The Northamptonshire Battery, Royal Field Artillery was a unit of Britain's Territorial Force from 1908 to 1919. It served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during World War I. In World War II the battery fought in the Malayan Campaign and was captured at the Fall of Singapore.
Early history An invasion scare in 1859 led to the creation of the Volunteer Force and huge enthusiasm throughout Great Britain for joining local Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs).Beckett. The 6th (Peterborough) Northamptonshire RVC was one such unit, raised at Peterborough in Northamptonshire on 3 March 1860. The first commanding officer was the Hon George Wentworth-FitzWilliam, MP for Peterborough 1841–59.Beckett, p. 53 & Appendix VII.Westlake, p. 190–1.Northamptonshire Volunteers at Regiments.org.Gurney, p. 315. All the county's volunteer units were included in the 1st Administrative Battalion, Northamptonshire RVCs, in 1860.Frederick, pp. 227–8.Gurney, pp. 318–9.
The following officers commanded the 6th Northamptonshire RVC during its independent existence:Gurney, p. 325. Hon G. Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, appointed 3 March 1860 John N. Fazakerley, appointed 14 March 1862 Thomas J. Walker, 29 July 1865; appointed Captain-Commandant August 1876 John Beecroft, appointed second Captain 3 June 1872
When the Administrative Battalion was consolidated as the 1st Northamptonshire RVC in 1880, the former 6th at Peterborough formed H and I (later G and H) Companies.Gurney, p. 321. Under the Childers Reforms of 1881, the battalion was attached to the Northamptonshire Regiment, and formally changed its title to 1st Volunteer Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, in December 1887.Gurney, p. 320.
Territorial Force When the Volunteer Force was subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) as part of the Haldane reforms of 1908, the bulk of the 1st Volunteer Bn became the 4th Bn Northamptonshire Regiment, but the two Peterborough companies were converted to form the Northamptonshire Battery of the Royal Field Artillery and the East Midland Brigade Company of the Army Service Corps.Gurney, p. 322.East Anglian Bde RFA at Regiments.org.Litchfield, p. 101.London Gazette, 20 March 1908. Four officers and about 60 other ranks transferred to the new battery and were supplemented by men from the disbanded 1st Northamptonshire Engineer Volunteer Corps. Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, p. 23.
The Northamptonshire Battery was based at the Drill Hall, Queen's Street, Peterborough, and became popularly known as the Peterborough Battery or Peterborough Artillery. Queen Street drill hall at Drill Hall ProjectSainsbury, Hertfordshire Yeomanry, pp. 60–3. The battery also had an unofficial out-station at Stamford across the county boundary in Lincolnshire.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, p. 31. It was included with two Hertfordshire batteries in the IV East Anglian Brigade, RFA, which formed part of the TF's East Anglian Division.Monthly Army Lists.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 125–31.54 Div at Long, Long Trail. Before World War I broke out, the battery was equipped with four 15-pounder field guns.
William Cecil, 5th Marquess of Exeter, previously a captain in the 3rd Bn Northamptonshire Regiment (the Northampton and Rutland Militia) was appointed commanding officer of the Northamptonshire Battery in the rank of major in 1910. In January 1914 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and appointed CO of the whole IV East Anglian Brigade of which his Cecil kinsman, the Marquess of Salisbury, was honorary colonel.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, pp. 37–8.
World War I
Mobilisation The East Anglian Division had begun its annual training on 27 July 1914 and by 3 August the divisional artillery had concentrated at the Redesdale training area in Northumberland. When the order to mobilise was given on 4 August, the units returned to their headquarters. The division then concentrated around Brentwood, Essex, the 1st Northamptonshire Battery having the furthest to travel arrived on 12 August. On 20 August the division moved to Chelmsford and formed part of the coast defences of the UK until the following May.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, pp. 39-41.
Meanwhile, the formation of duplicate or 2nd Line TF units from Home Service men and recruits had been authorised on 1 September,Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, p. 41. and towards the end of 1914 the 2nd East Anglian Division came into existence at Peterborough. The original (1st Line) Northampton Battery became the 1/1st, and its 2nd Line became the 2/1st Northampton Battery. Later a 3rd Line or Depot unit was formed.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 91–8.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, pp. 89–93.
1/1 Northamptonshire Battery The 1st East Anglian Division was employed on coast defence until May 1915, when it was concentrated at St Albans preparatory to going overseas as the 54th (East Anglian) Division. However, when the infantry departed for the Gallipoli Campaign, the divisional artillery was left behind. In August it joined the 2nd Line at Thetford in Norfolk and Brandon, Suffolk, rearmed with modern 18-pounder guns and handed over its obsolete 15-pounders to the 2nd Line batteries.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, p. 44. In October 1915, the 1/1st Northamptonshre Battery carried out a march through its recruiting area, visiting Peterborough, Oundle, Kettering, Stamford and Huntingdon. The training march allowed the men to visit their families, and publicised the need for fresh recruits.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, pp. 44–5.
France and Egypt On 17 November 1915 the 54th Divisional Artillery embarked for France, where it joined 33rd Division, a 'Kitchener's Army' division whose artillery were still under training.Becke Pt 3b, pp. 31–9.
