The Royal School of Artillery (RSA) is the principal training establishment for

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

warfare in 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 ...

. Established in 1915, it is located at

Larkhill Larkhill is a garrison town in the civil parish of Durrington, Wiltshire, England. It lies about west of the centre of Durrington village and north of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. It is about north of Salisbury. The settlement ...

, Wiltshire, on the south edge of

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

in the United Kingdom. The School is the primary training facility for

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 ...

recruits, and is also home to the Gunnery Training Team.

History

The Royal School of Artillery was established in 1915 as the School of Instruction for Royal Horse and Field Artillery (Larkhill), on land previously used for tented accommodation at

. The 1,200-bed Fargo hospital, which was built to the West of the School, opened around the same time to tend for wounded soldiers returning from 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 ...

; it closed after the War and is now the main ammunition compound for the School. The first commandant of the school was Brigadier-General Henry Newcome after whom Newcome Hall at Larkhill is named. In 1920 it expanded to become the School of Artillery, Larkhill. During the

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 ...

, the School was a hive of activity providing a significant proportion of the training for over one million gunners. In 1970 the title Royal School of Artillery was conferred on the School when the Anti-aircraft School at

Manorbier Manorbier (; cy, Maenorbŷr ) is a village, community and parish on the south coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. The name means the ' Manor of Pŷr'. The community includes Jeffreyston and Lydstep. An electoral ward with the same name exists. ...

was amalgamated with it. At that time the school was made up of seven 'wings': Gunnery, Air Defence, Tactics, Locating, Signals, Administrative, and REME. In 2007 the Headquarters, Royal Artillery moved from Woolwich to Larkhill, where it is co-located with the RSA.

Antecedents

From 1778, specialist training for Artillery officers was undertaken at the Royal Military Repository in Woolwich. The Repository was based in the Royal Arsenal until 1802, when it relocated to an area of land alongside the nearby

Royal Artillery Barracks Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, is a barracks of the British Army which forms part of Woolwich Garrison. The Royal Regiment of Artillery had its headquarters here from 1776 until 2007, when it was moved to Larkhill Garrison. History In 17 ...

. In the early 19th century, gun drill took place on the Gun Parks, manoeuvres in the Repository Grounds and target practice (using

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a villag ...

and

howitzers 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 oth ...

) on

Woolwich Common Woolwich Common is a common in Woolwich in southeast London, England. It is partly used as military land (less than 40%) and partly as an urban park. Woolwich Common is a conservation area. It is part of the South East London Green Chain. It is al ...

. Use of the common as a firing range ceased when the Regiment's first School of Artillery (then called the School of Gunnery) was established at

Shoeburyness Shoeburyness (; also called Shoebury) is a suburb of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. east of the city centre. It was an urban district of Essex from 1894 to 1933, when it ...

, Essex, in 1859. To ensure parity of training for the Reserve Forces, the School of Gunnery established a branch at Woolwich, which in 1874 took over responsibility for training

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

and Volunteer Artillery; its instructors were based at the Repository, but live firing now took place on Plumstead Marshes. The Royal Military Repository closed in 1890, whereupon its staff and activities moved to

Lydd Lydd is a town and electoral ward in Kent, England, lying on Romney Marsh. It is one of the larger settlements on the marsh, and the most southerly town in Kent. Lydd reached the height of its prosperity during the 13th century, when it was a co ...

where they formed the Siege Artillery branch of the School of Gunnery; Shoeburyness continued to provide training in Field, Horse, Mountain and Garrison Artillery. In 1915, the Field Artillery and Horse Artillery elements from Shoeburyness were transferred to Larkhill (where over of land had been acquired in 1897 for use as firing ranges). Chapperton Down Artillery School was established in 1916, to the west of Larkhill, to train French battery commanders; the following year it expanded to run courses for the Home Defence Artillery. Also in 1916 a Training Centre for Heavy Artillery was established, at Woolwich; the following year it moved to

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

. In December 1919, the Army Council decided to combine the School of Instruction for Royal Horse and Field Artillery with the Chapperton Down Artillery School and the Heavy Artillery Training Centre to form an expanded School of Artillery. This took place in 1920; the following year the Siege Artillery School moved to Larkhill from Lydd and was likewise merged into the School. Shoeburyness, though, retained the Coast Artillery School of the

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

; in 1940 it moved to

Great Orme The Great Orme ( cy, Y Gogarth) is a limestone headland on the north coast of Wales, north-west of the town of Llandudno. Referred to as ''Cyngreawdr Fynydd'' by the 12th-century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr, its English name derives from the Old N ...

near

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...

