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In 1916 and 1917 there was a renaming and renumbering of Artillery Brigades and Batteries. As an example, in 1916, the IV Wessex Brigade was renamed, becoming the 218th (IV Wessex) Brigade, RFA. In 1917, the component batteries were numbered, with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Devonshire Batteries becoming 1094th, 1095th, and 1096th Batteries. <ref>Hoplophile. [https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/100251-218th-rfa-in-india/?do=findComment&comment=949775 218th RFA in India], ''Great War Forum'', 30 June 2008 . Retrieved 31 October 2019.</ref>
In 1916 and 1917 there was a renaming and renumbering of Artillery Brigades and Batteries. As an example, in 1916, the IV Wessex Brigade was renamed, becoming the 218th (IV Wessex) Brigade, RFA. In 1917, the component batteries were numbered, with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Devonshire Batteries becoming 1094th, 1095th, and 1096th Batteries. <ref>Hoplophile. [https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/100251-218th-rfa-in-india/?do=findComment&comment=949775 218th RFA in India], ''Great War Forum'', 30 June 2008 . Retrieved 31 October 2019.</ref>
===Royal Artillery Mountain Batteries===
===Royal Artillery Mountain Batteries===
Also known as the  Royal Garrison Artillery (Mountain Division). There were eight  British Army  batteries of mountain artillery in India, numbered 1 to 9, of which one was in Egypt, where the gunners were British, in comparison to the [[Mountain Artillery|Indian mountain artillery]] where the gunners were Indian. The designation changed to  Pack Battery in  1920 and to Light Battery in 1927.<ref>Clifton, Ron. [https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/247013-royal-artillery-in-india-pack-battery-query/?do=findComment&comment=2488413  Royal Artillery in India, Pack Battery query] ''Great War Forum'' 28 January 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2019. Mentions the book ''A Norfolkman in the Raj : the Royal Artillery 1920-1933'' by  Alan W. Roper.</ref>  In 1937 these Batteries ceased to exist in their previous form,  when they were transformed into Indian  mountain artillery,  when the British gunners were sent to other artillery units, and were replaced by Indian gunners.<ref> ''Seven Cantonments'' by Major S E G Ponder, see Historical books online, above.</ref>
Also known as the  Royal Garrison Artillery (Mountain Division). There were eight  British Army  batteries of mountain artillery in India, numbered 1 to 9, of which one was in Egypt, where the gunners were British, in comparison to the [[Mountain Artillery|Indian mountain artillery]] where the gunners were Indian. The designation changed to  Pack Battery in  1920 and to Light Battery in 1927.<ref>Clifton, Ron. [https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/247013-royal-artillery-in-india-pack-battery-query/?do=findComment&comment=2488413  Royal Artillery in India, Pack Battery query] ''Great War Forum'' 28 January 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2019. Mentions the book ''A Norfolkman in the Raj : the Royal Artillery 1920-1933'' by  Alan W. Roper.</ref>  In 1937 these Batteries ceased to exist in their previous form,  when they were transformed into Indian  mountain artillery,  when the British gunners were sent to other artillery units, and were replaced by Indian gunners.<ref> ''Seven Cantonments'' by Major S E G Ponder, see Historical books online, above.</ref> In August 1939 the existing 6 regular Indian Mountain Regiments were transferred from RA to the Indian Army,  (units of the Indian Regiment of Artillery being authorised at the beginning of 1935). <ref>[http://nigelef.tripod.com/indregt.htm Field Artillery Regiments of the Indian Artillery in World War 2] from "British Artillery In World War 2" nigelef.tripod.com</ref>
 
See [[Royal Artillery#Other|External links]], below for "17 Pack Battery RGA in India". Albert Bakewell was later stationed in India with Royal Artillery 17th Light Battery, between 1929 and 1936, a lot of the time in the tribal territories.<ref> No longer available article "Son tells us of gunner's service in 1930s India" by Dan Shaw. <nowiki>http://www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/News/Son-tells-us-of-gunners-service-in-1930s-India-24052012.htm</nowiki></ref>
 
A regimental account for the 6th Pack Battery is ''A Norfolkman in the Raj : the Royal Artillery 1920-1933'' by Alan W. Roper, published 2010.  Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01015383558 .


==Recommended reading==
==Recommended reading==
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:An anthology of tales and short stories about one of the most unusual and colourful units in the history of the British Empire: the Mountain Artillery. Its reputation for action attracted a collection of adventurous, able and eccentric officers; usually with a combination of all three qualities. See [[Military reading list#Other| Military reading list - Army - Other]] - List of books recommended by Peter Moore. Another reader said "I cannot recommend too highly ''Tales of the Mountain Gunners''. It is simply enthralling, moving, funny, inspiring and wonderful. It would be in my top 10 books never to part with.<ref>Muerrisch. [https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/247013-royal-artillery-in-india-pack-battery-query/?do=findComment&comment=2488531    Royal Artillery in India, Pack Battery query] ''Great War Forum'' 28 January 2017.  Retrieved 31 October 2019.</ref>
:An anthology of tales and short stories about one of the most unusual and colourful units in the history of the British Empire: the Mountain Artillery. Its reputation for action attracted a collection of adventurous, able and eccentric officers; usually with a combination of all three qualities. See [[Military reading list#Other| Military reading list - Army - Other]] - List of books recommended by Peter Moore. Another reader said "I cannot recommend too highly ''Tales of the Mountain Gunners''. It is simply enthralling, moving, funny, inspiring and wonderful. It would be in my top 10 books never to part with.<ref>Muerrisch. [https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/247013-royal-artillery-in-india-pack-battery-query/?do=findComment&comment=2488531    Royal Artillery in India, Pack Battery query] ''Great War Forum'' 28 January 2017.  Retrieved 31 October 2019.</ref>
:Chapters include: in the days work, good fighting, the soldier, the mule, the gun, some characters and more.<ref>The no longer available link<nowiki> http://www.military-naval-history.co.uk/pages/artillery.htm</nowiki> Books on Artillery and Fortifications from DP&G Publications.</ref>
:Chapters include: in the days work, good fighting, the soldier, the mule, the gun, some characters and more.<ref>The no longer available link<nowiki> http://www.military-naval-history.co.uk/pages/artillery.htm</nowiki> Books on Artillery and Fortifications from DP&G Publications.</ref>
:There is a brief extract  in "'Tales from the bushy-topped tree' A Brief Survey of Military Sketching", see [[Royal Artillery#External links|External links]] below.
*''Pick Up Your Parrots and Monkeys: The Life of a Boy Soldier in India'' by William Pennington. First published by Cassell UK 2003, paperback edition Phoenix, an imprint of Orion Books, London 2004 ISBN-10: 0753817837  ISBN-13: 978-0753817834
*''Pick Up Your Parrots and Monkeys: The Life of a Boy Soldier in India'' by William Pennington. First published by Cassell UK 2003, paperback edition Phoenix, an imprint of Orion Books, London 2004 ISBN-10: 0753817837  ISBN-13: 978-0753817834
:This very interesting and ‘easy to read’ autobiography covers the Army career of Temporary Captain Joseph William Pennington, Royal Artillery, 151372, from his training in 1934 as a Boy Trumpeter at age 14 in England, his posting to India at age 15 where he remained until 1939, to his World War 2 experiences in Burma where he was awarded the Military Cross as a Forward Observation Officer. For more details, see [[History reading list]].
:This very interesting and ‘easy to read’ autobiography covers the Army career of Temporary Captain Joseph William Pennington, Royal Artillery, 151372, from his training in 1934 as a Boy Trumpeter at age 14 in England, his posting to India at age 15 where he remained until 1939, to his World War 2 experiences in Burma where he was awarded the Military Cross as a Forward Observation Officer. For more details, see [[History reading list]].
:Now available on online, see [[Royal Artillery#Historical books online|Historical books online]] below.


