965 Defence Battery, Hong Kong–Singapore Royal Artillery
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The Defence Batteries were 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 ...
created for beach defence 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 ...
when the
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was threatened with invasion after 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 ...
. Once they had served their purpose they were disbanded or converted into units of field artillery.


Home defence

After the British Expeditionary Force was evacuated from Dunkirk and the UK was threatened with invasion, a crash programme of installing coastal artillery batteries was implemented in the summer of 1940.Collier, Chapter VIII.
/ref> Later, as the Home Defence strategy developed, the Royal Artillery formed a number of 'Defence Batteries' to deploy around the coastline for general beach defence. These were not part of the fixed defences of the RA's Coast Artillery branch covering the ports (although it had long been the practice for ''garrison'' artillery units to be equipped with a handful of mobile guns, in addition to their primary fixed guns, for similar usage), nor were they included in the field forces under
Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces was a senior officer in the British Army during the First World War, First and Second World Wars. The role of the appointment was firstly to oversee the military training, training and Military equipment, equipmen ...
, but equipped with whatever old direct-fire guns were available they freed up scarce field artillery from semi-static beach defence for the mobile counter-attack forces. Most of these batteries were formed on 1 September 1940.Frederick, pp. 931–3. The batteries would have been formed around a cadre of gunners from existing units. For example, 901 (Independent) Defence Bty was commanded by an officer transferred from 135th (East Anglian) (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, which was defending the
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
coastline with a variety of obsolete guns. The 135th also supplied 64 gunners, but these were recruits who had only just joined the regiment. Most of the defence batteries were grouped into regiments on 4 October 1940:Farndale, ''Years of Defeat'', Annex M. * 1st Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed at
Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...
,
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 ...
– ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' ** 903, 904 Def Btys – ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' ** 905 Def Bty – ''to 2nd Def Rgt 15 March 1941'' * 2nd Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed at
Saxmundham Saxmundham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is set in the valley of the River Fromus about north-east of Ipswich and west of the coast at Sizewell. The town is bypassed ...
,
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
** 907, 808 Def Btys ** 909 Def Bty – ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' ** 905 Def Bty – ''from 1st Def Rgt 15 March 1941'' * 3rd Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed at
Horsmonden Horsmonden ( ) is a village in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located in the Weald of Kent. It is situated on a road leading from Maidstone to Lamberhurst, three miles north of the latter place. The nearest railw ...
,
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 ...
** 911 Def Bty – ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' ** 912, 913, 914 Def Btys * 4th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed at
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...
,
East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...
– ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' ** 915 Def Bty – ''independent from 15 March 1941'' ** 916 Def Bty – ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' *
5th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery The 172nd Field Regiment was a unit of Britain's Royal Artillery (RA) during World War II. Originally formed to man beach defence batteries in Kent and Sussex, it was later converted to field artillery. It served in the Tunisian campaign, where o ...
, formed at
Steyning Steyning ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham District, Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, north of the coastal town of Shoreha ...
,
West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...
** 917, 918 Def Btys ** 919 Def Btys – ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' * 6th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed at
Eynsford Eynsford ( or ) is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located south east of Swanley, and south of Dartford, which is the village's postal town. Eynsford forms part of the London commuter belt. The v ...
,
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 ...
– ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' ** 920, 921, 922 Def Btys – ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' *
7th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery The 173rd Field Regiment was a unit of Britain's Royal Artillery (RA) during World War II. Originally formed to man beach defence batteries, it was later converted to field artillery. It served in Home Forces and supplied trained gunners to the f ...
, formed in
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
** 924, 927, 928 Def Btys – ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' **925, 926, 929 Dev Btys *
8th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery The 174th Field Regiment was a unit of Britain's Royal Artillery (RA) during the Second World War. Originally formed to man beach defence batteries, it was later converted to field artillery. It served in Home Forces and supplied trained gunners ...
, formed at
Leven, East Riding of Yorkshire Leven is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately west of Hornsea town centre, and north-west of the A165 road. According to the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2 ...
** 930, 932, 933, Def Btys ** 931, 934 Def Btys – ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' * 9th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed at
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
** 935 Def Bty ** 936, 937, 938, 939, 940, 941 Def Btys – ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' *
10th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery The 175th Field Regiment was a unit of Britain's Royal Artillery (RA) during World War II. Originally formed to man beach defence batteries, it was later converted to field artillery. It served in Home Forces and supplied trained gunners to the f ...
, formed at
Mere, Wiltshire Mere is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It lies at the extreme southwestern tip of Salisbury Plain, close to the borders of Somerset and Dorset. The parish includes the Hamlet (place), hamlets of ...
** 944, 946, 948, 950 Def Btys – ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' ** 945, 947, 949 Def Btys * 11th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed at
Bude Bude (, locally or ; Cornish language, Cornish ) is a seaside town in north Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as ...
,
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
** 951 Def Bty – ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' ** 952, 953, 954 Def Btys * 12th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed at
Dunster Dunster is a village that is home to Celtu and civil parish in Somerset, England, within the north-eastern boundary of Exmoor National Park. It lies on the Bristol Channel southeast of Minehead and northwest of Taunton. At the 2011 Census, ...
,
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
** 955, 956 Def Btys * 13th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed at Hightown,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
** 957 Def Bty ** 958 Def Bty – ''independent from 15 March 1941'' * 14th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed at
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
,
South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...
** 959 Def Bty – ''disbanded 12 April 1941'' ** 960, 961 Def Btys ** 964 Def Bty – ''from 15th Def Rgt 12 April 1941'' * 15th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed at
Alcester Alcester ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England. It is west of Stratford-upon-Avon, and 7 miles south of Redditch. The town dates back to the times of Roman ...
,
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
– ''disbanded 9 April 1941'' ** 962, 963, 964 Def Btys – ''disbanded 9 April 1941'' ** 964 Def Bty – ''to 14th Def Rgt 12 April 1941'' * Independent batteries: ** 901 (Ind) Def Bty – ''disbanded 3 March 1941'' ** 902, 906, 923, 942, 943 (Ind) Def Btys ** 910 (Ind) Def Bty – ''disbanded 15 March 1941'' ** 915 (Ind) Def Bty – ''from 4th Def Rgt 15 March 1941'' ** 958 (Ind) Def Bty – ''from 13th Def Rgt 15 March 1941''


