The 1st Hampshire Artillery Volunteers and its successors were part-time coast defence units of the British Army from 1860 to 1967. Although the units saw no action, they protected the Portsmouth area in both World Wars and supplied trained gunners to siege batteries engaged on the Western Front during World War I. The unit continued in the Territorial Army after World War II.
Volunteer Force The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle and Artillery Volunteer Corps composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need.Beckett.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 1–4.Spiers, pp. 163–8. Three Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVCs) were quickly formed in Hampshire, and on 1 January 1861 they were combined into the 1st Administrative Brigade, Hampshire AVCs under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred B. Sturdee, with its headquarters (HQ) at Portsmouth:Beckett, Appendix VIII.Frederick, pp. 655, 659–60.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 90–3. 1st (Southampton) Hampshire AVC, formed at Gosport on 25 April 1860, moved to Bitterne near Southampton in May 1860; formed a second battery on 21 August 1861 and later two others; moved into Southampton in 1873. 2nd (Southsea) Hampshire AVC, formed at Southsea, near Portsmouth, on 9 May 1860; initially listed as the 3rd, it became the 2nd in June that year; formed a second battery 20 July 1860, a third 24 May 1861, a fourth by January 1864 and two others 15 September 1865; amalgamated with 3rd in 1871 when the HQ moved to Portsmouth 3rd (Portsmouth Dockyard) Hampshire AVC, formed at Portsmouth on 18 August 1860; formed three more batteries 5 September, a fifth by 14 September 1860, and a sixth later; HQ moved into Portsmouth Dockyard from March 1862; amalgamated with 2nd in 1871
In November 1863, the 1st, 3rd and 4th Dorsetshire AVCs (the 2nd having been disbanded in 1861) joined the 1st Hampshire Admin Brigade, staying until 1866 when they were transferred to the 1st Devonshire Admin Brigade. A new 4th Hampshire AVC was formed at Bournemouth on 29 November 1866 (a 5th (Dockyard) Hampshire AVC may have been formed on 18 August 1860, but had quickly been disbanded). The Dorsetshire AVCs rejoined the 1st Hampshire Admin Bde from January 1873, by which time the 5th and 6th Dorsetshire AVCs had been formed, although the 3rd Dorsetshire was disbanded in 1876.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 55–7.Army List, various dates.
The Volunteers were consolidated in March 1880, with the Admin Brigade becoming the 1st Hampshire (Hants & Dorset) AVC of 18 batteries, with HQ at Portsmouth:
Nos 1–4 Batteries at Southampton (former 1st Hampshire AVC) Nos 5–12 Batteries at Portsmouth (former 2nd Hampshire AVC) No 13–14 Batteries at Bournemouth (former 4th Hampshire AVC) No 15 Battery at Lyme Regis (former 1st Dorset AVC) No 16 Battery at Portland (former 4th Dorset AVC) No 17 Battery at Portland and Swanage (former 4th and 6th Dorset AVCs) No 18 Battery at Charmouth (former 5th Dorset AVC)
In 1882, all the artillery volunteers were affiliated to one or other of the territorial garrison divisions of the Royal Artillery (RA) and the 1st Hampshire AVC became the 1st Volunteer (Hampshire) Brigade of the Southern Division, with HQ moving to Southsea. In 1886, the Dorset companies were separated to form an independent 1st Dorsetshire AVC as the 2nd Volunteer Brigade of the Southern Division, and on 25 April 1888 the Southampton companies were withdrawn to form the 3rd Volunteer (Hampshire) Brigade, Southern Division. Finally, the Hampshire brigades were renumbered in December 1889, the 3rd (descended from the original 1st AVC) becoming the 1st Hampshire AVC at Southampton and the 1st (from the original 2nd and 3rd) becoming the 2nd Hampshire AVC at Portsmouth. The 1st Hampshire AVC opened its drill hall in St Mary's Road, Southampton, in 1889.Southampton at Drill Hall Project. By 1893 the War Office Mobilisation Scheme had allocated the 1st Hampshire Artillery Volunteers to the Portsmouth fixed defences.Mobilization Tables for Home Defence, List of Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteer Units, HMSO, London, 1893
By 1894, the unit was organised as follows: HQ at Southampton Nos 1–4, 7 and half 8 Companies at Southampton No 5 Company at Shirley, Southampton No 6 Company at Bitterne Half of No 8 Company at Woolston, Southampton Nos 9–10 Companies at Eastleigh
In 1899, the RA was divided into separate field and garrison branches, and the artillery volunteers were all assigned to the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA). In 1902 the divisional structure was abolished and the unit titles were changed, the 1st Hampshire AVC becoming the 1st Hampshire Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers), with its HQ at St Mary's Road.
Territorial Force When the Territorial Force (TF) was created from the old Volunteer Force under the Haldane Reforms of 1908,Beckett, pp. 247–53.Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. the 1st Hampshire RGA (V) was to join with the Dorsetshire RGA (V) once again to become the Hants & Dorset RGA, but this was changed back to separate Dorset and Hampshire units in 1910. The Hampshire RGA had the following organisation:Frederick, p. 697.Litchfield, pp. 93–4.Maurice-Jones, p. 165.London Gazette, 20 March 1908.London Gazette, 14 October 1910.