==See also==
==See also==
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==Records==
==Records==
===FIBIS resources===
===FIBIS resources===
*[http://search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=list_sources&source_class=308 Royal Artillery in India] Baptisms and marriages taken from the original record WO69/575 – 21 Brigade Royal Artillery.  
*[http://fibis.ourarchives.online/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=list_sources&source_class=308 Royal Artillery in India] Baptisms and marriages taken from the original record WO69/575 – 21 Brigade Royal Artillery.  
*[http://search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=721&s_id=0 Royal Regiment of Artillery 1747-1749] - 135 officers and soldiers of the RA who sailed for India to fight with Admiral Boscawen
*[http://fibis.ourarchives.online/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=721&s_id=0 Royal Regiment of Artillery 1747-1749] - 135 officers and soldiers of the RA who sailed for India to fight with Admiral Boscawen
*[http://search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=447&s_id=0 Royal Artillery Muster Rolls 1748] pay list related to above source
*[http://fibis.ourarchives.online/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=447&s_id=0 Royal Artillery Muster Rolls 1748] pay list related to above source
*[http://search.fibis.org/frontis/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=667&s_id=0 K Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, Memorial at Bandariabagh] (photo)
*[http://fibis.ourarchives.online/bin/aps_browse_sources.php?mode=browse_components&id=667&s_id=0 K Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, Memorial at Bandariabagh] (photo)
*"Life in a British Cantonment in India: Nasirabad, 1929-1930" by John Sworder ''FIBIS Journal Number 23 (Spring 2010)'' pages 40-48. For details of how to access this article, see [[FIBIS Journals]].
*"Life in a British Cantonment in India: Nasirabad, 1929-1930" by John Sworder ''FIBIS Journal Number 23 (Spring 2010)'' pages 40-48. For details of how to access this article, see [[FIBIS Journals]].
*"The Mysterious Murder at Agra" by Rosemary Reardon  ''FIBIS Journal Number 28 (Autumn 2012)'' pages 3-14.  Charles Low a Corporal in O Battery, 3 Brigade stationed at Agra was murdered in October 1882. His wife and another Corporal were charged with the murder but acquitted. For details of how to access this article, see [[FIBIS Journals]].
*"The Mysterious Murder at Agra" by Rosemary Reardon  ''FIBIS Journal Number 28 (Autumn 2012)'' pages 3-14.  Charles Low a Corporal in O Battery, 3 Brigade stationed at Agra was murdered in October 1882. His wife and another Corporal were charged with the murder but acquitted. For details of how to access this article, see [[FIBIS Journals]].
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The most accessible soldiers’ records, including for soldiers of the Royal Artillery, are the WO 97 series [[British Army#Service and pension records|Royal Hospital Chelsea pension records]], many of which are available online.
The most accessible soldiers’ records, including for soldiers of the Royal Artillery, are the WO 97 series [[British Army#Service and pension records|Royal Hospital Chelsea pension records]], many of which are available online.


Muster rolls (effectively a pay list register of soldiers in a company) can provide excellent information, however it must be noted that there are almost no muster rolls for the Royal Artillery in India, except a few in very early years.<ref>[https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14221 WO 10 TNA Catalogue description]</ref>  However, checking the rolls for the period before and after an artilleryman is in India can be very useful.  The National Archives has an online guide covering [https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-army-muster-rolls-pay-lists-1730-1898/ British Army muster rolls and pay lists].  Be sure to know the brigade and battery of your man before you attempt to find the muster roll and be aware that name changes did occur. [[Stations_of_the_Royal_Artillery_in_India#Law.27s_Tables|Law's Tables]] can be useful for sorting out the correct titles.   
Muster rolls (effectively a pay list register of soldiers in a company) can provide excellent information, however it must be noted that there are almost no muster rolls for the Royal Artillery in India, except a few in very early years.<ref>[https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14221 WO 10 TNA Catalogue description]</ref>  However, checking the rolls for the period before and after an artilleryman is in India can be very useful.  The National Archives has an online guide covering [https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-army-muster-rolls-pay-lists-1730-1898/ British Army muster rolls and pay lists].  Be sure to know the brigade and battery of your man before you attempt to find the muster roll and be aware that name changes did occur. The books known as [[Stations_of_the_Royal_Artillery_in_India#Law.27s_Tables|Law's Tables]] can be useful for sorting out the correct titles.   


Also refer to the guide produced by Firepower, The Royal Artillery Museum called "Is There A Gunner In Your Family Tree?", see below.  
There was previously a guide booklet produced by Firepower, The Royal Artillery Museum called "Is There A Gunner In Your Family Tree?", and there is a  online guide available on Facebook, refer below.  


The main record series, with catalogue entries, are:
The main record series, with catalogue entries, are:
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***"British Army, Royal Artillery, 80th Field Regiment, WW2". Transcripts from various records.
***"British Army, Royal Artillery, 80th Field Regiment, WW2". Transcripts from various records.
**Sub-category "First World War" -  "Royal Artillery War Commemoration Book, 1914-1918" . This book was published in 1920 and consists of an alphabetical list of 3,505 Officers of the Royal Regiment of Artillery who died during the First World War
**Sub-category "First World War" -  "Royal Artillery War Commemoration Book, 1914-1918" . This book was published in 1920 and consists of an alphabetical list of 3,505 Officers of the Royal Regiment of Artillery who died during the First World War
** Sub-category "Second World War" -  "Royal Artillery Other Ranks: Casualty Cards 1939-1947". From original cards previously held at the Royal Artillery Museum, refer Museum closure below.
** Sub-category "Second World War" -  "Royal Artillery Other Ranks: Casualty Cards 1939-1947". From original cards held at the Royal Artillery Museum, whose Archive is now at Larkhill, Wiltshire.
:Searching is free but charges apply for examination of the record.
:Searching is free but charges apply for examination of the record.
 
*Ancestry
*Ancestry introduced in April 2016 the data base [http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=60931 UK, British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, 1730-1960]  which contains some Royal Artillery records from the National Archives records WO 69 series: WO 69/67-69,72,73,551-573,575-577,579,580,582.
**Ancestry introduced in 2016/04 the data base [http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=60931 UK, British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, 1730-1960]  which contains some Royal Artillery records from the National Archives records WO 69 series: WO 69/67-69,72,73,551-573,575-577,579,580,582.
**The database [https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/61820/ UK, WWII Royal Artillery Tracer Cards, 1939-1948] located in Military was introduced 2019/10/21 with surnames beginning Q-Z added 2020/03/02, from Royal Artillery Tracer cards from the Royal Artillery Museum, Larkhill, Wiltshire, England. Only 'Other Ranks',  those who were not commissioned officers, are included.
*:[https://blogs.ancestry.co.uk/ancestry/2020/02/13/29039/ Deciphering the WWII Royal Artillery Tracer Cards] Ancestry blog. Does not include soldiers who died in service.


===Church Records===
===Church Records===
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Firepower Museum at Woolwich closed on 8 July 2016.
Firepower Museum at Woolwich closed on 8 July 2016.


It  had a  Library and Archive with extensive holdings including battery records.  A research service was available.  Firepower  produced a guide for family history researchers called "Is There A Gunner In Your Family Tree?"  The sixteen page guide outlined how the Museum's extensive archives could help researchers.  It also detailed the other main UK sources and archives to explore when researching army service.
It  had a  Library and Archive with extensive holdings including battery records.  A research service was available.  Firepower  produced a guide booklet for family history researchers called "Is There A Gunner In Your Family Tree?"  The sixteen page guide outlined how the Museum's extensive archives could help researchers.  It also detailed the other main UK sources and archives to explore when researching army service.
 
The Salisbury Plain Heritage Centre  will take over as The Home of the Royal Artillery Collection


Prior to  Firepower closing it was advised there would  be “controlled access” to the archive and library, prior to a move to Larkhill on Salisbury Plain, perhaps in 2020.<ref> dbf. [http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/firepower-is-closing.60315/ FirePower is closing] ''WW2Talk Forum'' 27 January 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2019.</ref> 
A new Royal Artillery Museum is planned.  


