The 11th Anti-Aircraft Division (11th AA Division) was an air defence formation 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 ...

during the early years of 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 ...

. It defended the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

during

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

, including the notorious raid on Coventry, and the subsequent

Baedeker Blitz The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of aerial attacks in April and May 1942 by the German ''Luftwaffe'' on English cities during the Second World War. The name derives from Baedeker, a series of German tourist guide books, includ ...

, but only had a short career.

Mobilisation

The 11th Anti-Aircraft Division was one of five new divisions created on 1 November 1940 by

Anti-Aircraft Command Anti-Aircraft Command (AA Command, or "Ack-Ack Command") was a British Army command of the Second World War that controlled the Territorial Army anti-aircraft artillery and searchlight formations and units defending the United Kingdom. Origin ...

to control the expanding anti-aircraft (AA) defences of the United Kingdom. The division was formed by separating two Territorial Army (TA) brigade areas ( 34th (South Midland) and 54th) from the 4th AA Division in North West England and adding a Regular Army headquarters from the ( 1st AA Brigade) that had recently returned from the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

.Frederick, p. 1047.Pile's despatch.
/ref>11 AA Division at RA 39–45.
/ref> The divisional headquarters (HQ) was at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

and the first General Officer Commanding (GOC), appointed on 14 November 1940, was Major-General Sidney Archibald, who had been Major General, Royal Artillery, of Home Forces and was a former commander of the 34th (South Midland) AA Brigade. The 11th AA Division formed part of II AA Corps.Farndale, Annex J.Archibald at Generals of WWII.
/ref>Lord & Watson, p. 251.

The Blitz

The division's fighting units, organised into three AA Brigades, consisted of Heavy (HAA) and Light (LAA) gun regiments and Searchlight (S/L) regiments 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 ...

. The HAA guns were concentrated in the Gun Defence Areas (GDAs) at

and

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, LAA units were distributed to defend Vulnerable Points (VPs) such as factories and airfields, while the S/L detachments were disposed in clusters of three, spaced apart.

Coventry Blitz

At the time the 11th AA Division was created, the industrial towns of the UK were under regular attack by night, to which the limited AA defences replied as best they could. The West Midlands had already suffered badly, with Birmingham and Coventry receiving heavy raids in August and October. The new division was still being formed when the ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

'' launched a series of devastating raids, beginning with the notorious

Coventry Blitz The Coventry Blitz (blitz: from the German word ''Blitzkrieg'' meaning "lightning war" ) or Coventration of the city was a series of bombing raids that took place on the British city of Coventry. The city was bombed many times during the Seco ...

on 14/15 November.Collier, Chapter 17.
/ref> The Coventry raid was preceded by a dozen pathfinder aircraft of ''

Kampfgeschwader 100 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 100 (KG 100) was a ''Luftwaffe'' medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II and the first military aviation unit to use a precision-guided munition (the Fritz X anti-ship glide bomb) in combat to sink a warship (the Itali ...

'' riding an ''

X-Gerät The Battle of the Beams was a period early in the Second World War when bombers of the German Air Force (''Luftwaffe'') used a number of increasingly accurate systems of radio navigation for night bombing in the United Kingdom. British scientific ...

'' beam to drop flares and incendiary bombs on the target. The huge fires that broke out in the congested city centre then attracted successive 40-strong waves of bombers flying at heights between 12,000 and 20,000 feet to saturate the defences. The AA Defence Commander (AADC) of 95th (Birmingham) HAA Rgt had prepared a series of concentrations to be fired using sound-locators and GL Mk. I gun-laying radar, and 128 concentrations were fired before the bombing severed all lines of communication and the noise drowned out sound-location. Some gun positions were able to fire at S/L beam intersections, glimpsed through the smoke and guessing the range. Although the Coventry guns fired 10 rounds a minute for the whole 10-hour raid, only three aircraft were shot down over the UK that night, and the city centre was gutted. The change in enemy tactics led to HAA guns being moved from London to the West Midlands (for example, the 6th HAA Regt).Walker, pp. 73–4.