Field Force

By the beginning of 1942 the imminent threat of invasion had passed, the coast artillery batteries were fully established, and the RA required gunners for the field forces. The remaining defence regiments and independent batteries in the UK were disbanded or converted into field artillery on 12 January 1942: * 2nd Defence Rgt became 171st Field Rgt * 3rd Defence Rgt became 172nd Field Rgt * 5th Defence Rgt disbanded, personnel to 172nd Field Rgt * 7th Defence Rgt with personnel of 923 (Ind) Def Bty became 173rd Field Rgt * 8th Defence Rgt became 174th Field Rgt * 9th Defence Rgt disbanded * 10th Defence Rgt became 175th Field Rgt * 11th Defence Rgt became 176th Field Rgt * 12th Defence Rgt disbanded, personnel of 956 Def Bty to 172nd Field Rgt * 14th Defence Rgt with personnel of 958 (Ind) Def Bty became 177th Field Rgt Most of these new field regiments served in reserve or holding formations, training reinforcements for units serving in active theatres, though 172nd Field Rgt did serve through the Tunisian and
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
campaigns, and 177th Field Rgt was used to reform the
Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...
's 25th Field Rgt, which had been captured at the
Fall of Tobruk The Axis capture of Tobruk, also known as the Fall of Tobruk and the Second Battle of Tobruk (17–21 June 1942) was part of the Western Desert campaign in Libya during the Second World War. The battle was fought by the ( in Italian), a Germanâ ...
.


