The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) 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 ...

provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the

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 ...

on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the

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 ...

(RHA) and 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) ...

(RGA). It ceased to exist when it was amalgamated with the Royal Garrison Artillery in 1924. The Royal Field Artillery was the largest arm of the artillery. It was responsible for the medium

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...

guns and

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 ...

s deployed close to the front line and was reasonably mobile. It was organised into

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. Br ...

s, attached to divisions or higher formations.

Notable members

Ernest Wright Alexander Major-General Ernest Wright Alexander, (2 October 1870 – 25 August 1934) was a British Army officer and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and C ...

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

recipient *

Colin Gubbins Major-General Sir Colin McVean Gubbins (2 July 1896 – 11 February 1976) was the prime mover of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in the Second World War. Gubbins was also responsible for setting up the secret Auxiliary Units, a command ...

(1896–1976), prime mover of the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

(SOE) * Dar Lyon (1898–1964).

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

er *

Norman Manley Norman Washington Manley (4 July 1893 – 2 September 1969) was a Jamaican statesman who served as the first and only Premier of Jamaica. A Rhodes Scholar, Manley became one of Jamaica's leading lawyers in the 1920s. Manley was an advocate ...

(1893–1969), first Premier of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, serving from 14 August 1959 to 29 April 1962 * Donald McLeod (1882–1917), represented Scotland at

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

* Cecil Patteson Nickalls, D.S.O. (1877-1925), champion polo player who took his own life with a gun on 7 April 1925 *

Alfred William Saunders Captain Alfred William Saunders (16 January 1888 – 22 May 1930) was an Irish flying ace of the First World War, credited with twelve aerial victories. He remained in the RAF post-war, serving until 1927. Early life and background Saunders was ...

(1888–1930), World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

Garth Neville Walford Captain Garth Neville Walford (27 May 1882 – 26 April 1915) was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Com ...

, Victoria Cross recipient *

Francis Wallington Francis Victor Wallington MC & Three Bars (16 October 1891 – 15 February 1971) was a decorated British Army officer. He was the first of four soldiers to be awarded the Military Cross four times, all in the First World War. Military career Wa ...

, first recipient of the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

four times *

Henry Curling Colonel Henry Thomas Curling (27 July 1847 – 1 January 1910) was a Royal Artillery officer of the British Army who served between 1868 and 1902. He fought in the Anglo-Zulu war and during the Battle of Isandlwana was one of only a few Britis ...

, sole British front line officer to survive the

Battle of Isandlwana The Battle of Isandlwana (alternative spelling: Isandhlwana) on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Eleven days after the British commenced their invasion of Zulul ...

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

A List of the formation, attachments and history of each Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery
Royal Artillery Artillery units and formations of World War I Units and formations of the Royal Artillery {{UK-mil-unit-stub