ROYAL FOOT ARTILLERY 1815
HISTORY
A short history of the Royal Artillery
It could be said that the history of the Royal Artillery extends back to an incident which occurred during the Battle of Crecy, when a French foot soldier was killed by a British cannon (nothing new here!), and there have been gunners serving in British armies since then. However, it wasn't until 1485 that the first official gunners were appointed, as part of what became the Board of Ordnance. Throughout the next 400 years the forts around Britain had master gunners permanently appointed by the Board of Ordnance. Trains of artillery were formed for campaigning both at home and abroad, with guns and the men to serve them.
1716 to 1800
In 1716, under a Royal Warrant, two companies of artillery, each of 100 men, were formed at the Woolwich Warren (later the Royal Arsenal) to ensure that a regular force of gunners was available when needed. Woolwich has been the spiritual home of the 'Gunners' ever since that time, although the Regiment had moved to its famous barracks on Woolwich Common by 1805.
The Regiment expanded rapidly in the 18th century and saw service in every campaign and every garrison world-wide. In 1793, the Royal Horse Artillery was formed to provide greater mobility in the field, and soon became associated with the role of supporting cavalry. The RHA performed so well that it became a corps d'elite within the Regiment.
The 19th century
During the early part of the Peninsular War the Royal Artillery were very light on the ground. For example, in May 1808, the artillery support for the British army and the Kings German Legion consisted of three batteries (6 guns each battery) of light 6-pdrs and three batteries of 3-pdrs. The 3pdrs were considered to be of very limited hitting power. By June 1813, during the Vittoria campaign, the strength had been increased to seven batteries of 9-pdrs, two of heavy 6-pdrs and four of light 6-pdrs. It was only by the Waterloo campaign that all the Royal Artillery foot brigades were equipped with five 9-pdrs and one 5½-in howitzer. Other ordnance used by the Royal Artillery were a mountain battery formed for the crossing of the Pyrenees. They were equipped with six 3-pdrs, which were broken down and carried on the backs of mules, and were crewed by a mixture of British and Portuguese gunners.
The 19th century saw the Regiment heavily engaged in the Crimean War and the South African War. Throughout the century, it was campaigning in India alongside the separate artilleries of the East India Company. This led to their amalgamation with the British Army after the Indian Mutiny, bringing some famous batteries into the Regiment.
The 20th century
The science of artillery grew rapidly under the pressure of the Industrial Revolution and by the end of the 19th century, the need for indirect fire brought major changes. Guns became ever more powerful, firing more efficient munitions to longer ranges with increased accuracy and greater speed. The Great War of 1914-18 was to prove an artillery war, and the number of gunners increased dramatically, serving 6,655 guns by the end of the war, with anti-aircraft (AA) guns joining in against the new threat from the air.
The inter-war years provided active service on the fringes of the Empire, but the 1930s saw the Regiment once again arming for war. Full mechanisation now replaced the horses which had served the Regiment for so long. In the war which ensued, the Regiment again provided firepower in every theatre, on land, at sea in the Maritime Artillery, and in the air with Air Observation Posts. Gunners manned huge numbers of AA guns both in the field and in the home base. Many of the AA Regiments were formed from Territorial Army units. Most of the Light AA gunners began the war as infantrymen.
Despite the reduction of the Army in the post-war years, the Regiment has been armed with some of the most potent, long-ranged weapons it has ever manned. Today it uses the wide span of technology of all the Arms, with virtually no branch of military science unexplored.
But the Regiment's history is the foundation stone on which it rests. For over 280 years of unbroken service since 1716, and reaching back a further 400 years to the first bombard, artillerymen have provided the Army with the firepower it has needed in defence and attack. In 1833, King William IV recognised that to continue granting Battle Honours to the Regiment would result in an excessive list, and granted instead a single Battle Honour, the motto Ubique (Everywhere), with an accompanying motto Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt (Whither Right and Glory Lead).
©Royal Foot Artillery 1815
A Typical Field Gun of the Period