The 2nd Devonshire Artillery Volunteers was a unit of the British Volunteer Force and Territorial Army. The unit and its successors defended Plymouth Dockyard and the Devon coast from 1861 to 1961.

Origin The 2nd Administrative Brigade, Devonshire Artillery Volunteers was formed at Devonport, Plymouth on 3 January 1861 as a headquarters for a number of Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVCs) that had been raised in Devonshire in response to the invasion scare of 1859. A 1st Administrative Brigade had been formed the previous year, but the number of units in the county had continued to grow and they were split between the two headquarters. The 2nd Admin Brigade took the units in the western part of the county and was based at Devonport, Plymouth, with the following composition:Beckett, Appendix VIII.2nd Devonshire Volunteer Artillery at Regiments.orgLitchfield & Westlake, pp. 52–3.Frederick, p. 654.Maurice-Jones, pp. 164–5. 6th (Dartmouth) Devonshire AVC, raised 25 January 1860; transferred from 1st to 2nd Administrative Brigade in January 1861 10th (Salcombe) Devonshire AVC, raised 7 July 1860; transferred from 1st to 2nd Administrative Brigade in January 1861 12th (Devonport Dockyard) Devonshire AVC, raised 20 December 1860; transferred from 1st to 2nd Administrative Brigade in February 1862 13th (Keyham) Devonshire AVC, raised 7 December 1860; the nucleus came from the Keyham Steam FactoryBeckett, p. 58.Keyham Dockyard at Grace's Guides.

The unit's HQ moved from Devonport to Dartmouth in 1874 before returning three years later. The commanding officer from 1864 was Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Hayne, who was also a captain in the South Devon Militia. He was succeeded by Lt-Col Alex Ridgway, a former captain in the 1st Devon Militia (appointed 1873). By 1866, the 12th AVC had four companies and the 13th had two. A cadet corps was attached to the unit from 1871 to 1879.Army Lists.

In February 1880, the AVCs were consolidated, and the 2nd Devonshire Administrative Brigade became the 6th (soon changed to 2nd) Devonshire AVC with the following composition: No 1 Battery at Dartmouth, former 6th Corps No 2 Battery at Salcombe, former 10th Corps Nos 3, 4, 5 & 6 Batteries at Devonport, former 12th Corps Nos 7 & 8 Batteries at Keyham, former 13th Corps

In 1893, the HQ and Nos 1 and 3–9 Companies were based at 14 Paradise Place at Stoke in Devonport,Devonport at Drill Hall Project. and No 2 Company was at Ridge Park Road, Plympton,Plympton at Drill Hall Project. and Fore Street, Salcombe at Fore Street, Salcombe.Salcombe at Drill Hall Project. In the same year, the War Office Mobilisation Scheme had allocated the 2nd Devonshire Artillery Volunteers to the Plymouth fixed defences.Mobilization Tables for Home Defence, List of Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteer Units, HMSO, London, 1893

The corps was attached to the Western Division of the Royal Artillery (RA) in April 1882 and changed its name to 2nd Devonshire Volunteer Artillery in November 1891. All the artillery volunteers were attached to the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) in 1899, and when the divisional structure was abolished the units were retitled, the unit was retitled 2nd Devonshire RGA (Volunteers) on 1 January 1902. A new cadet corps was formed at Plymouth and Mannamead College in 1900, but was transferred to the 2nd (Prince of Wales's) Volunteer Battalion, Devonshire Regiment in 1907.

Territorial Force

When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908, the 2nd Devonshire RGA became simply the Devonshire RGA as a Defended Ports unit with the following composition:Frederick, pp. 697–8.Litchfield, pp. 42–8.London Gazette 20 March 1908. HQ at Lambhay Hill, PlymouthPlymouth at Drill Hall Project. No 1 Heavy Battery at Drill Hall, Avenue Road, Ilfracombe,Ilfracombe at Drill Hall Project. with Left Section detached at LynmouthLynmouth at Drill Hall Project. No 2 Heavy Battery at Devonport, with detachments at Plympton and Salcombe Nos 3 & 4 Companies at Plymouth Nos 5 & 6 Companies at Devonport

Until 1908, the battery at Ilfracombe (two new 6-inch breech-loading guns were installed at Beacon Point in 1905) had been the responsibility of No 10 Battery of the 1st Devonshire RGA (V), which was converted into a field artillery unit under the Haldane Reforms.Artillery Volunteer Battery at John Moore's History of Hele.

The companies were responsible for manning the batteries of fixed coastal guns, while the heavy batteries were mobile and responsible for the landward defences (TF heavy batteries were usually armed with obsolescent 4.7-inch guns).Litchfield, p. 3.

World War I The unit was mobilised in the South Western Coast Defences on the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, and raised two additional companies, Nos 1 & 2. Although the unit did not serve overseas, it is probable that volunteers did serve with other RGA units, and there is a memorial to men of the unit who died during the war.RGA (TF) at Regimental Warpath.Coast Defences at British Army 1914.IWM WMR ref 25636.

On the outbreak of World War I, together with Nos 36 and 45 Companies of the Regular RGA in the Eastern Section and Nos 38 and 41 Companies in the Western Section, the Devonshire RGA manned the following coast guns in the Plymouth defences:Maurice-Jones, p. 187. 8 × 9.2-inch 13 × 6-inch 3 × 4.7-inch 15 × 12-pounders

Mobilisation After the outbreak of war, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service and on 15 August 1914, the War Office (WO) issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way, duplicate brigades, companies and batteries were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.WO Instructions Nos 108 & 310 of August 1914.

