The 103rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, (103rd LAA Rgt) was an air defence unit of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Initially raised as an infantry battalion of the

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59t ...

in 1940, it transferred to 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 ...

in 1941. It served in

Northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

but saw no active service. Shortly before

D Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, it was broken up to reinforce other units that fought in the campaign in North West Europe.

7th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment

The unit was originally formed in May 1940 as 50th Holding Battalion,

, as part of the rapid expansion of the Army with wartime conscripts. It converted to a normal infantry battalion in July that year as 7th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment.Frederick, p. 187. On 20 October it joined

202nd Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) The 202nd Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) was a short-lived Home Defence formation of the British Army during the World War II, Second World War. Origin and Service The 202nd Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) was formed for service in the ...

which was being organised by No 2 Infantry Training Group as a static defence formation in Northumbrian Area. The brigade became part of

Northumberland County Division The Northumberland County Division was a formation of the British Army in the Second World War, its headquarters were formed on 24 February 1941. It ceased to function on 1 December 1941, and the headquarters were disbanded on 21 December 1941. I ...

when that formation became operational in

X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

on 24 February 1941.Joslen, pp. 115, 365.

103rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment

The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H16771

7th East Lancashires left 202nd Bde on 18 November 1941 and transferred to the

(RA) to begin retraining in the light anti-aircraft (LAA) role, equipped with

Bofors 40 mm Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to models of 40 mm calibre automatic anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: * Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/43 - developed in the 1930s with market entry in 1934, wid ...

guns: on 1 December it became 103rd LAA Regiment with 339–341 LAA Batteries.Farndale, Annex M.Frederick, pp. 805, 836. 55 inf div -vector2

After initial training the regiment joined

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 ...

, but left in February 1942 before it had been allocated to a brigade. It was assigned to

55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division The 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army's Territorial Army (TA) that was formed in 1920 and existed through the Second World War, although it did not see combat. The division had originally ...

on 4 February 1942. The 55th was a prewar Territorial Army (TA) division that had just been placed of a lower establishment as a home defence and training formation in Northern Command.Joslen, pp. 90–1. 103rd LAA Rgt left 55th (West Lancs) Division on 30 November 1942 and joined 61st Infantry Division, a second line TA formation serving in

. The division returned to England in February 1943, serving successively in XI Corps District in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

(February to May), and then II Corps District in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

.Joslen, pp. 95–6. 61 inf div -vector

In May 1943 the division was assigned to

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established ...

for the planned Allied invasion of Normandy (

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

). It was to have had an assault role alongside 15th (Scottish) and

43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was an infantry Division (military), division of Britain's Territorial Army (United Kingdom), Territorial Army (TA). The division was first formed in 1908, as the Wessex Division. During the World War I, First ...

s. However, although it participated in exercises with the assault forces, it was later relegated to providing reinforcements. The division moved to South-Eastern Command in October 1943, on anti-invasion duty in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Disbandment

In early 1944 it was decided to increase the war establishment of the LAA regiments of the armoured and infantry divisions assigned to Overlord, particularly to man the multiple-barrelled 20 mm guns (usually Oerlikons or Polstens) that were being added to some regiments. 103rd LAA Regiment was broken up to provide some of the additional personnel. In the first phase, on 23 February, the regiment's

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 Troo ...

s were individually numbered: * A, B and C Trps of 339 LAA Bty became 57, 58 and 59 Trps * D, E and F Trps of 340 LAA Bty became 60, 70 and 71 Trps * G, H and I Trps of 341 LAA Bty became 72, 73 and 74 Trps In the second phase, on 14 March, these Troops were transferred to other regiments: * 57, 58 and 59 Trps went to 172, 173 and 174 LAA Btys of 58th (Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders) LAA Rgt in

11th Armoured Division The 11th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in March 1941 during the Second World War. The division was formed in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armour ...

Frederick, p. 835. * 60, 70 and 71 Trps went to 390, 391 and 392 LAA Btys of 119th LAA Rgt in 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division, as X, Y and Z 20 mm Trps * 72, 73 and 74 Trps went to 1, 41 and 42 LAA Btys of 15th (Isle of Man) LAA Rgt in 7th Armoured DivisionJoslen, p. 19.
All three divisions landed in Normandy and fought through the campaign in North West Europe. Finally, RHQ and the battery HQs of 214, 235 and 292 LAA Btys began disbanding on 18 March and completed this process by 15 April 1944.

Footnotes

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/Uckfield: Naval & Military, 2004
. * 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, Farn ...

, ''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 I, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, . * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, . *

Alan Jolly General Sir Alan Jolly, (12 November 1910 – 15 September 1977) was a senior officer of the British Army who served as Quartermaster-General to the Forces from 1966 to 1969. Early career Jolly joined the British Army and was commissioned into ...

, '' Blue Flash: The Story of an Armoured Regiment'', London 1952. * * Lt-Gen H.G. Martin, ''The History of the Fifteenth Scottish Division 1939–1945'', Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1948/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2014, . * Brig N.W. Routledge, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914–55'', London: Royal Artillery Institution/Brassey's, 1994, {{ISBN, 1-85753-099-3.

External links

Lancashire Infantry Museum

15th (Scottish) Division War Diaries.
Light anti-aircraft regiments of the Royal Artillery Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944