====Part of Library and Archive now at Larkhill====
====Part of Library and Archive now at Larkhill====
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Further portions of the Archive became available from April 2018. (Details<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/RoyalArtilleryArchive/posts/2453523718306914 Facebook: Royal Artillery Museum Archive] 8 April 2018.</ref>).
Further portions of the Archive became available from April 2018. (Details<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/RoyalArtilleryArchive/posts/2453523718306914 Facebook: Royal Artillery Museum Archive] 8 April 2018.</ref>).


The website for Salisbury Plain Heritage Centre, section Enquiries currently (2017/4) advises access is now possible on Tuesdays and Thursdays and states "We're happy to answer brief enquiries, and we've started a paid service for more detailed historical research"
The Royal Artillery Museum website (see External links below) currently (March 2020) advises the archive has been transferred "to a new storage facility near Larkhill, and most records are now available for research purposes".
<br>The email for the enquiry service is <nowiki>enquiries@royalartillerymuseum.com</nowiki>  
 
Previously it was advised  access was now possible on Tuesdays and Thursdays and stated "We're happy to answer brief enquiries, and we've started a paid service for more detailed historical research", and that  the email for the enquiry service was <nowiki>enquiries@royalartillerymuseum.com</nowiki>. This information does not currently appear on the website (March 2020) but there is an online enquiry form on the website (located under Archive/Overview)


Details may also be found on the [http://www.royalartillerymuseum.com Royal Artillery Museum] website (under development at 2019/07, but with email details), Facebook pages Royal Artillery Museum Archive, and Royal Artillery Museum - The Collection.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/RoyalArtilleryArchive Royal Artillery Museum Archive] @RoyalArtilleryArchive and [https://www.facebook.com/TheRAMCollection Royal Artillery Museum - The Collection] @TheRAMCollection. Facebook</ref>
Information may also be found on the Facebook pages Royal Artillery Museum - The Collection, and Royal Artillery Museum Archive,  the latter has information  to 26 January 2021.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/TheRAMCollection Royal Artillery Museum - The Collection] @TheRAMCollection, and [https://www.facebook.com/RoyalArtilleryArchive Royal Artillery Museum Archive] @RoyalArtilleryArchive. The latter  has information as a separate page to 26 January 2021, and will be eventually closed (but is still in existence at 5 July 2022). Facebook</ref>


Royal Artillery Museum Archive published on Facebook in June 2018, a three part guide "Gunner Family History".<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/RoyalArtilleryArchive/posts/2496231060702846 Gunner Family History – Part 1 – Service Records] 14 June 2018; [https://www.facebook.com/RoyalArtilleryArchive/posts/2501113800214572 Gunner Family History – Part 2 – Other Military Records] 19 June 2018; [https://www.facebook.com/RoyalArtilleryArchive/posts/2511169332542352 Gunner Family History – Part 3 – Civilian Sources] 28th June 2018. Royal Artillery Museum Archive  on Facebook.</ref>
Royal Artillery Museum Archive published on Facebook in June 2018, a three part guide "Gunner Family History".<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/RoyalArtilleryArchive/posts/2496231060702846 Gunner Family History – Part 1 – Service Records] 14 June 2018; [https://www.facebook.com/RoyalArtilleryArchive/posts/2501113800214572 Gunner Family History – Part 2 – Other Military Records] 19 June 2018; [https://www.facebook.com/RoyalArtilleryArchive/posts/2511169332542352 Gunner Family History – Part 3 – Civilian Sources] 28th June 2018. Royal Artillery Museum Archive  on Facebook. These direct links are only available if you are a Facebook member. Otherwise scroll down the posts to 14 June 2018 on [https://www.facebook.com/RoyalArtilleryArchive Royal Artillery Museum Archive] which contains information to 26 January 2021, and will be eventually closed.</ref>


===British Library===
===British Library===
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Published histories in the catalogue include [also see Historical books online, below]:
Published histories in the catalogue include [also see Historical books online, below]:
*''The History of the Royal and Indian Artillery in the Mutiny of 1857'' by Julian RJ Jocelyn (1915).  British Library reference UIN: BLL01006796503. Also available on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3, refer  Historical books online, below. Note: Limited geographic  (USA etc) online availability on [https://books.google.com/books/about/The_History_of_the_Royal_and_Indian_Arti.html?id=KE9FAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y Google Books], (2 versions) and  [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008884125 HathiTrust Digital Library]. 
*''The History of the Royal Artillery : from the Indian Mutiny to the Great War''  by Sir Charles Callwell and Sir John Headlam (1931, 1940).  ''Volume 1, 1860-1899'', ''Volume 2, 1899-1914'', ''Volume 3, Campaigns 1860-1914''. Vol. 3 has separate case of maps. UIN: BLL01006810121. Also available on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3, refer  Historical books online, below.
*''The History of the Royal Artillery : from the Indian Mutiny to the Great War''  by Sir Charles Callwell and Sir John Headlam (1931, 1940).  ''Volume 1, 1860-1899'', ''Volume 2, 1899-1914'', ''Volume 3, Campaigns 1860-1914''. Vol. 3 has separate case of maps. UIN: BLL01006810121. Also available on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3, refer  Historical books online, below.
*''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery : Western Front 1914-18''  by Sir Martin Farndale (1986). UIN: BLL01008145795
*''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery : Western Front 1914-18''  by Sir Martin Farndale (1986). UIN: BLL01008145795
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*''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-aircraft artillery, 1914-55'' by  N.W. Routledge (c 1994). UIN: BLL01012703891  
*''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-aircraft artillery, 1914-55'' by  N.W. Routledge (c 1994). UIN: BLL01012703891  
*''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery:  The years of defeat Europe and North Africa, 1939-41'' by Sir Martin Farndale 1996. UIN: BLL01012703884  
*''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery:  The years of defeat Europe and North Africa, 1939-41'' by Sir Martin Farndale 1996. UIN: BLL01012703884  
*''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The Far East Theatre, 1941-1946''  by Sir Martin Farndale (2000). UIN: BLL01012703977; revised edition ''The Far East Theatre, 1939-1946'', Farndale (2002). UIN: BLL01012703981
*''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The Far East Theatre, 1941-1946''  by Sir Martin Farndale (2000). UIN: BLL01012703977; revised edition ''The Far East Theatre, 1939-1946'', Farndale (2002). The 2002 edition is available online, refer below.
 
