The 2nd East Riding Artillery Volunteers was a part-time unit of Britain's Royal Artillery based at Hull and along the Humber Estuary. Its successor units provided field artillery on the Western Front during World War I and air defence artillery during and after World War II. Latterly it formed part of the Humber Artillery based at Hull.
Early history At times of national crisis, volunteers were regularly called upon to defend the vulnerable harbours on the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire. At the time of the Jacobite rising of 1745, the Wardens and Brethren of Hull Trinity House formed four volunteer artillery companies, equipped with 20 nine-pounder cannon taken from a ship lying in Hull Roads. These were the first volunteer artillery units formed in Yorkshire, though there may have been others manning the cannon in the fort covering Bridlington harbour. The companies were stood down after the Jacobite defeat at Culloden.Norfolk, pp. 7–8 and Appendix I.
Hull Trinity House organised a new artillery company during the French Revolutionary Wars, and a mixed unit of infantry and artillery manned the fort at Bridlington harbour. These units existed from 1794 until the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. When the peace broke down in 1803, the Bridlington Volunteer Artillery reformed, but the guns at Hull were manned by the Sea Fencibles and by Regulars.Norfolk, pp. 14, 21, 24 and Appendices III and IV.
Volunteer Force A number of new artillery companies were formed in the East Riding during the first enthusiasm for the Volunteer Movement in 1859–60. The 1st Company East Yorkshire Artillery Volunteers formed at Bridlington, the 2nd at Hunmanby, and the 3rd at Hull (from personnel of the Hull Dock Company), all in 1859. In 1860, the 4th to 9th Companies followed at Hull and these were formed into a battalion on 12 May, becoming the 4th Yorkshire (East Riding) Artillery Volunteer Corps under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Samuelson, a prominent local engineer and shipbuilder, whose brother Alexander Samuelson served as Captain of the 6th Company.Beckett, Appendix VIII.Norfolk, pp. 35–8 and Appendix V.Frederick, pp. 671–2.2nd East Riding Artillery Volunteers at Regiments.orgLitchfield & Westlake, pp. 176–9.Martin Samuelson at Grace's Guide.Alexander Samuelson at Grace's Guide.
The 4th AVC competed with other Hull volunteer units for recruits, luring officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) away from the 2nd East Riding Rifle Volunteer Corps and recruits from the 3rd East Riding Artillery Volunteer Corps, which was disbanded in 1860. The 4th continued to expand, increasing its establishment in 1877 from eight to 12 batteries with a total of 965 men in 1878. One battery was formed by employees of Messrs Rose, Downs & Thompson (a manufacturer of oilseed crushing machinery), and another from members of the Hull Gymnastic Society. The 1st and 2nd Companies having combined to form the 1st East Riding Artillery Volunteers, the 4th was renumbered 2nd East Riding Artillery Volunteers in September 1880.Army List, various dates.Rose, Downs & Thompson at Grace's Guide.
The unit leased from Hull Corporation a hall that had been built for a working men's exhibition adjacent to the Corporation Field in Park Street. The government supplied 32-pounder muzzle-loading guns in June 1860. Eight were used for drill purposes at the Hull Citadel and four were placed in a battery built on the Humber Bank adjacent to Earle's shipyard. The unit took part in national gunnery competitions, and won the Queen's Prize on several occasions. From 1886, the coastal artillery batteries were supplemented by minefields, and the 2nd East Riding AV trained with the Humber Division Submarine Miners.Earle's at Grace's Guide.
As well as manning fixed coast defence artillery, some of the early Artillery Volunteers manned semi-mobile 'position batteries' of smooth-bore field guns pulled by agricultural horses. But the War Office refused to pay for the upkeep of field guns for Volunteers and they had largely died in the 1870s. In 1888, the 'position artillery' concept was revived and some Volunteer companies were reorganised as position batteries to work alongside the Volunteer infantry brigades. On 14 July 1892, the 2nd East Riding Volunteer Artillery were reorganised as one position battery and 10 garrison companies.Beckett, p. 178.Litchfield & Westlake, p. 6. By 1893 the War Office Mobilisation Scheme had allocated the unit to the Humber defences.Mobilization Tables for Home Defence, List of Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteer Units, HMSO, London, 1893
In 1882, the 2nd East Riding AV became part of the Northern Division of the Royal Artillery (later transferring to the Western Division). All Volunteer Artillery units became part of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) in 1899 and with the abolition of the divisions the unit was redesignated 2nd East Riding Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers) on 1 January 1902.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 4–6.
