The 1st Warwickshire Volunteer Artillery, or 'Balsall Heath Artillery', was a part-time unit of Britain's Royal Artillery recruited from Birmingham. It served on the Western Front during the First World War, including the Battles of the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Messines, Ypres, the German Spring Offensive and the final victorious Hundred Days Offensive. During the Second World War it fought in the Battle of France and was evacuated from Dunkirk. Later in served in the Italian campaign. It continued in the postwar Territorial Army, through a series of mergers, until 1971.
Volunteer Force The 1st Warwickshire Volunteer Artillery was formed at Balsall Heath in Birmingham on 30 May 1900 when Nos 3 and 4 Warwickshire Batteries of the 1st Worcestershire and Warwickshire Artillery Volunteers became an independent unit, increased to four batteries. The batteries were equipped and trained as 'position artillery', to cooperate with the Volunteer Infantry Brigades. The Volunteer Artillery were part of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA), and the 1st Warwickshire were in the Southern Division, Royal Artillery. However, the divisional structure was abolished on 1 January 1902, when the unit was redesignated 1st Warwickshire RGA (Volunteers). Position artillery was redesignated as 'heavy artillery' in 1903.Frederick, pp. 670–1.Litchfield & Westlake, p. 170.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 5–6. The new unit built itself a drill hall at Stoney Lane, between Balsall Heath and Sparkhill in Birmingham, in 1903.Stoney Lane, Birmingham, at Drill Hall Project.
Territorial Force When the Volunteer Force was subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908, the 1st Warwickshire RGA (V) was transferred to the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) as the III (or 3rd) South Midland Brigade at Birmingham and a separate IV (4th) South Midland (Howitzer) Brigade at Coventry. The Birmingham unit had the following organisation:Monthly Army List, various dates.Litchfield, pp. 236–42.London Gazette 20 March 1908.
III South Midland Brigade Brigade HQ: Stoney Lane 1st Warwickshire Battery (from 4th Bty) 2nd Warwickshire Battery (from 2nd Bty) 3rd Warwickshire Battery (from 3rd Bty) 3rd South Midland Ammunition Column (from 1st Bty)
Both brigades were part of the TF's South Midland Division. Each battery of III SM Brigade was issued with four 15-pounder guns.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 77–83.48th Divisional Artillery at Long, Long Trail.
First World War Mobilisation The units of the South Midland Division had just departed for their annual summer camp when emergency orders recalled them to their drill halls. All units were mobilised for full time war service on 5 August 1914 and moved to concentrate in the Chelmsford area as part of Central Force by mid-August 1914.48th (SM) Division at Long, Long Trail.
On 10 August, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service. On 15 August 1914, the War Office (WO) issued instructions to separate those men who had opted 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 and would absorb the flood of volunteers coming forwards. In this way duplicate batteries, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.WO Instructions Nos 108 & 310 of August 1914.
1/III South Midland Brigade, RFA
The training of 1st South Midland Division proceeded satisfactorily, and it was selected for service on the Western Front. Orders arrived on 13 March 1915 and III South Midland Bde entrained on 30 and 31 March for Southampton aboard eight trains departing at two hour intervals. At Southampton it embarked on two transports, landing at Le Havre under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Cossart (a Regular officerCossart's medal card at The National Archives (TNA) Kew, file WO 372/5/34144.) on 1 April. By 3 April the division had concentrated near Cassel, and on 10 April III South Midland Bde's batteries were attached to the Regular RFA brigades of 6th Division in the Armentières sector for introduction to frontline procedures. The batteries were allocated a small number of shrapnel shells for registering the guns, but found that the old fuzes issued in December 1914 were useless. On 18/19 April the brigade took over its own section of front near Ploegsteert ('Plugstreet') with observation posts (OPs) near St Yves, and the batteries began registering targets in their respective zones. They came under fire for the first time, from German guns in the direction of Messines. The batteries and brigade ammunition column (BAC) then settled to improving their OPs, gun positions and the supply tracks leading to them. The weeks passed with the guns firing their small allowance of ammunition on routine targets or in retaliation for enemy fire.242 South Midland Bde War Diary April 1915–October 1917, TNA file WO 95/2750/1.
On 12 May the division was designated the 48th (South Midland) Division. On 6 June the brigade was relieved and went into billets in La Creche. After another short spell at Plugstreet (22–24 June) the brigade left on a four-day march to Auchel. Here a planned tour of duty in the line was cancelled, and on 21 July 1/III South Midland Bde was re-equipped with modern 18-pounder guns. It then took over French gun positions at Sailly-au-Bois near Hébuterne in the Somme sector, where 48th (SM) Division joined the newly formed Third Army.