, where it stayed for the duration of the war, before moving again to the

Royal Citadel, Plymouth The Royal Citadel in Plymouth, Devon, England, was built in the late 1660s to the design of Sir Bernard de Gomme. It is at the eastern end of Plymouth Hoe overlooking Plymouth Sound, and encompasses the site of the earlier fort that had been buil ...

(where it remained until 1956, when the UK's

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

network was disbanded).

Operations

Entrance to Horne Barracks, Larkhill - geograph

The School provides Phase 2 training for recruits to the Royal Artillery: this training includes gunnery, air defence, surveillance and signals. Trained officers and gunners are then posted to units worldwide, but return to the School for frequent refresher courses. The School is also the home of the Gunnery Training Team, which provides a training consultancy service to the Royal Artillery and the wider Army.

Facilities

Facilities which have grown up around the school include the Royal Artillery Barracks which accommodates

14 Regiment Royal Artillery 14th Regiment Royal Artillery is a training regiment within the Royal Artillery, part of the British Army. History 14 Regiment Royal Artillery was formed in Woolwich in March 1900, with roots traced through the history of 28th Field Brigade, ...

and Roberts Barracks, named after Field Marshal Lord Roberts, which accommodates 32 Regiment Royal Artillery as well as Horne Barracks, named after General Lord Horne, which accommodates 47 Regiment Royal Artillery. The Officers' Mess and Quarters, designed by William A Ross, Chief Architect to the War Office, and built between 1936 and 1941 is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building.

Commandants

Commandants of the RSA have included: *Brigadier-General Henry W. Newcome: April 1920–November 1922 *Brigadier-General William Stirling: November 1922–November 1926 *Brigadier C. Clement Armitage: November 1926–February 1929 *Brigadier Alan F. Brooke: February 1929–March 1932 *Brigadier , James M.R. Harrison: March 1932–October 1934 *Brigadier Lord D. Malise Graham: October 1934–September 1936 *Brigadier Henry R. Pownall: September 1936–March 1938 *Brigadier Sydney R. Wason: March 1938–September 1939 *Brigadier Francis Fitzgibbon: September 1939–November 1942 *Brigadier Rowland H. Towell: November 1942–October 1945 *Brigadier Gerard W.E. Heath: October 1945–December 1947 *Brigadier Gerald G. Mears: December 1947–December 1949 *Brigadier Richard W. Goodbody: December 1949–September 1951 *Brigadier Cyril H. Colquhoun: September 1951–October 1953 *Brigadier Edward D. Howard-Vyse: October 1953–February 1956 *Brigadier Adam J.C. Block: February 1956–January 1959 *Brigadier John M. McNeill: January 1959–June 1960 *Brigadier Peter J. Glover: June 1960–September 1962 *Brigadier William D.E. Brown: September 1962–January 1964 *Brigadier John A.T. Sharp: January 1964–February 1966 *Brigadier R.S. Streatfeild: February 1966–January 1969 *Brigadier Geoffrey de E. Collin: January 1969–July 1971 *Brigadier Peter B. Foster: July 1971–April 1973 *Brigadier Keith J. McQueen: April 1973–September 1974 *Brigadier John S. Badley: September 1974–July 1976 *Brigadier Richard N. Ohlenschlager: July 1976–December 1977 *Brigadier J.David W. Goodman: December 1977–December 1979 *Brigadier Derek M. Jones: December 1979–December 1982 *Brigadier John B. Bettridge: December 1982–January 1985 *Brigadier William E. Winder: January 1985–October 1987 *Brigadier Alastair J. McD. Clark: October 1987–August 1990 *Brigadier Giles G. Arnold: August 1990–October 1992 *Brigadier M.Shane Rutter-Jerome: October 1992–1995

References

Sources

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.army.mod.uk/artillery/23535.aspx Military history of Wiltshire Royal Artillery Training establishments of the British Army