By the autumn of 1914, the campaign on the Western Front was bogging down into Trench warfare and there was an urgent need for batteries of heavy and siege artillery to be sent to France. The WO decided that the TF coastal gunners were well enough trained to take over many of the duties in the coastal defences, releasing Regular RGA gunners for service in the field, and 1st line TF RGA companies that had volunteered for overseas service had been authorised to increase their strength by 50 per cent.WO Instructions No 41 of September 1914 and No 248 of October 1914. In addition, the Devonshire RGA also seems to have formed a new No 1 Company. Although complete defended ports units never went overseas, they did supply trained gunners to RGA units serving overseas. They also provided cadres to form complete new units for front line service. The personnel of 1/1st, 2/1st and 2nd Heavy Btys all appear to have served overseas (164th and 165th Heavy Btys are known to have formed at Plymouth in April 1916). Plymouth was also the prewar depot for some of the Regular siege artillery, and at least 15 siege batteries were raised at Plymouth during the course of the war.Maurice-Jones, 200–1. In addition, 48th Siege Battery, RGA, was formed on 30 July 1915 at Portsmouth with a nucleus from the Devonshire RGA. Equipped with 9.2-inch howitzers it went out to the Western Front in January 1916 and served there for the rest of the war, latterly in 34th Brigade, RGA, supporting First Army.Frederick, pp. 702–8.'Allocation of Siege Batteries RGA', The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 95/5494/4.Farndale, Western Front, Annex M.

In the interim order of battle for the postwar Regular Army produced in May 1919, the cadre of 48th Siege Battery was to form the basis of 103rd Battery in XXVI Brigade, RGA, but these plans were abandoned after the Treaty of Versailles was signed in June, and the cadre was disbanded.Frederick, p. 720.

Home defence After so many TF coast gunners had departed to units in the field, the remaining companies of the defended ports units were consolidated in April 1917. By now, the companies remaining in the Plymouth Garrison were the 1/3rd, 1/5th, 2/3rd, 2/6th Devon and the 1/8th of the Cornwall (Duke of Cornwall's) RGA. These were reduced from to just four (numbered 1–4 Devon RGA), which were to be kept up to strength with Regular recruits (conscripts).Army Council Instruction No 686 of 26 April 1917.

By April 1918, the guns of the Plymouth Garrison were deployed as follows:Farndale, Forgotten Fronts, Annex 4.

Western Section: Rame Church Battery – 2 × 9.2-inch Mk VI Hawkins Battery – 2 × 9.2-inch Mk VI Penlee Point Battery – 3 × 9.2-inch Mk X Picklecombe Fort – 2 × 6-inch Mk VII Piers Cellars Battery – 2 × 12-pounder Quick-Firers Grenville Battery – 3 × 4.7-inch QF Whitesand Bay Battery – 3 × 12.5-inch Rifled Muzzle-Loaders

Eastern Section: Drake's Island Battery 1Drake's Island at Victorian Forts – 3 × 6-inch Mk VII Drakes Island Battery 2 – 5 × 12-pdr QF Eastern King's Redoubt – 2 × 12-pdr QF Western King's RedoubtWestern Kings Redoubt at Victorian Forts. – 4 × 12-pdr QF Devil's Point Battery – 1 × 12-pdr QF Garden Battery – 2 × 12-pdr QF Bovisand Battery – 4 × 12-pdr QF Watch House Battery – 2 × 6-inch Mk VII Renny Point Battery – 3 × 9.2-inch Mk X Lentney Battery – 2 × 6-inch Mk VII

The four Devon RGA companies, together with the four regular RGA companies of the Plymouth Garrison, were split between three fire commands in 1918:Frederick, p. 646. No 2 Fire Command (formed as A and B Administrative batteries, including 38 and 41 Cos RGA): manning Penlee and Picklecombe among others No 3 Fire Command: Eastern Section, manning King's Bty among others No 4 Fire Command (including 36 and 45 Cos RGA): manning Renny and Bovisand among others

Interwar When the TF was reconstituted on 7 February 1920 the Devonshire RGA reformed at Lambhay Hill, with one battery (later numbered 157) from the former Nos 3 and 4 Companies at Lambhay Hill and another battery (later 158) from Nos 1 and 2 Heavy Btys and 5–7 Companies at Plympoton. The TF was reorganised as the Territorial Army (TA) in 1921 and the unit was redesignated the Devonshire Coast Brigade, RGA, with 157 and 158 Btys.Frederick, p. 613.Maurice-Jones, p. 206.

When the RGA was subsumed into the rest of the RA on 1 June 1924, the unit was redesignated as the Devonshire Heavy Brigade, RA. In 1927 it was decided that the coast defences of the UK would be manned by the TA alone. In 1932 the Devon Heavy Brigade was amalgamated with the Cornwall Heavy Brigade to form the Devonshire and Cornwall Heavy Brigade, with the following composition:Titles and Designations 1927.Litchfield, p. 34. 157 (Devon) Battery at Artillery Drill Hall, Lambhay Hill 158 Battery at Drill Hall, Plympton 164 (Cornwall) Battery moved from Redruth to new Drill Hall, Ker Street, Devonport, opened in 1938.

In 1936, 'Cornwall' was dropped from the title, and when the RA replaced its unit designation of 'brigade' by the more normal 'regiment' in November 1938, the unit became the Devonshire Heavy Regiment, RA. As the TA expanded in the months leading up to the outbreak of World War II, a new 193 Heavy Battery at Falmouth, Cornwall was added to the regiment in August 1939.

World War II

Mobilisation When war was declared on 3 September 1939, the Devonshire Heavy Rgt was responsible for the following guns:Maurice-Jones, p. 219.

Plymouth: 6 × 9.2-inch 4 × 6-inch 11 × 12-pdrs

Falmouth: 2 × 6-inch

Mid-war