Apart from occasional exchanges of fire with German batteries, the sector was quiet for the rest of the year as the brigade learned the routines of trench warfare, switching positions, improving gun pits, strengthening observation posts (OPs), registering targets around Gommecourt and harassing enemy working parties. On the night of 25/26 November the brigade supported a carefully-planned trench raid by 1/6th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, on Gommecourt Park. The 18-pdrs fired in the afternoon to cut the barbed wire, then the waiting infantry attacked when clouds obscured the bright moonlight. The forward observation officer (FOO) with the infantry support party in No man's land called down a previously registered Box barrage onto the edge of the woods to isolate the sector to be attacked. The raid was a success. On 29/30 January the brigade supported another large raid on Gommecourt Park by 1/6th Gloucesters and 1/5th Battalion, Warwickshire Regiment.Grist, pp. 98–9.Wyrall, pp. 137–41. In the new year the brigade was regularly involved in prearranged bombardments of enemy trenches in conjunction with the Corps heavy artillery, and German artillery fire also increased. On 12 February a German observation aircraft ranged heavy guns onto 1/3rd Warwick Bty, causing a number of casualties and leading to the temporary abandonment of the gun positions.
1/III South Midland Bde formed an additional battery, D Battery, and sent it to collect its 18-pdrs on 3 May 1916. Then on 18 May the brigade was redesignated CCXLII (or 242nd) Brigade and the old batteries became A, B and C. At the same time D Bty transferred to CCXLIII (IV South Midland) Bde in exchange for D (H) Bty (originally from CXXVI Bde in 37th Division, a Kitchener's Army formation), equipped with four 4.5-inch howitzers, which became D (H) Bty of CCXLII Bde. The BAC was also abolished and merged into the Divisional Ammunition Column (DAC) as its 3rd Section.Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 74–5.Frederick, p. 692.
Somme After a long period of low-level Trench warfare, 48th (SM) Division's first offensive operation was in the Battle of the Somme. In May 48th (SM) Division was relieved in its trenches in front of Gommecourt by 56th (1st London) Division, which was to make a diversionary attack there, while 48th transferred to Fourth Army where it was to be in reserve to VIII Cops for the main attack. After it was relieved CCXLII (SM) Bde moved to Saint-Léger for rest and training. On 13 June Brigade BQ returned to Sailly, and the batteries moved into positions; 6th Bty of the French 37th Field Artillery Regiment was attached to the brigade with 75mm field guns for firing gas shells on counter-battery (CB) tasks and over enemy communications. The bombardment began on 24 June and was planned to extend over five days designated, U, V, W, X and Y, with the assault coming on Z day. The 18-pdrs were employed in wire-cutting and 'searching' trenches and hollows with shrapnel shell, while the 4.5s attempted to destroy communication trenches and machine gun positions. CCXLII (SM) Brigade was assigned trenches between 'The Hook' and 'The Point' and back to La Louviere Farm. Each afternoon the guns ceased fire to allow observation aircraft to photograph the results. Bad weather hampered observation, and two extra days (Y1 and Y2) were added to the programme, for which ammunition had to be rationed. On the night of 28/29 June the 1/7th Bn Worcestershire Regiment carried out a raid covered by a shrapnel barrage from A, B and D Btys of CCXLII (SM) Bde, which lifted forward to form a box barrage with high explosive shell behind the German front line and shrapnel on the flanks.Edmonds, 1916, Vol I, pp. 299–305, 424.
The battle was launched on 1 July 1916. Most of 48th (SM) Division held the sector between Gommecourt and Serre, which was not being attacked. CCXLII (SM) Brigade had little to do on the day, but suffered a number of casualties from German retaliatory fire. The attacks on either flank had been disasters, and orders for 48th (SM) Division to resume the attacks next day were cancelled. The brigade continued firing to cut the German wire, on enemy communications, and to support raids, but no serious attack was made on this sector. The infantry of the division had already been moved southwards and had taken part in the Capture of Ovillers. On 21 June CCXLII (SM) Bde moved to Aveluy and brigade HQ took command of Right Group of 48th (SM) Divisional Artillery (DA), including A and half B Btys of CCXL (I SM) and B Bty of CCXLI (II SM) Brigades, being shelled with gas as it moved into position. The Group supported 48th (SM) Division's attacks up 'Mash Valley' as part of the Battle of Pozières Ridge (21–23 June). Afterwards the batteries moved up to positions in Mash Valley, east of La Boisselle. The brigade suffered a number of casualties before it was relieved on 28 June and went to Saint-Ouen for rest.Miles, 1916, Vol II, pp. 3, 13, 75, 101, 115–6.