Birmingham Blitz

The Coventry raid was followed by three consecutive nights (19–22 November) of attacks on Birmingham and other

Black Country The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...

industrial towns including

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

and

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the West Midlands in England with a population of around 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham. Tipton was once one of the most heavily industrialised towns in the Black Country, w ...

were all hit. Birmingham was bombed again during December (3, 4, 11) and on 11 March 1941, but the full

Birmingham Blitz The Birmingham Blitz was the heavy bombing by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' of the city of Birmingham and surrounding towns in central England, beginning on 9 August 1940 as a fraction of the greater Blitz , which was part of the Battle of Brit ...

came in April 1941, with heavy raids on the nights of 9/10 and 10/11 of the month, causing extensive damage and casualties.Collier, Appendix XXX.
/ref> The Blitz is generally held to have ended on 16 May 1941 with another attack on Birmingham. By now the HAA sites had the advantage of GL Mk I* radar with an elevation finding (E/F or 'Effie') attachment, and several attackers were turned away by accurate fire and their bombs scattered widely, some on nearby

Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in northern Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire and West Midlands County.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's ...

. The city was attacked again in July, but the ''Luftwaffe'' bombing offensive was effectively over. The West Midlands had been the hardest hit area of the UK after London and

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

Order of Battle 1940–41

The division's composition during the Blitz was as follows:Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 12 May 1941, with amendments, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 212/79. * 1st AA Brigadede – ''HQ

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

: responsible for

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, airfields and VPs; left by May 1941'' ** 1st HAA Rgt ** 106th HAA Rgt ** 45th LAA Rgt45 LAA Rgt at RA 39–45.
/ref> ** 63rd LAA Rgt – ''new regiment raised in October 1940''Farndale, Annex M. ** 61st (South Lancashire) S/L RgtLitchfield, pp. 132–3. ** 78th S/L Rgt ** 83rd S/L Rgt – ''new regiment raised in January 1941 at Crewe'' * 34th (South Midland) AA Brigade – ''HQ

: responsible for Birmingham and Coventry GDAs'' ** 6 HAA Regt – ''arrived from London 24 November 1940'' ** 60th (City of London) HAA Rgt ** 95th (Birmingham) HAA RgtLitchfield, pp. 241–2. ** 110th HAA Rgt – ''new regiment raised in October 1940'' ** 112th HAA Rgt – ''new regiment raised in October 1940'' ** 22nd LAA Regt * 54th AA Brigade – ''HQ

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...

: responsible for S/L provision to West Midlands GDAs'' ** 45th (Royal Warwickshire Regiment) S/L Rgt ** 80th S/L Rgt – ''new regiment raised in October 1940'' * 10th AA 'Z' Rgt – ''divisional

Z Battery A Z Battery was a short range anti-aircraft weapon system, launching diameter rockets from ground-based single and multiple launchers, for the air defence of Great Britain in the Second World War. The rocket motors were later adapted with a ne ...

rocket unit formed January 1941'' * 11th AA Divisional Signals,

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

(RCS) – ''formed at Birmingham November–December 1940 as duplicate of 4 AA Divisional Signals''Nalder, p. 622. * 11th AA Divisional

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

(RASC) ** 254th and 912th Companies * 11th AA Divisional Company,

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

(RAMC) * 11th AA Divisional Workshop Company,

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

(RAOC) By March 1941, the 1st AA Brigade HQ together with the Regular 1st and 6th HAA Rgts had returned to the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

(WO) Reserve pending deployment overseas, but temporarily remained part of AA Command. By mid-May 1941, the 1st AA Brigade had handed over its units and responsibilities to a new 68th AA Brigade and left AA Command, while the 67th AA Brigade had also been created by splitting the 34th AA Brigade.