*''Honour Titles of the Royal Artillery'' by B P Hughes. [nd], but from elsewhere, first published 1975, 2nd edition 1988. UIN: BLL01008449724, UIN: BLL01011497298 
*''A Norfolkman in the Raj : the Royal Artillery 1920-1933'' by Alan W. Roper 2010. About the 6th Pack Battery, Mountain Artillery. UIN: BLL01015383558
*Indian Army
: ''History of the Regiment of Artillery : Indian Army''  edited by D. K. Palit. 1971 Indian edition, 1972 UK edition. UIN: BLL01001796726 and UIN: BLL01012130331
Other books in the catalogue:
Other books in the catalogue:
*''Battery Records of the Royal Artillery'' compiled by M. E. S. Laws. ''Volume 1, 1716-1859'' and  ''Volume 2, 1859-1877''  published in 1950 and 1970 . Also known as [[Stations of the Royal Artillery in India# Law's Tables|‘Laws Tables’]].
*''Battery Records of the Royal Artillery'' compiled by M. E. S. Laws. ''Volume 1, 1716-1859'' and  ''Volume 2, 1859-1877''  published in 1952 and 1970 . Also known as [[Stations of the Royal Artillery in India# Law's Tables|‘Laws Tables’]].
*''Minutes of Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution''.  Volume 1 (1858) -Volume 32, no. 3 (June 1905). Volume 12 is missing. The name then changed to  
*''Minutes of Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution''.  Volume 1 (1858) -Volume 32, no. 3 (June 1905). Volume 12 is missing. The name then changed to  
*''The Journal of the Royal Artillery'', Vol 32, no. 4 (July 1905). This was published monthly, 1905-July 1924; quarterly Oct 1924-1958; 3 times a year, 1959-1961; half-yearly, 1962-.  
*''The Journal of the Royal Artillery'', Vol 32, no. 4 (July 1905). This was published monthly, 1905-July 1924; quarterly Oct 1924-1958; 3 times a year, 1959-1961; half-yearly, 1962-.  
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<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170714232553/http://www.army.mod.uk/artillery/31589.aspxThe Royal Artillery: Life and Heritage]. Scroll down to The Gunner Magazine  and The Royal Artillery Journal.  Archived British Army website  with details current at 14 July 2017. Also [https://web.archive.org/web/20170629005310/http://www.army.mod.uk/artillery/23539.aspx Gunner Magazine]  Archived British Army website which contains some sample editions of The Gunner c 2013.</ref>
<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170714232553/http://www.army.mod.uk/artillery/31589.aspxThe Royal Artillery: Life and Heritage]. Scroll down to The Gunner Magazine  and The Royal Artillery Journal.  Archived British Army website  with details current at 14 July 2017. Also [https://web.archive.org/web/20170629005310/http://www.army.mod.uk/artillery/23539.aspx Gunner Magazine]  Archived British Army website which contains some sample editions of The Gunner c 2013.</ref>
Originally published  from 1858 as ''Minutes of Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution'', the name was changed in 1905. Both series of journals are available at the British Library.
Originally published  from 1858 as ''Minutes of Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution'', the name was changed in 1905. Both series of journals are available at the British Library.
==Boy Trumpeters in the Royal Artillery==
''The Regulations for Recruiting for the Regular Army'' published in 1903 laid out the criteria under which boys aged between fourteen and seventeen years could be recruited. In prior years the recruitment was from even earlier ages. Many such Boys in the Royal Artillery trained as Trumpeters.
A regimental history is ''Trumpeters- The Story of the Royal Artillery's Boy Trumpeters''
by Brian Cloughley 2008. Boy trumpeters, known as 'badgies', were a fixture of the British Army for centuries, right up until the 1940s. The majority of trumpeters went to or stayed in India. ‘Badgie’ is derived from the Hindi baju, meaning ‘music’. Badgie wallahs were the music men and timekeepers in days when there were no other means of notifying large numbers of soldiers that they were required for various duties.<ref>[http://www.woodfieldpublishing.co.uk/contents/en-uk/p275_boy-trumpeters-Royal-artillery-1920s-1940s-British-army.html ''Trumpeters- The Story of the Royal Artillery's Boy Trumpeters''] woodfieldpublishing.co.uk</ref>
An individual account is found in ''Pick Up Your Parrots and Monkeys: The Life of a Boy Soldier in India'' by William Pennington 2003, who commenced his training in 1934 as a Boy Trumpeter at age 14 in England, and was posted to India at age 15. This book is available on online, see [[Royal Artillery#Historical books online|Historical books online]] below.


