne * 2nd (The Percy) Northumberland Artillery Volunteers at

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is on the south bank of the River Aln, south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish bor ...

* 3rd (The Tynemouth) Northumberland Artillery Volunteers at

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, North East England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, hence its name. It is 8 mi (13 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon T ...

* 1st East Riding Artillery Volunteers at Scarborough *

2nd East Riding Artillery Volunteers The 2nd East Riding Artillery Volunteers was a part-time unit of Britain's Royal Artillery based at Hull and along the Humber Estuary. Its successor units provided field artillery on the Western Front during World War I and air defence artille ...

at Hull * 1st North Riding Artillery Volunteers at

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

* 1st Berwick-on-Tweed Artillery Volunteers at Berwick-upon-Tweed * 1st Cumberland Artillery Volunteers at

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

* 1st Durham Artillery Volunteers at Hartlepool – independent from 1st Northumberland 1887 * 2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteers at

Seaham Seaham is a seaside town in County Durham, England. Located on the Durham Coast, Seaham is situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. The town grew from the late 19th century onwards as a result of investments in its harbour and c ...

* 3rd Durham Artillery Volunteers at

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

* 4th Durham Artillery Volunteers at

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed in ...

* 1st West Riding Artillery Volunteers at

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

* 2nd West Riding Artillery Volunteers at

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

* 4th (Sheffield) West Riding Artillery Volunteers at

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

1st Newcastle-upon-Tyne Artillery Volunteers The 1st Newcastle upon Tyne Artillery Volunteer Corps was a unit of the Volunteer Force raised to supplement the British Army at a time of a perceived French threat in 1860. History The unit was formed on the 2 June 1860 during the great surge of ...

at Newcastle upon Tyne

Disbandment

In 1889 the garrison artillery was reorganised again into three large divisions of garrison artillery and one of mountain artillery. Although the names of the garrison divisions were still territorial (

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

, Southern and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

) the assignment of units to them was geographically arbitrary, with the militia and volunteer units formerly in Northern Division being grouped in the Southern and Western Divisions (where there were the most coast defences to be manned in time of war), while the regular batteries were distributed across all four divisions and completely renumbered.Maurice-Jones, p. 151.

Footnotes

Notes

{{reflist, 3

References

* J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-009-X. * Lt-Gen H.G. Hart
''The New Annual Army List, Militia List, Yeomanry Cavalry List and Indian Civil Service List for 1884'', London: John Murray, 1883.
* Lt-Gen H.G. Hart
''The New Annual Army List, Militia List, Yeomanry Cavalry List and Indian Civil Service List for 1890'', London: John Murray, 1889.
* Lt-Col M.E.S. Lawes, ''Battery Records of the Royal Artillery, 1859–1877'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1970. * Norman E.H. Litchfield, ''The Militia Artillery 1852–1909 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1987, ISBN 0-9508205-1-2. * Norman Litchfield & Ray Westlake, ''The Volunteer Artillery 1859–1908 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1982, ISBN 0-9508205-0-4. * Col K. W. Maurice-Jones, ''The History of Coast Artillery in the British Army'', London: Royal Artillery Institution, 1959/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2005, ISBN 978-1-845740-31-3. * War Office, ''Monthly Army List'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1882–89. Royal Artillery divisions Military units and formations in Newcastle upon Tyne Military units and formations established in 1882 Military units and formations disestablished in 1889

Organisation

Composition

Disbandment

See also

Footnotes

Notes

References