2nd Kent Artillery Volunteers
| 2nd Kent Artillery Volunteers | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1860–1961 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Territorial Army |
| Type | Artillery Regiment |
| Role | Garrison Artillery Field Artillery Airborne Artillery |
| Garrison/HQ | Gravesend (later Lewisham) |
| Nickname(s) | Lewisham Gunners |
The 2nd Kent Artillery Volunteers were formed in 1860 as a response to a French invasion threat. They became part of the Territorial Force in 1908 and served during the First and Second World Wars until amalgamated in 1961.
Artillery Volunteers 1859–1908
In August 1860 the 1st Administrative Brigade of the Kent Artillery Volunteers was formed. It comprised the following Corps:[1]
- 1st Corps formed at Gravesend on 20 October 1859
- 2nd Corps formed at Faversham on 15 November 1859
- 3rd Corps formed at Folkestone on 7 November 1859 (transferred to the Cinque Ports Artillery Volunteers in April 1860)
- 4th Corps formed at Sheerness on 9 January 1860 (absorbed by the 13th Corps in late 1866)
- 5th Corps formed at Blackheath on 28 February 1860
- 6th, 7th and 8th Corps both appeared in the Army lists but were never formed.
- 9th Corps formed at Plumstead on 13 February 1860 and attached to the 10th Corps in 1870. Renumbered 2nd in 1880.
- 10th Corps formed at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich on 28 February 1860.Renumbered 3rd in 1880 as 3rd Kent (Royal Arsenal)
- 11th Corps formed at Sandgate on 25 February 1860
- 12th Corps formed at Gillingham on 6 March 1860
- 13th Corps formed at Sheerness and absorbed into the 4th Corps in 1866
- 14th Corps formed with headquarters at woolwich Dockyard. Disbanded by 1870
In May 1880 the Corps were consolidated as the 1st Kent Artillery Volunteer Corps with eleven batteries provided by the following Corps:
- Two Batteries by the 1st Corps (Gravesend)
- Two batteries by the 2nd Corps
- Two batteries by the 5th Corps
- One battery by the 11th Corps
- One battery by the 12th Corps
- Three batteries by the 13th Corps
In 1889 the 3rd Kent (Royal Arsenal) was designated as position artillery with eight batteries. By 1892 the Kent Artillery Volunteer Corps were organised as follows:[2]
- 1st Kent Volunteer Artillery – Headquarters at Gravesend
- 2nd Kent Volunteer Artillery – Headquarters at Plumstead (headquarters moved to Lewisham in 1905)
- 3rd Kent Artillery Volunteers (Royal Arsenal) – Headquarters at Woolwich
In 1905 the Headquarters of the 2nd Corps were moved to Lewisham.
Territorial Force 1908–1920
In 1908 on the formation of the Territorial Force the 1st Corps provided seven companies of the Sussex and Kent Royal Garrison Artillery (TF).
The 2nd Corps was split into two, transferring as the 10th and 11th County of London (Howitzer) Batteries, as part of 4th London (Howitzer) Brigade Royal Field Artillery (TF), as well as the 21st and 22nd County of London (Howitzer) Batteries of the 8th London (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA. New headquarters for the 4th London were opened in Ennersdale Road, Lewisham in 1911.[3] They were armed with 5-inch Breech Loading Howitzers at this time.
During the First World War the 4th London served in the UK and France. In 1916 the Brigade was renumbered as 283rd Brigade Royal Field Artillery (TF).
They were placed in suspended animation in 1919.[4]
Interwar years
After the war, the unit was reconstituted as the 4th London Brigade RFA (TF) in the reformed Territorial Army.
In 1938 it was again reorganised as the 91st (4th London) Army Field Regiment RA (TA).[5]
Second World War
The Regiment was mobilised for the Second World War and was equipped with 25 Pounder Gun/Howitzers. [6] It became part of the 5th Division Artillery for the whole of the Second World War, being withdrawn from Dunkirk in 1940. It then saw service in Italy having landed there in September 1943. It then transferred to France and finished the War in Germany in May 1945.
The unit was placed in suspended animation in 1946.[7]
Postwar
In 1947 the unit was reconstituted as 291st (4th London) Airborne Field Regiment RA (TA).[8]
In 1954 the Regiment was adopted by the Vinters Company, one of the London Livery Companies. In 1961 the Regiment was reduced to Battery strength as Q (4th London) Battery, 263rd Field Regiment RA (TA).
Notes
- ^ Litchfield, Norman E H, and Westlake, R, 1982. The Volunteer Artillery 1859–1908, The Sherwood Press, Nottingham, p98
- ^ Army List, HMSO, 1892, p219
- ^ Osborne, Mike, 2006. Always Ready: The Drill Halls of Britain's Volunteer Forces, Partizan Press, Essex, p190
- ^ Litchfield, Norman E H, 1992. The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988, The Sherwood Press, Nottingham, p152.
- ^ Litchfield, Norman E H, 1992. The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988, The Sherwood Press, Nottingham, p152
- ^ Ikin, C W, Maj, Lewisham Gunners: A centenary history of 291st(4th London)Field Regiment,R.A.(T.A.),formerly 2nd Kent R.G.A.(Volunteers), (1962), p33
- ^ Litchfield, Norman E H, 1992. The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988, The Sherwood Press, Nottingham, p152
- ^ Litchfield, Norman E H, 1992. The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988, The Sherwood Press, Nottingham, p143
References
- Ian F.W. Beckett, Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908, Aldershot, The Ogilby Trusts, 1982, ISBN 0-85936-271-X.
- Ikin, C W, Maj, Lewisham Gunners: A centenary history of 291st(4th London)Field Regiment,R.A.(T.A.),formerly 2nd Kent R.G.A.(Volunteers), (1962)
- 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, 2003, ISBN 1-84342-474-6.
- Litchfield, Norman E H, and Westlake, R, 1982. The Volunteer Artillery 1859–1908, The Sherwood Press, Nottingham. ISBN 0-9508205-0-4
- Litchfield, Norman E H, 1992. The Territorial Artillery 1908–1988, The Sherwood Press, Nottingham. ISBN 0-9508205-2-0
- Osborne, Mike, 2006. Always Ready: The Drill Halls of Britain's Volunteer Forces, Partizan Press, Essex. ISBN 1-85818-509-2