==Anglo Indians in the Royal Artillery==
==Anglo Indians in the Royal Artillery==
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunner_(rank) Gunner (rank)] Wikipedia
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunner_(rank) Gunner (rank)] Wikipedia
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_(rank) Bombardier] Wikipedia<br>
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_(rank) Bombardier] Wikipedia<br>
*[http://www.salisburyplainheritagecentre.com Salisbury Plain Heritage Centre] Home of the Royal Artillery Collection. Not expected to open until c 2020.
*[https://royalartillerymuseum.com Royal Artillery Museum] (planned).
**[https://royalartillerymuseum.com/archive-3/overview-4 The Archive] is in new storage facility near Larkhill, and most records are now available for research purposes, and visits are possible subject to prior arrangement. There is a paid research service now available.
**[https://royalartillerymuseum.com/news/new-first-world-war-digital-archive-launches New First World War Digital Archive launches] 3 November 2021. royalartillerymuseum.com. Many digital items for the period 1900-1929 from the collection of the Royal Artillery Museum are now available through [https://www.theogilbymuster.com The Ogilby Muster], or TOM, developed by the Army Museums Ogilby Trust. Registration is required, and although free to search,  payment is required for any downloads made.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://7fd-regt-raa-association.com/Documents/UK%20Artlillery%20terms%20and%20abbreviations.doc  Glossary of Royal Artillery. Terms and Abbreviations (Historical and Modern) by Philip Jobson]. 7fd-regt-raa-association.com, now an archived website. This is a (Word document) download to your computer, to a downloads folder, which must then be opened.  Appear to be extracts from the book [http://op-ack.tripod.com/royalartilleryglossaryoftermsandabbreviations/index.html ''Royal Artillery Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations''] by Philip Jobson 2008
*[https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://7fd-regt-raa-association.com/Documents/UK%20Artlillery%20terms%20and%20abbreviations.doc  Glossary of Royal Artillery. Terms and Abbreviations (Historical and Modern) by Philip Jobson]. 7fd-regt-raa-association.com, now an archived website. This is a (Word document) download to your computer, to a downloads folder, which must then be opened.  Appear to be extracts from the book [http://op-ack.tripod.com/royalartilleryglossaryoftermsandabbreviations/index.html ''Royal Artillery Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations''] by Philip Jobson 2008
*Victorian Wars Forum  is now no longer operating, and parts only of the Forum are still available in an archived form: if you have a previously saved URL, check in the [https://archive.org/web/web.php#forum Internet Archive Wayback Machine] whether that particular URL has been archived. (Archive.org). Alternatively scroll through [https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.victorianwars.com/*  URLs  which have been captured for this domain [victorianwars.com<nowiki>]</nowiki>]. Note results can be reordered for dates etc. Scroll through and select URLs which contain viewtopic as part of the URL. Archive.org. Unfortunately the entire site was never  archived.
*Victorian Wars Forum  is now no longer operating, and parts only of the Forum are still available in an archived form: if you have a previously saved URL, check in the [https://archive.org/web/web.php#forum Internet Archive Wayback Machine] whether that particular URL has been archived. (Archive.org). Alternatively scroll through [https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.victorianwars.com/*  URLs  which have been captured for this domain [victorianwars.com<nowiki>]</nowiki>]. Note results can be reordered for dates etc. Scroll through and select URLs which contain viewtopic as part of the URL. Archive.org. Unfortunately the entire site was never  archived.
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*[http://www.gutenberg-e.org/mas01/index.html ''"The Infantry cannot do with a gun less": The Place of the Artillery 
in the British Expeditionary Force, 1914-1918''] by Sanders Marble gutenberg-e.org. Colombia University Press. Based on the author's Ph D thesis, University of London, 1998.
*[http://www.gutenberg-e.org/mas01/index.html ''"The Infantry cannot do with a gun less": The Place of the Artillery 
in the British Expeditionary Force, 1914-1918''] by Sanders Marble gutenberg-e.org. Colombia University Press. Based on the author's Ph D thesis, University of London, 1998.
*Ian Paterson’s  page on the history of many Artillery Regiments including Royal Horse Artillery, [http://www.desertrats.org.uk/orgartillery.htm Artillery Regiments That Served With The 7th Armoured Division]. Includes details of regiments whose history dates back to the [[Bengal Artillery|Bengal]], [[Madras Artillery|Madras]] and [[Bombay Artillery]].  desertrats.org.uk
*Ian Paterson’s  page on the history of many Artillery Regiments including Royal Horse Artillery, [http://www.desertrats.org.uk/orgartillery.htm Artillery Regiments That Served With The 7th Armoured Division]. Includes details of regiments whose history dates back to the [[Bengal Artillery|Bengal]], [[Madras Artillery|Madras]] and [[Bombay Artillery]].  desertrats.org.uk
*[http://www.britishmedals.us/files/lsgcra.htm Transcription of the Long Service & Good Conduct medal register for the Royal Artillery (including RA, RFA, RGA & RHA) for 1902-12] . The List includes name, year of issue, rank and regimental number. The Asplin Military History Resources
*[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/h/C1897667/prev/C1897667 The National Archives: WO 102 - War Office: Long Service and Good Conduct Awards, Registers]. Includes  records relating to the Royal Artillery, most of which can be downloaded free from TNA website.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/spring04_8btytext.doc "The History Of 8 (Alma) Battery Royal Artillery"] Royal Artillery Historical Society Spring Meeting  22nd April 2004. Now an archived webpage  (Word version),  (a download to your computer, to a downloads folder, which must then be opened). This Battery was raised in 1755 and immediately proceeded to India, until it returned to England in 1765. It took part in the [[2nd China War]] and the [[3rd China War|Boxer Rebellion]] in addition to further garrison duty in India.  army.mod.uk/documents/general
**[https://web.archive.org/web/20191102091850/http://www.britishmedals.us/files/lsgcra.htm Transcription of the Long Service & Good Conduct medal register for the Royal Artillery (including RA, RFA, RGA & RHA) for 1902-12] . The List includes name, year of issue, rank and regimental number. The Asplin Military History Resources, now archived. The source appears to be  WO 102/19.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/9Bty-Text-Final(1).doc "The History of 9 (Plassey) Battery Royal Artillery"] Royal Artillery Historical Society Spring Meeting 19th April 2007.  Now an archived webpage  (Word version),  (a download to your computer, to a downloads folder, which must then be opened). This regiment was originally part of the Bengal Artillery. army.mod.uk/documents/general
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080912163621/http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/spring04_8btytext.doc "The History Of 8 (Alma) Battery Royal Artillery"] Royal Artillery Historical Society Spring Meeting  22nd April 2004. Now an archived webpage  (Word version),  (a download to your computer, to a downloads folder, which must then be opened). This Battery was raised in 1755 and immediately proceeded to India, until it returned to England in 1765. It took part in the [[2nd China War]] and the [[3rd China War|Boxer Rebellion]] in addition to further garrison duty in India.  army.mod.uk/documents/general
*[https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/spring03_10bty.doc "The History of 10 Assaye Battery, Royal Artillery"], Royal Artillery Historical Society Spring Meeting 2nd April 2003.  Now an archived webpage  (Word version),  (a download to your computer, to a downloads folder, which must then be opened). This Battery was originally part of the Bombay Artillery. army.mod.uk/documents/general
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120817044742/http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/9Bty-Text-Final(1).doc "The History of 9 (Plassey) Battery Royal Artillery"] Royal Artillery Historical Society Spring Meeting 19th April 2007.  Now an archived webpage  (Word version),  (a download to your computer, to a downloads folder, which must then be opened). This regiment was originally part of the Bengal Artillery. army.mod.uk/documents/general
*[https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/spring06_1btyra.doc "The History of 1st Battery Royal Artillery (The Blazers)"] Royal Artillery Historical Society  Spring Meeting 26th April 2006. Now an archived webpage  (Word version),  (a download to your computer, to a downloads folder, which must then be opened). This Battery was in India 1926 to 1940, and  was then part of the Divisional Artillery of the 5th Indian Division. army.mod.uk/documents/general
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120403204544/http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/spring03_10bty.doc "The History of 10 Assaye Battery, Royal Artillery"], Royal Artillery Historical Society Spring Meeting 2nd April 2003.  Now an archived webpage  (Word version),  (a download to your computer, to a downloads folder, which must then be opened). This Battery was originally part of the Bombay Artillery. army.mod.uk/documents/general