Mid-War

By October 1941 the availability of S/L control radar was sufficient to allow AA Command's S/L sites to be 'declustered' into single-light sites spaced at intervals in 'Indicator Belts' in the approaches to the GDAs, and 'Killer Belts' at spacing to cooperate with the RAF's

Night-fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

s.Routledge, pp. 399–401. Although the ''Luftwaffe''s so-called

of 1942 was mainly aimed at unprotected cities, Birmingham was hit on several occasions in June and July that year. Newly formed AA units joined the division, the HAA and support units increasingly becoming 'Mixed' units, indicating that women of the

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 Februa ...

(ATS) were fully integrated into them. At the same time, experienced units were posted away to train for service overseas. This led to a continual turnover of units, which accelerated in 1942 with the preparations for the invasion of North Africa (

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

) and the need to transfer AA units to counter the Baedeker raids and the ''Luftwaffe''s hit-and-run attacks against South Coast towns.

Order of Battle 1941–42

During this period the division was composed as follows:Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 27: AA Command, 14 May 1942, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/81. * 34th AA Brigade ** 6th HAA Rgt – ''left in September 1941 for overseas service; captured in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

March 1942'' ** 55th (Kent) HAA Rgt – ''from 6th AA Division by December 1941; to WO Control December 1941, left February 1942 for

Persia and Iraq Command The Persia and Iraq Command was a command of the British Army established during the Second World War in September 1942 in Baghdad. Its primary role was to secure from land and air attack the oilfields and oil installations in Persia (officially ...

(PAIFORCE)''Joslen, p. 488. ** 57th (Wessex) HAA Rgt – ''from 1st AA Division March 1942; to 9th AA Division May 1942'' ** 60th HAA Rgt – ''to the 68th AA Brigade Summer 1941'' ** 65th (Manchester Regiment) HAA Rgt – ''from

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

and

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

Defences (OSDEF) June 1941; to 3rd AA Division Autumn 1941'' ** 71st (Forth) HAA Rgt – ''from 3rd AA Division by December 1941; to 6th AA Division May 1942'' ** 95th HAA Rgt – ''returned from 67th AA Brigade December 1941; left January 1942, arrived in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