HQ at St Mary's Road, SouthamptonHampshire at Great War Centenary Drill Halls. No 1 Heavy Battery at Southampton No 2 Company at Southampton No 3 Company at EastleighEastleigh at Drill Hall Project. No 4 Company at Governor's Green, PortsmouthGovernor's Green at Drill Hall Project. No 5 Company at Southampton No 6 Company at Woolston,Woolston at Drill Hall Project. and High Street, BitterneBitterne at Drill Hall Project. No 7 Company at Southampton No 8 Company at Eastleigh
It was designated as a Defended Ports Unit in Southern Coast Defences, which was based at Portsmouth. There were a large number of forts and batteries around Spithead and the Solent, controlling access to Portsmouth Harbour and Southampton Water, which in time of war would be manned by four Regular RGA companies and the companies of the Hampshire RGA, while the heavy battery was mobile and responsible for the landward defences (TF heavy batteries were usually armed with obsolescent 4.7-inch guns).Farndale, Forgotten Fronts, Annex 4.Litchfield, p. 3.
World War I Mobilisation On the outbreak of war, the Hampshire RGA mobilised under the command of Lt-Col J.E. Dawe, TD, in Nos 6–9 Fire Commands. Shortly afterwards, 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 companies and batteries were created, releasing the 1st Line units to be sent overseas.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.
By October 1914, the campaign on the Western Front was bogging down into Trench warfare and there was an urgent need for batteries of 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 RGA companies had been authorised to increase their strength by 50 per cent.WO Instruction No 248 of October 1914.
Although complete TF defended ports units never left the UK, they did supply drafts of trained gunners to RGA units serving overseas. These included providing cadres as the basis on which to form complete new units for front line service. 47th Siege Battery, RGA, (see below) was formed on 28 July 1915 at Portsmouth with a nucleus from the Hampshire RGA and regular RGA gunners returned from overseas garrisons. Equipped with 8-inch howitzers it went out to the Western Front in November 1915 and served there for the rest of the war.Frederick, pp. 702–8.'Allocation of Siege Batteries RGA', The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 95/5494/4. 147th Siege Battery (see below) was formed at Portsmouth on 22 May 1916 based on a cadre of four officers and 78 other ranks from the Hampshire RGA (probably drawn in the main from 1/1st Heavy Bty, which disappeared from the order of battle by April 1917).Army Council Instruction 1091 of 29 May 1916. A large number of other siege batteries were formed in the Portsmouth defences in 1915–16, which may also have included trained men from the Hampshire RGA among the recruits, although the Army Council Instructions did not specifically order this.Army Council Instructions, 1915–1916. For example, 27 members of No 4 Company died on active service during the war, even though its 1st and 2nd Line never left the UK.IWM War Memorial Register ref 40535.Royal Garrison Church at Memorials and Monuments in Portsmouth.
Home Defence After the beginning of air attacks on Britain, the RGA also became responsible for manning anti-aircraft (AA) guns both at home and overseas. A number of AA batteries were stationed round Portsmouth, probably including men drawn from the Hampshire RGA, and Southern Command was also responsible for the AA defence of Coventry and Birmingham, where some Hampshire RGA companies were stationed. Under Army Council Instruction 686 of April 1917, the coastal defence companies of the RGA (TF) were reorganised. The 12 remaining Hampshire RGA companies serving in the Portsmouth garrison and the Coventry and Birmingham AA command (1/2nd, 1/3rd, 1/4th, 1/5th, 1/6th, 1/7th, 1/8th, 2/3rd, 2/4th, 2/5th, 2/6th, 2/7th) were reduced to two companies, which were to be kept up to strength with non-TF recruits.Army Council Instructions April 1917.Farndale, Forgotten Fronts, Annex 3.Frederick, p. 646.
47th Siege Battery
47th Siege Battery, RGA, was formed on 28 July 1915 at Portsmouth with a nucleus from the Hampshire RGA and regular RGA gunners returned from Mauritius (No 56 Company) and Hong Kong (Nos 83, 87, 88 Companies and the Hong Kong-Singapore Royal Artillery). It went out to the Western Front equipped with four 8-inch howitzers.47th Siege Bty War Diary, December 1915–January 1918, TNA file WO 95/465/4.
After serving in the Ypres Salient, the battery moved south in June 1916 to join Fourth Army in the opening bombardment for the Battle of the Somme, supporting the attack on Fricourt. It remained on the Somme for the whole of that summer's offensive.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 99–109. In early 1917 47th Siege Bty was moved to the Arras sector with First Army, which was preparing for the Battle of Vimy Ridge. As part of 13th Heavy Artillery Group (HAG) it was positioned Marœuil near Arras firing in support of Canadian Corps. The artillery plan for the heavy guns emphasised counter-battery (CB) fire. At Zero hour, while the field guns laid down a Creeping barrage to protect the advancing infantry, the heavy howitzers fired further ahead to hit the rear areas on the reverse slope of the ridge, especially known gun positions. The attack went in on 9 April, when the Canadians overran three trench lines and seized the crest of the ridge where the batteries soon established observation posts (OPs).Becke, Pt 4, pp. 74–8.Farndale, Western Front, pp. 164–6, 174–6, Map 23.Cave, pp. 119–27, Map p. 121. At the end of the Arras Offensive the battery returned to Ypres, where it was brought up to a strength of six guns when it was joined by a section from the newly arrived 340th Siege Bty. It fought through the Third Ypres Offensive until November 1917.