**[http://www.thegarrison.org.uk/history/1btdiary.php War Diary of 1st Fd Bty (The Blazers) RA]  Covers the period in india March 1938 until 24th August 1940 when the Battery embarked for the Middle East. thegarrison.org.uk
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120425063824/http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/spring06_1btyra.doc "The History of 1st Battery Royal Artillery (The Blazers)"] Royal Artillery Historical Society  Spring Meeting 26th April 2006. Now an archived webpage  (Word version),  (a download to your computer, to a downloads folder, which must then be opened). This Battery was in India 1926 to 1940, and  was then part of the Divisional Artillery of the 5th Indian Division. army.mod.uk/documents/general
**[https://web.archive.org/web/20171001063449/http://www.thegarrison.org.uk/history/1btdiary.php War Diary of 1st Fd Bty (The Blazers) RA]  Covers the period in india March 1938 until 24th August 1940 when the Battery embarked for the Middle East. thegarrison.org.uk, now an archived page.
*[http://2heavybtyra.co.uk  2 Heavy Battery Royal Artillery Hinds Company] includes [http://2heavybtyra.co.uk/HISTORY.htm History], with details of India 1883-1920 and [http://2heavybtyra.co.uk/HISTORY2.htm deployments] and battery names during that time.
*[http://2heavybtyra.co.uk  2 Heavy Battery Royal Artillery Hinds Company] includes [http://2heavybtyra.co.uk/HISTORY.htm History], with details of India 1883-1920 and [http://2heavybtyra.co.uk/HISTORY2.htm deployments] and battery names during that time.
*Barkachha, (Barkacha) located about five miles south of [[Mirzapur]], was the site of an Artillery camp c 1900. This [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/19125697#pstart1536263 newspaper article] advises:  Barkacha had, previous to this year's work, been exclusively an artillery camp for the annual practice of batteries and brigade divisions, a certain number of senior officers of the other arms being detailed to attend for instruction... There is no doubt that Barkacha is one of the finest artillery practice grounds in India. ''The Brisbane Courier'' (Qld.) Saturday 16 March 1901 page 12 from trove.nla.gov.au
*Barkachha, (Barkacha) located about five miles south of [[Mirzapur]], was the site of an Artillery camp c 1900. This [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/19125697#pstart1536263 newspaper article] advises:  Barkacha had, previous to this year's work, been exclusively an artillery camp for the annual practice of batteries and brigade divisions, a certain number of senior officers of the other arms being detailed to attend for instruction... There is no doubt that Barkacha is one of the finest artillery practice grounds in India. ''The Brisbane Courier'' (Qld.) Saturday 16 March 1901 page 12 from trove.nla.gov.au
*[http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjbullous/sets/72157625855561476/with/5367770493/ Photographs: India  1930s  14th Corunna Field Battery] taken by the father of Peter Bullous.  Includes photographs at Ghalanai during the 1935 Mohmand Operations. Flickr.com. This  Battery is now called [http://www.26thregra-asc.com/17bty.html 17 (Corunna) Battery] and appears to have been in India until 1939.
*[http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjbullous/sets/72157625855561476/with/5367770493/ Photographs: India  1930s  14th Corunna Field Battery] taken by the father of Peter Bullous.  Includes photographs at Ghalanai during the 1935 Mohmand Operations. Flickr.com. This  Battery is now called [http://www.26thregra-asc.com/17bty.html 17 (Corunna) Battery] and appears to have been in India until 1939.
*Photographs from the collection of  James Wilson, Royal Artillery 1940s WW2-1947 500px.com.
*Photographs from the collection of  James Wilson, Royal Artillery 1940s WW2-1947 500px.com.
**[https://500px.com/photo/23071837/25-pounder-gun-nw-frontier-province-india-1945-by-scott-mcculloch Photograph: 25 Pounder Gun, NW Frontier Province 1945]
**[https://500px.com/photo/23071773/royal-artillery-9th-field-regiment-barracks-nowshera-india-1940s-by-scott-mcculloch Photograph: Royal Artillery, 9th Field Regiment Barracks, Nowshera 1940s]  
**[https://500px.com/photo/23071773/royal-artillery-9th-field-regiment-barracks-nowshera-india-1940s-by-scott-mcculloch Photograph: Royal Artillery, 9th Field Regiment Barracks, Nowshera 1940s]  
**[https://500px.com/photo/23071731/royal-artillery-camp-nowshera-india-ww2-by-scott-mcculloch Photograph: Royal Artillery Camp, 9th Field Regiment. Nowshera]
**[https://500px.com/photo/23071731/royal-artillery-camp-nowshera-india-ww2-by-scott-mcculloch Photograph: Royal Artillery Camp, 9th Field Regiment. Nowshera]
**[https://500px.com/photo/23071781/regimental-canteen-9th-field-regiment-royal-artillery-by-scott-mcculloch Photograph: Regimental Canteen, 9th Field Regiment, likely Nowshera]
**[https://500px.com/photo/23071781/regimental-canteen-9th-field-regiment-royal-artillery-by-scott-mcculloch Photograph: Regimental Canteen, 9th Field Regiment, likely Nowshera]
**[https://500px.com/photo/23071761/chistmas-day-1946-sialkot-by-scott-mcculloch Photograph: 19th Battery, Sialkot. Christmas Day 1946,]  Although this photograph is labelled Officers’ Mess  it seems likely to be the “Other Ranks” Mess.
**[https://500px.com/photo/23071761/chistmas-day-1946-sialkot-by-scott-mcculloch Photograph: 19th Battery, Sialkot. Christmas Day 1946,]  Although this photograph is labelled Officers’ Mess  it seems likely to be the “Other Ranks” Mess.
*[http://nigelef.tripod.com/index.htm British Artillery in World War 2] including [http://nigelef.tripod.com/regtsumm.htm Field Artillery Formations and Regiments of the Royal Artillery in World War 2]. Website by Nigel F Evans
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20210428080640/https://nigelef.tripod.com/index.htm British Artillery in World War 2] including [https://web.archive.org/web/20230418214926/https://nigelef.tripod.com/regtsumm.htm Field Artillery Formations and Regiments of the Royal Artillery in World War 2]. Website by the late Nigel F Evans, now archived. A replacement website [https://www.britishartillery.co.uk britishartillery.co.uk]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160331000254/http://ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/index.html The Royal Artillery 1939-45] ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk, now archived
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160331000254/http://ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/index.html The Royal Artillery 1939-45] ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk, now archived
*[https://www.paulgough.org/bushy.htm "'Tales from the bushy-topped tree' A Brief Survey of Military Sketching"] by Paul Gough. A version of this paper first appeared in the annual review of the Imperial War Museum, London, Nov. 1995. Includes references to the usefulness of this skill to the Royal Artillery, including Mountain Artillery.
=====Memorials=====
=====Memorials=====
*[http://archive.org/stream/miscellaneagenea02bann#page/138/mode/2up Monument to those who died in Cawnpore 1892-1895, 31st Field Battery Royal Artillery]. Monumental Inscriptions from Cawnpur Cantonment Cemetery , page 139  ''Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica: Fourth Series Volume 2'' 1908 Archive.org
*[http://archive.org/stream/miscellaneagenea02bann#page/138/mode/2up Monument to those who died in Cawnpore 1892-1895, 31st Field Battery Royal Artillery]. Monumental Inscriptions from Cawnpur Cantonment Cemetery , page 139  ''Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica: Fourth Series Volume 2'' 1908 Archive.org
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**[http://www.soldiersofthequeen.com/India-LtLeonardGeorgeWatkins.html  Leonard George Watkins] Bombay 1886, with previous information on the [http://www.soldiersofthequeen.com/India.html India Home page]. He was appointed a Gentleman Cadet at the Royal Military Academy on 20 September, 1878 Although is seems the Watkins remained in the Royal Artillery for his entire career to c 1914 it was while seconded to the Indian Ordnance Department
**[http://www.soldiersofthequeen.com/India-LtLeonardGeorgeWatkins.html  Leonard George Watkins] Bombay 1886, with previous information on the [http://www.soldiersofthequeen.com/India.html India Home page]. He was appointed a Gentleman Cadet at the Royal Military Academy on 20 September, 1878 Although is seems the Watkins remained in the Royal Artillery for his entire career to c 1914 it was while seconded to the Indian Ordnance Department
*Details<ref> BingandNelsonFan.  The no longer available link  <nowiki>http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=12921</nowiki> A Funeral in India (1872) ''Victorian Wars Forum'' 11 March 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019. Originally from ''Broad Arrow'' 06 Jan 1872, page 28, available online on findmypast, and the British Newspaper Archive.</ref> of the funeral of Dudley Maryon Wilson,  Lieutenant and Local Captain, Royal Artillery who died at [[Rawal Pindi]] November 1871.
*Details<ref> BingandNelsonFan.  The no longer available link  <nowiki>http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=12921</nowiki> A Funeral in India (1872) ''Victorian Wars Forum'' 11 March 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019. Originally from ''Broad Arrow'' 06 Jan 1872, page 28, available online on findmypast, and the British Newspaper Archive.</ref> of the funeral of Dudley Maryon Wilson,  Lieutenant and Local Captain, Royal Artillery who died at [[Rawal Pindi]] November 1871.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110921083709/http://www.britishmedals.us/kevin/profiles/joyce.html "James Joyce –RA, AOD & RAOC"] James Joyce was enlisted at Churat, Bengal 22nd Oct 1875 aged 14 years and 6 months old by his Armourer Sergeant father. His army career extended to 1918 in East Africa. Asplin Military History Resources, now archived.
*Article: [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1229067/One-British-soldiers-diaries-bloody-battle-Afghanistan-130-years-ago-provide-haunting-insight-horrors-troops-face-now.html "The amazing story of Bobbie, the bravest dog of war, as told in a British soldier's diary of a bloody battle in Afghanistan 130 years ago"] by Geoffrey Wansell  19 November 2009 www.dailymail.co.uk. Describes letters written by Captain John Slade of the Royal Horse Artillery about the [[Battle of Maiwand]] in 1880, an action in the [[2nd Afghan War]]