Overseas

A number of defence batteries and regiments were also formed during the war in British overseas garrisons: * 16th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
on 24 February 1941 from 10th Mobile Coast Rgt. It was captured by the Japanese at the
Fall of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. S ...
on 15 February 1942.Farndale, ''Far East'', Annex A.Frederick, pp. 620, 886. ** 966 Def Bty ( 18-pounder guns) – ''converted from 30 Mobile Coast Bty (or 34 Coast Bty?), Hong Kong–Singapore Royal Artillery (HKSRA)'' ** 967 Def Bty, HKSRA (18-pounder guns) – ''converted from 21 Mobile Coast Bty, RA'' ** 968 Def Bty, HKSRA ( 2-pounder guns)– ''converted from 22 Mobile Coast Bty, HKSRA'' * 17th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed in
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
on 24 February 1941 from 13th Mobile Coast Rgt (itself converted from 26th Anti-Tank Rgt on 3 September 1939). As Regular Army units, the batteries retained their existing numbers on conversion rather than take the defence battery numbers (969–72) reserved for them, and on 29 June 1941 the regiment was itself redesignated as 26th Defence Rgt. It served through the Siege of Malta and then on 18 September 1943 was converted into 26th Medium Rgt for service in the Italian Campaign.Frederick, p. 732.Joslen, p. 467.Joslen, pp. 484–5. ** 15 Def Bty – ''15/40 Def Bty from 22 August 1941'' ** 40 Def Bty ** 48 Def Bty – ''48/71 Def Bty from 22 August 1941'' ** 71 Def Bty ** 13 Def Bty,
Royal Malta Artillery The Royal Malta Artillery (RMA) was a regular artillery unit of the British Army prior to Malta's independence. It was formed in 1889, having been called the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery from 1861 until 1889. Initially on the British Esta ...
(RMA) – ''formed and joined 22 August 1941; transferred to 5th Coast Rgt, RMA, 1 June 1942'' * 18th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, formed in
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
as a Mobile Coast Rgt on 1 December 1940 with one field, one medium and one anti-tank battery, and redesignated 18th Def Rgt on 1 April 1941. Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) became RHQ 18th Medium Rgt on 5 January 1944 and the batteries were disbanded on 5 March 1944. 18th Medium Rgt later served in the Italian Campaign. ** 973 Def Bty – ''converted from field bty'' ** 974 Def Bty – ''converted from medium bty'' ** 975 Def Bty – ''converted from anti-tank bty'' * 805th Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery, was formed in Middle East Forces on 25 October 1943 and disbanded on 30 November 1943 ** A & B Field Btys In addition, 965 Defence Bty, converted from 36 Heavy Bty, HKSRA, and equipped with 18-pdr and 2-pdr guns, served as part of the mobile coast defences of
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and was captured by the Japanese at the
Fall of Hong Kong The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the ...
on 25 December 1941.Maurice-Jones, pp. 258–63.


Notes

{{reflist, 3


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
ISBN 978-1-84574-055-9. * 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, ISBN 1-85753-080-2. * Gen Sir Martin Farndale, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Far East Theatre 1939–1946'', London: Brasseys, 2002, ISBN 1-85753-302-X. * J.B.M. Frederick, ''Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978'', Vol II, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-009-X. * Lt-Col H.F. Joslen, ''Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1960/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 1-843424-74-6. * Denis Rollo, ''The Guns and Gunners of Malta'', Malta: Mondial, 1999, ISBN 99909-68-84-5. * Lt-Col J.D. Sainsbury, ''The Hertfordshire Yeomanry Regiments, Royal Artillery, Part 1: The Field Regiments 1920-1946'', Welwyn: Hertfordshire Yeomanry and Artillery Trust/Hart Books, 1999, ISBN 0-948527-05-6. Units and formations of the Royal Artillery