April 1942'' ** 107th HAA Rgt – ''from 4th AA Division by May 1942; to 5th AA Division June 1942'' ** 110th HAA Rgt – ''to OSDEF May 1941'' ** 122nd HAA Rgt – ''new regiment formed in February 1941; to 67th AA Brigade by December 1941'' ** 134th (Mixed) HAA Rgt – ''new regiment formed in September 1941'' ** 142nd (Mixed) HAA Rgt – ''from 67th AA Brigade June 1942'' ** 22nd LAA Rgt – ''returned from 67th AA Brigade by December 1941; to 54th AA Brigade June 1942'' ** 42nd LAA Rgt – ''left Summer 1941; to Middle East Forces by December 1941'' ** 10th AA 'Z' Rgt – ''to 67th AA Brigade Summer 1941; returned by December 1941'' * 54th AA Brigade ** 22nd LAA Rgt – ''from 34th AA Brigade June 1942; to WO Control September 1942; later to Operation Torch''Order of Battle of the Field Force in the United Kingdom, Part 3: Royal Artillery (Non-Divisional Units), 14 August 1942, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/7 and WO 33/1927.Joslen, p. 465. ** 111th LAA Rgt – ''from 2nd AA Division July 1942'' ** 128th LAA Rgt – ''from 67 AA Brigade June 1942; to 68 AA Brigade July 1942'' ** 30th (Surrey) S/L Rgt – ''from 10th AA Division by May 1942; to WO Control September 1942; later to Operation Torch'' ** 45th S/L Rgt – ''converted into 122nd LAA Rgt February 1942, joined 68th AA Brigade May 1942'' ** 59th S/L Rgt – ''to OSDEF May 1941'' ** 80th S/L Rgt ** 83rd S/L Rgt – ''from 68th AA Brigade Summer 1941'' * 67th AA Brigade ** 95th HAA Rgt – ''from 34th AA Brigade by May 1941, returned December 1941'' ** 122nd HAA Rgt – ''from 34th AA Brigade by December 1941; to 68th AA Brigade December 1941'' ** 138th HAA Rgt – ''from 9th AA Division August 1942; to 3rd AA Division September 1942'' ** 142nd (Mixed) HAA Rgt – ''new unit formed December 1941; to 34th AA Brigade June 1942'' ** 22nd LAA Rgt – ''from 34th AA Brigade by May 1941; returned by December 1941'' ** 79th LAA Rgt – ''new unit formed July 1941; to PAIFORCE by May 1942'' ** 10th AA 'Z' Rgt – ''from 34th AA Brigade Summer 1941; returned by December 1941'' By May 1942, the 67th AA Brigade consisted only of 142nd (M) HAA Rgt; thereafter it was joined by: ** 119th HAA Rgt – ''from 8th AA Division June 1942; to OSDEF September 1942'' ** 143rd (Mixed) HAA Rgt – ''new regiment formed January 1942, joined July 1942'' ** 87th LAA Rgt – ''from 8th AA Division June 1942; to unbrigaded July 1942'' ** 128th LAA Rgt – ''converted from 87th S/L Rgt, joined May 1942; to 54th AA Brigade June 1942'' ** 135th LAA Rgt – ''new regiment formed in January 1942; joined July 1942; to 8th AA Division September 1942'' ** 37th (Tyne Electrical Engineers) S/L Rgt – ''from 9th AA Division July 1942; returned September 1942'' In June 1942, the 67th AA Brigade transferred to the 9th AA Division, and by October 1942 it once again consisted of a single regiment (143rd (M) HAA). * 68th AA Brigade ** 60th HAA Rgt – ''from 34th AA Brigade Summer 1941; to 12th AA Division by December 1941'' ** 106th HAA Rgt – ''from 1st AA Brigade ; to 2nd AA Division Summer 1941'' ** 115th HAA Rgt – ''from OSDEF September 1942'' ** 122nd HAA Rgt – ''from 67th AA Brigade December 1941; to unbrigaded July 1942'' ** 45th LAA Rgt – ''from 1st AA Brigade ; to 2nd AA Division December 1941'' ** 63rd LAA Rgt – ''from 1st AA Brigade ; to WO Control September 1942; later to Operation Torch'' ** 98th LAA Rgt – ''new unit formed by a

cadre Cadre may refer to: *Cadre (military), a group of officers or NCOs around whom a unit is formed, or a training staff *Cadre (politics), a politically controlled appointment to an institution in order to circumvent the state and bring control to th ...

from 45th LAA Rgt December 1941; to 4th AA Division by May 1942'' ** 122nd LAA Rgt – ''from 87th S/L Rgt, 54th AA Brigade , May 1942; to 6th AA Division by September 1942'' ** 128th LAA Rgt – ''from 54th AA Brigade July 1942'' ** 38th (The King's Regiment) S/L Rgt – '' from OSDEF June 1941'' ** 61st S/L Rgt – ''from 1st AA Brigade '' ** 83rd S/L Rgt – ''from 1st AA Brigade ; to 54th AA Brigade Summer 1941'' ** 78th S/L Rgt – ''from 1st AA Brigade '' The increased sophistication of Operations Rooms and communications was reflected in the growth in support units, which attained the following organisation by May 1942: * 11th AA Division Mixed Signal Unit HQ, RCS ** HQ No 1 Company *** 11th AA Division Mixed Signal Office Section *** 68th AA Brigade Signal Office Mixed Sub-Section *** 118th RAF Fighter Sector Sub-Section (

RAF Atcham Royal Air Force Atcham or more simply RAF Atcham is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, on the north eastern boundary of Attingham Park. Initially built for RAF Fighter Command, during the Secon ...

) *** 320th AA Gun Operations Room Mixed Signal Section (Crewe) *** 344th AA Gun Operations Room Mixed Signal Section (

RAF Valley Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley ( cy, Llu Awyr Brenhinol Y Fali) is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training ...