Territorial Force
With the creation of the Territorial Force by the Haldane Reforms in 1908, the RGA Volunteers were extensively reorganised. In the original plans, the 2nd East Riding RGA would have become the 3rd Northumbrian Brigade in the Royal Field Artillery (RFA), comprising 1st–3rd East Riding Batteries and 3rd Northumbrian Ammunition Column.London Gazette 20 March 1908. However, these plans were revised in 1910, so that the Hull-based RGA formed two field batteries and an ammunition column in the 2nd Northumbrian Brigade, RFA, and a separate East Riding RGA with four companies of coast defence artillery. The 2nd (or II) Northumbrian Bde was completed by a North Riding Battery from the former 1st East Riding RGA.Frederick, p. 680.Litchfield, pp. 250–4.London Gazette 14 October 1910.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 93–100.
The 2nd Northumbrian Brigade had its headquarters (HQ) at Wenlock Barracks, Anlaby Road, Hull, while the 1st and 2nd East Riding Batteries and the ammunition column shared Londesborough Barracks in Park Street with the East Riding RGA and other TF units. The North Riding Battery was at the Drill Hall in Castle Street, Scarborough.Hull at Great War Centenary Drill Halls.Hull at Drill Hall Project.Scarborough at Drill Hall Project.
The three batteries were each equipped with four 15-pounder guns. The brigade was part of the Northumbrian Division of the TF.50 Division at Long, Long Trail.Wyrall, pp. 1–3.
World War I Mobilisation
In late July 1914, the units of the Northumbrian Division were at their annual training camp in North Wales. On 3 August, they were ordered to return to their respective headquarters, where at 17.00 next day they received orders to mobilise. This was particularly difficult for the divisional artillery, which had to gather requisitioned horses and mules and fit them with harness, and collect ammunition from Ordnance stores. The units went to their war stations along the coast, where there were numerous alerts. In October the division became part of Central Force in Home Defence and manned the Tyne Defences.Wyrall, p.4.
On the outbreak of war, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service and the large majority of the Northumbrian Division accepted. On 15 August, 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 battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 49–54.63 Division at Long, Long Trail.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.Wyrall, pp. 4–5.
1/II Northumbrian Brigade Ypres The Northumbrian Division trained hard while manning the Tyne Defences, and orders to proceed to France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) arrived on 16 April 1915. The division completed its concentration in the area of Steenvoorde on 23 April and went straight into action the next day in the Second Battle of Ypres. Casualties among the infantry were heavy during the fighting to stabilise the British line (Battle of St Julien 24–28 April), but the divisional artillery did not take part.Wyrall, pp. 5, 12–44.McWilliams & Steel, pp. 141, 161–2, 170–1, 177. Part of the divisional artillery first went into action at the Battle of Frezenberg Ridge (8–13 May), but 1/II Northumbrian Bde was not involved until the end. At 17.00 on 13 May it was ordered forward under the orders of the Commander, Royal Artillery, (CRA) of 28th Division, and occupied its gun positions in pitch darkness at 23.00. The batteries were south of Potijze, between the Menin and Ypres–Potijze roads, where they covered the zone between the Ypres–Westroosebeke road and the Ypres–Roulers (Roeselare) railway.Wyrall, pp. 49–57.
The Northumbrian Division officially became the 50th (Northumbrian) Division on 14 May. For the next 10 days, the situation was quiet apart from desultory artillery fire (the BEF was short of artillery ammunition) but on 24 May the Germans launched another serious attack accompanied with gas (the Battle of Bellewaarde Ridge). The 50th Division had been split up to reinforce other formations and the infantry were heavily engaged for two days, but with ammunition being scarce there was little the gunners could do to support them.Wyrall, pp. 57–70.
Over the following months, the division was concentrated and took over its own section of the line south of Ypres, with its own artillery in support. At first the 1/II Northumbrian Bde was south-east of Wippenhoek. By the end of July, the division had moved to the Armentières sector, with 1st and 2nd East Riding Btys west of Ferme de la Buterne, and 3rd North Riding Bty just east of the lunatic asylum and the railway. The division stayed in this quiet sector until mid-November, when it moved to Merris.Wyrall, pp. 71–4, 90–2. On 23 November 1915, the brigade was re-equipped with four modern 18-pounder guns to each battery, replacing the obsolete, short-ranged 15-pounders known to the gunners as 'pip-squeaks' .Wyrall, pp. 92–3.
In December 1915, the division returned to the Ypres Salient, in the Hill 60 sector, with the divisional artillery distributed around Zillebeke Lake, in appalling conditions. There was almost constant low-level fighting until the division was relieved at the beginning of April 1916 and moved to the Wytschaete sector. Here the observation posts on Mont Kemmel gave the gunners some advantage.Wyrall, pp. 100–4, 114, 118.
During May 1916, the BEF's artillery was reorganised. The 1/II Northumbrian Bde was numbered CCLI Brigade RFA (251 Bde) and the batteries were lettered A, B and C. The brigade formed a fourth battery, D, which was exchanged with 5th Durham Bty from the IV Northumbrian Brigade (CCLIII or 253 Bde), equipped with 4.5-inch howitzers. This became D (H) Bty. The brigade ammunition columns were merged into the divisional ammunition column.Frederick, p. 693.Wyrall, p. 124 & Appendix D.
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