*Article: [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1229067/One-British-soldiers-diaries-bloody-battle-Afghanistan-130-years-ago-provide-haunting-insight-horrors-troops-face-now.html "The amazing story of Bobbie, the bravest dog of war, as told in a British soldier's diary of a bloody battle in Afghanistan 130 years ago"] by Geoffrey Wansell  19 November 2009 www.dailymail.co.uk. Describes letters written by Captain John Slade of the Royal Horse Artillery about the [[Battle of Maiwand]] in 1880, an action in the [[2nd Afghan War]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120204203118/http://www.members.dca.net/fbl/obrien.html Master Gunner, later Major & Quarter Master, John O'Brien, Royal Artillery] His first active service was as an underage Trumpeter in the 2nd Afghan War 1878-1880, attached to the 6th Battery, 8th Brigade, Royal Artillery. He saw active service in India to 1888. members.dca.net, now archived.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120204203118/http://www.members.dca.net/fbl/obrien.html Master Gunner, later Major & Quarter Master, John O'Brien, Royal Artillery] His first active service was as an underage Trumpeter in the 2nd Afghan War 1878-1880, attached to the 6th Battery, 8th Brigade, Royal Artillery. He saw active service in India to 1888. members.dca.net, now archived.
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*[http://www.king-emperor.com/Photographs%20-%2017th%20Pack%20Battery%20RGA.html 17 Pack Battery RGA in India] www.king-emperor.com. Contains photographs from an album belonging to Harry Lamming, Battery Sergeant-Major of the 17th Pack Battery RGA. The 17th Pack Battery served in India from 1920 to 1927, and was posted to various stations including [[Razmak]] in North Waziristan.
*[http://www.king-emperor.com/Photographs%20-%2017th%20Pack%20Battery%20RGA.html 17 Pack Battery RGA in India] www.king-emperor.com. Contains photographs from an album belonging to Harry Lamming, Battery Sergeant-Major of the 17th Pack Battery RGA. The 17th Pack Battery served in India from 1920 to 1927, and was posted to various stations including [[Razmak]] in North Waziristan.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140829100253/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~derekboddington/album_5/slides/artillery_gp.html  Photograph: A group of off-duty Artillerymen from No. 3 Bty, 3rd Bde relaxing in fatigues and solar "topees"]  by Lance Sergeant Thomas Boddington, [[Quetta]], Baluchistan,  about 1926. Family website, now archived.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140829100253/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~derekboddington/album_5/slides/artillery_gp.html  Photograph: A group of off-duty Artillerymen from No. 3 Bty, 3rd Bde relaxing in fatigues and solar "topees"]  by Lance Sergeant Thomas Boddington, [[Quetta]], Baluchistan,  about 1926. Family website, now archived.
*Article [http://www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/News/Son-tells-us-of-gunners-service-in-1930s-India-24052012.htm "Son tells us of gunner's service in 1930s India"] by Dan Shaw briefly mentions Albert Bakewell, stationed in India with Royal Artillery 17th Light Battery, between 1929 and 1936, a lot of the time in the tribal territories. blackcountrybugle.co.uk
*[http://www.raga.com/generalsirjohnwilton/generalsirjohnwilton.pdf  "The Diary and Journal of General Sir John Wilton"] (born 1910) He was an officer in India and Burma from December 1931, initially with the 69 Fd Bty Royal Artillery  (page 3) and left in May 1939 (page 12) www.raga.com
*[http://www.raga.com/generalsirjohnwilton/generalsirjohnwilton.pdf  "The Diary and Journal of General Sir John Wilton"] (born 1910) He was an officer in India and Burma from December 1931, initially with the 69 Fd Bty Royal Artillery  (page 3) and left in May 1939 (page 12) www.raga.com
*Listen to the [http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80014873  1995 interview with Ronald William Swann]  British NCO with 238 Bty, 115th Field Regt, Royal Artillery in GB, France and Belgium and India 1939-1942; served with 160th Jungle Field Regt, Royal Artillery in Bengal, India, 1943; officer served with artillery unit during Second Chindit Expedition in Burma, 1944 Imperial War Museums
*Listen to the [http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80014873  1995 interview with Ronald William Swann]  British NCO with 238 Bty, 115th Field Regt, Royal Artillery in GB, France and Belgium and India 1939-1942; served with 160th Jungle Field Regt, Royal Artillery in Bengal, India, 1943; officer served with artillery unit during Second Chindit Expedition in Burma, 1944 Imperial War Museums
*[http://www.anti-aircraft.co.uk/human_interest_JC.html The father of John Cooper]  A Searchlight Unit was formed from 41st Battalion 5th North Staffs (Originally TA Volunteers). They then were drafted to 126 Light Anti Aircraft Regiment which supposedly never left the UK and then to the 60 Field Artillery Regiment They were in fact transported out to India under the Command of General Wingate and Brigadier Mike Calvert as part of the Chindits Special Forces 77th Brigade. ([[Second World War|WW2]]) www.anti-aircraft.co.uk
*[http://www.42regt.com/documents/binney/page1.html 42 Regiment Royal Artillery: History 1939 to 1947] 16 Field Regiment RA includes from 15 April 1942 sailing for India and  from April 1944 front line service at Kohima (northeast India) and then Burma. 42regt.com
*[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10367891/Ron-Burton.html Obituary: Ron Burton]  09 October 2013 ''The Telegraph''. He was Sergeant, 125 Anti-Tank Regiment Royal Artillery (125 ATR), taken prisoner after the fall of Singapore.
*[http://www.anti-aircraft.co.uk/human_interest_JC.html The father of John Cooper]  A Searchlight Unit was formed from 41st Battalion 5th North Staffs (Originally TA Volunteers). They then were drafted to 126 Light Anti Aircraft Regiment which supposedly never left the UK and then to the 60 Field Artillery Regiment. They were in fact transported out to India under the Command of General Wingate and Brigadier Mike Calvert as part of the Chindits Special Forces 77th Brigade. ([[Second World War|WW2]]) www.anti-aircraft.co.uk
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20211025024557/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10367891/Ron-Burton.html Obituary: Ron Burton]  09 October 2013 ''The Telegraph''. He was Sergeant, 125 Anti-Tank Regiment Royal Artillery (125 ATR), taken prisoner after the fall of Singapore.
*[http://victor-morgan.com/2012/09/19/razmak-north-west-frontier-circa-1946-47/ Razmak North West Frontier. Circa 1946-47]. victor-morgan.com.  Alternative views,  some photographs may be better. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080509135715/http://homepages.tesco.net/~victor.morgan/soldier1a.htm 1], [https://web.archive.org/web/20080513114312/http://homepages.tesco.net/~victor.morgan/razmak2a.htm 2], [https://web.archive.org/web/20080513114207/http://homepages.tesco.net/~victor.morgan/ongun3a.htm 3], [https://web.archive.org/web/20080706154551/http://homepages.tesco.net/~victor.morgan/razmak.htm 4]. Victor Morgan was a member of 56 Heavy Regiment at [[Razmak]] and was subsequently with 123 Field Regt.
*[http://victor-morgan.com/2012/09/19/razmak-north-west-frontier-circa-1946-47/ Razmak North West Frontier. Circa 1946-47]. victor-morgan.com.  Alternative views,  some photographs may be better. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080509135715/http://homepages.tesco.net/~victor.morgan/soldier1a.htm 1], [https://web.archive.org/web/20080513114312/http://homepages.tesco.net/~victor.morgan/razmak2a.htm 2], [https://web.archive.org/web/20080513114207/http://homepages.tesco.net/~victor.morgan/ongun3a.htm 3], [https://web.archive.org/web/20080706154551/http://homepages.tesco.net/~victor.morgan/razmak.htm 4]. Victor Morgan was a member of 56 Heavy Regiment at [[Razmak]] and was subsequently with 123 Field Regt.
*Account by Nigel Buxton who was in the Royal Artillery during WW2 who spent six months from April 1946 as an assistant adjutant in India during the last days of the Raj, then was ADC to the general commanding Special Force 401 in Iraq, before demobilisation in 1947.<ref>''The Fading Margin'' by Nigel Buxton. The following cover his time in India and Iraq:  [https://web.archive.org/web/20200907070734/https://baaaddad.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/the-fading-margin-serial-15/ Serial 15], [https://web.archive.org/web/20200907070534/https://baaaddad.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/the-fading-margin-serial-16/ Serial 16], [https://web.archive.org/web/20200907070625/https://baaaddad.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/the-fading-margin-serial-17/ Serial 17],
[https://web.archive.org/web/20200907070936/https://baaaddad.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/the-fading-margin-serial-18/ Serial 18]  February and March 2013, Buxton's blog baaaddad.wordpress.com, archived. The account commences November 2012, navigate via side bar. </ref>
*[https://www.dover.gov.uk/Planning/Conservation/Conservation-Areas/Dover-Western-Heights-Conservation-Framework.pdf Built Heritage Conservation Framework for Dover Western Heights] by Liv Gibbs, February 2012. dover.gov.uk. Dover Western Heights is a series of forts at Dover, England.  Includes a detailed chronology with information about Quarters for all ranks, facilities provided, military features etc, an indication of military life in a fort (and probably more generally applicable to Army life elsewhere.)
*[https://www.dover.gov.uk/Planning/Conservation/Conservation-Areas/Dover-Western-Heights-Conservation-Framework.pdf Built Heritage Conservation Framework for Dover Western Heights] by Liv Gibbs, February 2012. dover.gov.uk. Dover Western Heights is a series of forts at Dover, England.  Includes a detailed chronology with information about Quarters for all ranks, facilities provided, military features etc, an indication of military life in a fort (and probably more generally applicable to Army life elsewhere.)