After a month on the Western Front, during which parties of officers and men had been attached for training to other divisions in the Front Line, 54th Divisional Artillery was warned that it was to be transferred to Egypt to rejoin its parent division, which had been withdrawn from Gallipoli. Embarkation began at Marseille on 30 January 1916 and disembarkation was completed at Alexandria by 14 February. The divisional artillery rejoined 54th Division at Mena Camp near Cairo and in April moved into No 1 (Southern) Section of the Suez Canal defences.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, pp. 45–7.
On 29 May 1916 the IV East Anglian Brigade was renumbered CCLXXIII (273) Brigade RFA and its batteries became A, B and C. It was renumbered again on 29 December, becoming CCLXX (270), and was reorganised into six-gun batteries. C (1/1st Northamptonshire) Battery was joined by half of B (1/2nd Hertfordshire) Battery and became B Battery.Frederick, p. 687.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, pp. 47–9.
Gaza
The infantry battalions of 54th Division were slowly brought back up to strength with drafts from home during 1916, and by mid-January 1917 the whole division had assembled at Moascar in preparation for the British invasion of Sinai.Burrows, pp. 112, 127–8. After crossing the Wilderness,Burrows, p. 133.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, pp. 50–4. the division took part in the First Battle of Gaza (26–7 March), where B/270 Bty found great difficulty crossing the Wadi Guzze, and then breaking up Turkish counter-attacks on the second day. Sergeant Barker won a Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) after being wounded but refusing to leave his gun.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, pp. 54–6.
During the Second Battle of Gaza (17–19 April) the brigade was not required to fire a shot on the first days. On 19 April it joined in the barrage 10 minutes before H-Hour but the preliminary bombardment had failed to neutralise Turkish artillery and machine guns, and 54th Division's infantry suffered heavy casualties.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, p. 57.
On 14/15 and 20/21 July, 270th Bde gave covering fire for major raids on the Turkish lines.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, p. 61. A six-day preliminary bombardment for the Third Battle of Gaza began on 27 October, with B/270 Bty attached to 271 (II East Anglian) Bde in No 3 Group supporting 161st (Essex) Brigade. On X-Day (2 November), 161st Bde attacked along the coast behind a creeping barrage laid down by No 3 Group. In preparation for the final capture of Gaza B/270 Bty moved forward after dark on 5 November and spent the following day registering for a new fire programme on 7 November that began two hours before dawn and led to the Turkish evacuation of the town.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, pp. 63–8.
On 24 November the Turks counter-attacked the pursuing ANZAC Mounted Division, which was supported by A and C/270 Btys. B/270 Battery was hurried up from the rear to join in, but arrived after the action had ended. The brigade remained in support of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, with B/270 Bty dug in under Turkish fire and suffering a steady trickle of casualties until the Surrender of Jerusalem on 9 December.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, pp. 69–70.
Jaffa and Majdal Yaba During the Battle of Jaffa (21–22 December), B/270 Bty carried out a pre-dawn bombardment of 'Bald Hill' supporting the attack of 2/11th Battalion, the London Regiment, and then followed up 'galloping in best R.H.A. (Royal Horse Artillery) fashion, to be in at the death if necessary'.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, pp. 73–4.
During the night of 11/12 March 1918 the 54th Division formed up for an attack on Majdal Yaba. There was no preliminary bombardment: after moving into position, B/270 Bty would fire the first round to warn the rest of the divisional artillery to open fire. However, the battery's intended position was inaccessible, and it had to find an alternative in the dark before Zero Hour. The battery then followed the advance of 162nd (East Midland) Brigade, 'leap-frogging' forward by sections to ensure that some guns were always available. 54th Division then took up defensive positions, which entailed B/270 Bty dragging its guns up a rocky slope to reach its position. Its rock sangars came under regular counter-battery fire and aerial bombing. On 9 April, 270 Bde's guns supported 75th Division's attack on Three Bushes Hill (the Battle of Berukin).Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, pp. 76–9.
Jordan Valley The German spring offensive on the Western Front led to a prolonged lull in operations in Palestine. 54th Division was warned of a move to France that was later cancelled. On 1 August, B/270 Bty was detached to join an ad hoc group from 54th Divisional Artillery sent to relieve the RHA of the Desert Mounted Corps in the British occupation of the Jordan ValleyJordan Valley. After a long and difficult march, the six 18-pounders of B/270 replaced two four-gun batteries of RHA 13-pounders. During this month-long deployment the battery had 36 men evacuated to hospital suffering from Malaria. On return to 54th Division the battery was struck with a fever and had another 58 men in hospital, reducing it to less than half strength when it rejoined 270th Bde on 11 September.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, pp. 81–2.
Megiddo The Battle of Megiddo opened on 19 September with the Battle of Sharon. B/270 Battery's task was to fire smoke shells for an hour to create a screen in front of 54th Division's assault battalions, and then switch to High Explosive and shrapnel. Once the timed barrage was complete, the battery had to advance in the open under enemy shellfire to a new position from which it was able to shell two tepes holding up the attack. Corporal Runciman, the signaller in the battery commander's observation post, was awarded a DCM for standing up under heavy fire and signalling by flag to the gun positions. Despite the fire, the battery suffered no casualties in this action.Sainsbury, Hertfordshire Batteries, pp. 84–6.