) *** 20th AA Line Maintenance Section ** HQ No 2 Company *** 40st AA Gun Operations Room Mixed Signal Section (Birmingham) **** st1 AA Sub-Gun Operations Room Mixed Signal Sub-Section **** 2nd AA Sub-Gun Operations Room Mixed Signal Sub-Section **** 3rd AA Sub-Gun Operations Room Mixed Signal Sub-Section **** 4th AA Sub-Gun Operations Room Mixed Signal Sub-Section *** 413th AA Gun Operations Room Mixed Signal Section (Coventry) – ''formed from 4 Sub-GOR July 1942'' *** 34th AA Brigade Signal Office Mixed Sub-Section *** 54th AA Brigade Signal Office Mixed Sub-Section *** 119th RAF Fighter Sector Sub-Section (

RAF Honiley Royal Air Force Honiley or RAF Honiley is a former Royal Air Force station located in Wroxall, Warwickshire, southwest of Coventry, England. The station closed in March 1958, and after being used as a motor vehicle test track, it has been sub ...

) *** 28th AA Line Maintenance Section *** 29th AA Line Maintenance Section * HQ 11th AA Div RASC ** 254th, 912th Companies * 11th AA Div RAMC * 11th AA Div Workshop Company, RAOC * 11th AA Div Radio Maintenance Company, RAOC The RAOC companies became part of the new

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...

(REME) during 1942.

Disbandment

A reorganisation of AA Command in October 1942 saw the AA divisions disbanded and replaced by a smaller number of AA Groups more closely aligned with the groups of

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

. The 11th AA Division merged with the 4th AA Division into the 4th AA Group based at Preston and cooperating with

No. 9 Group RAF No. 9 Group RAF was a group of the Royal Air Force. History The group was first formed on 1 April 1918 in No. 2 Area. The next month it was transferred to South-Western Area and then disbanded on 15 May 1919. Its next incarnation was as part ...

. The 11th AA Divisional Signals was amalgamated back into its parent 4th AA Divisional Signals as the 4th AA Group (Mixed) Signals.Lord & Watson, pp. 170–1.

General Officer Commanding

The following officer commanded 11th AA Division: * Major-General

Sidney Archibald Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Sidney Charles Manley Archibald Military Cross, MC (30 October 1890 – 1 January 1973) was a British Army officer who served in both World War I and World War II. Military career Born in 1890, Arch ...

(11 November 1940 – 30 September 1942)

Notes

References

*
Basil Collier, ''History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series: The Defence of the United Kingdom'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1957.
* Gen Sir

Martin Farndale General Sir Martin Baker Farndale, (6 January 1929 – 10 May 2000) was a British Army officer who reached high office in the 1980s. Military career Educated at Yorebridge Grammar School, Askrigg, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Farnda ...

, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Years of Defeat: Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988/London: Brasseys, 1996, . * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield, Microform Academic, 1984, . * * Norman E.H. Litchfield, ''The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988 (Their Lineage, Uniforms and Badges)'', Nottingham: Sherwood Press, 1992, . * Cliff Lord & Graham Watson, ''Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920–2001) and its Antecedents'', Solihull: Helion, 2003, . * Maj-Gen R.F.H. Nalder, ''The Royal Corps of Signals: A History of its Antecedents and Developments (Circa 1800–1955)'', London: Royal Signals Institution, 1958.
Sir Frederick Pile's despatch: "The Anti-Aircraft Defence of the United Kingdom from 28th July, 1939, to 15th April, 1945" ''London Gazette'' 18 December 1947.
* Brig N.W. Routledge, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55'', London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, . * Patrick Walker, ''6th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery'', Rev Edn, Gloucester: Choir Press, 2013,

External sources

Anti-Aircraft Command (1940) at British Military History

Generals of World War II

Royal Artillery 1939–1945
{{Use dmy dates, date=January 2018 Military units and formations established in 1940 11 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942 11