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*[http://www.archive.org/stream/historyroyalreg00himegoog#page/n9/mode/1up ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery 1815-1853''] by Henry W.L. Hime 1908 Archive.org
*[http://www.archive.org/stream/historyroyalreg00himegoog#page/n9/mode/1up ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery 1815-1853''] by Henry W.L. Hime 1908 Archive.org
*[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.284332 ''The History of the Royal Artillery (Crimean Period)''] by Colonel Julian R J Jocelyn  1911 Archive.org,  Digital Library Of India Collection.
*[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.284332 ''The History of the Royal Artillery (Crimean Period)''] by Colonel Julian R J Jocelyn  1911 Archive.org,  Digital Library Of India Collection.
*''The History of the Royal and Indian Artillery in the Mutiny of 1857''  by Julian R J Jocelyn 1915 is available in a reprint edition,<ref>[https://www.naval-military-press.com/product/history-of-the-royal-and-indian-artillery-in-the-mutiny-of-1857/ ''History of the Royal and Indian Artillery in the Mutiny of 1857''] by Julian R J Jocelyn. Naval & Military Press reprint edition.</ref>  which in turn is available [https://www.fold3.com/browse/251/hTGb85NZ8EamDdOvsqtlyCuUX  online on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3]  (located in World War II/Military Books/India). Also limited geographic  (USA etc) online availability on [https://books.google.com/books/about/The_History_of_the_Royal_and_Indian_Arti.html?id=KE9FAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y Google Books], (2 versions) and  [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008884125 HathiTrust Digital Library].
*[https://archive.org/details/history-artillery-mutiny-1857/page/n13/mode/2up ''The History of the Royal and Indian Artillery in the Mutiny of 1857''] by Julian R J Jocelyn 1915. Archive.org. [https://books.google.com/books?id=KE9FAAAAYAAJ Google Books], same digital file.
*''The History of the Royal Artillery : from the Indian Mutiny to the Great War'' by Sir Charles Callwell and Sir John Headlam (1931, 1940) ''Volume 1, 1860-1899'', ''Volume 2, 1899-1914'', Volume 3, ''Campaigns 1860-1914'',  are available in three reprint editions,<ref> ''History of the Royal Artillery from The Indian Mutiny to The Great War:'' [https://www.naval-military-press.com/product/history-of-the-royal-artillery-from-the-indian-mutiny-to-the-great-war-volume-i-1860-1899/  ''Volume I 1860-1899''], [https://www.naval-military-press.com/product/history-of-the-royal-artillery-from-the-indian-mutiny-to-the-great-war-volume-ii-1899-1914/ ''Volume II 1899-1914''] and [https://www.naval-military-press.com/product/history-of-the-royal-artillery-from-the-indian-mutiny-to-the-great-war-volume-iii-campaigns-1860-1914/ ''Volume III Campaigns 1860-1914''] Naval & Military Press reprint editions.</ref> which in turn are available as one digital file [https://www.fold3.com/browse/251/hTGb85NZ8EamDdOvshEvTYzOb on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3]  (located in World War II/Military Books/India).  
*[https://archive.org/details/historyroyalartillery1860-1914/HistRoyalArtilleryVol1_1860/page/n7/mode/2up ''The History of the Royal Artillery : from the Indian Mutiny to the Great War''] by Sir Charles Callwell and Sir John Headlam (1931, 1937, 1940) ''Volume 1, 1860-1899'', ''Volume 2, 1899-1914'', Volume 3, ''Campaigns 1860-1914''. Archive.org
*''A Sketch of the History of ‘F’ Battery Royal Horse Artillery'' by Major-General F. W. Stubbs and Major A. S. Tyndale-Biscoe, R.H.A. c 1905 is available in a reprint edition,<ref>[https://www.naval-military-press.com/product/sketch-of-the-history-of-f-battery-royal-horse-artillery/ ''Sketch of the History of ‘F’ Battery Royal Horse Artillery''] by Major-General F. W. Stubbs and Major A. S. Tyndale-Biscoe, R.H.A. c 1905 Naval & Military Press reprint edition.</ref>  which in turn is available [https://www.fold3.com/browse/251/hTGb85NZ8wIfXXI19VM1Ej-5w  online on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3]  (located in World War II/Military Books/Britain). Previously 1st Troop in the 1st Brigade of the [[Bengal Horse Artillery]].  
*[https://archive.org/details/fareasttheatre190000farn/mode/2up ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Far East Theatre, 1939-1946''] by General Sir Martin Farndale 2002. Archive.org Books to Borrow/ Lending Library.  
*''History of “J” Battery, Royal Horse Artillery (Formerly A Troop, [[Madras Horse Artillery]])''  by Major Guilbert E. Wyndham Malet, Captain of the Battery, 1875-79, published 1904, is available in a reprint edition,<ref>[https://www.naval-military-press.com/product/history-of-j-battery-royal-horse-artillery-formerly-a-troop-madras-horse-artillery/ ''History of “J” Battery, Royal Horse Artillery (Formerly A Troop, Madras Horse Artillery)''] Naval & Military Press reprint edition.</ref>  which in turn is available [https://www.fold3.com/browse/251/hTGb85NZ8wIfXXI19ivTki8tX  online on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3]  (located in World War II/Military Books/Britain).  History from establishment to the Boer War.
*[https://archive.org/details/fbatteryroyalhorseartillery/page/n9/mode/2up ''A Sketch of the History of ‘F’ Battery Royal Horse Artillery''] by Major-General F. W. Stubbs and Major A. S. Tyndale-Biscoe, R.H.A. 1905 Archive.org. Previously 1st Troop in the 1st Brigade of the [[Bengal Horse Artillery]].  
*[https://archive.org/details/history-jbattery-royal-horse-art/page/n11/mode/2up ''History of “J” Battery, Royal Horse Artillery (Formerly A Troop, Madras Horse Artillery)''] by Major Guilbert E. Wyndham Malet, Captain of the Battery, 1875-79, 2nd edition 1898, first published c 1877. A later edition published 1904 is available in a reprint edition,<ref>[https://www.naval-military-press.com/product/history-of-j-battery-royal-horse-artillery-formerly-a-troop-madras-horse-artillery/ ''History of “J” Battery, Royal Horse Artillery (Formerly A Troop, Madras Horse Artillery)''] Naval & Military Press reprint edition.</ref>  which in turn is available [https://www.fold3.com/browse/251/hTGb85NZ8wIfXXI19ivTki8tX  online on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3]  (located in Military Books/Britain).  The 1904 edition includes the history from establishment to the Boer War.
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=-lcBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR1 ''Remarks on the Organization of the British Royal Artillery'']  by Charles James B. Riddell 1852 Google Books
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=-lcBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR1 ''Remarks on the Organization of the British Royal Artillery'']  by Charles James B. Riddell 1852 Google Books
*[http://rspl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/7/316 "Extract of a Letter, dated January 6, 1855, from J. Mitchell, Esq., Quartermaster of Artillery, Bangalore, on the Influence of Local Altitude on the Burning of the Fuses of Shells"] from  ''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Volume 7, 1854'' pages 316-318
*[http://rspl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/7/316 "Extract of a Letter, dated January 6, 1855, from J. Mitchell, Esq., Quartermaster of Artillery, Bangalore, on the Influence of Local Altitude on the Burning of the Fuses of Shells"] from  ''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Volume 7, 1854'' pages 316-318
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***[http://www.archive.org/stream/minutesproceedi04unkngoog#page/n462/mode/1up "Central Asia and our Military Position on the North West Frontier of India"]
***[http://www.archive.org/stream/minutesproceedi04unkngoog#page/n462/mode/1up "Central Asia and our Military Position on the North West Frontier of India"]
***[http://www.archive.org/stream/minutesproceedi04unkngoog#page/n576/mode/1up "The Field Gun for India"]
***[http://www.archive.org/stream/minutesproceedi04unkngoog#page/n576/mode/1up "The Field Gun for India"]
**[https://archive.org/search?query=%22Minutes+of+Proceedings+of+the+Royal+Artillery+Institution%22&sort=date Collection of ''Minutes of Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution'' at Archive.org]. Many of the volumes are from biodiversitylibrary.org, see next link.
*:[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/162751 Collection of ''Minutes of Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution'' at biodiversitylibrary.org] V1 1862- V11 1881, V19-V26 1899.
*[https://archive.org/search?query=title%3A%28Journal+of+the+Royal+Artillery%29&sort=date ''Journal of the Royal Artillery'' at Archive.org]. A few issues only for part of 1915, 1916 and 1926.
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=dt05AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA100 ''The Life of Alexander Alexander Volume 1''], page 100 by Alexander Alexander and edited by John Howell 1830 ( Google Books). The author arrived in Ceylon in 1803 with the Royal Artillery
*[http://books.google.com/books?id=dt05AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA100 ''The Life of Alexander Alexander Volume 1''], page 100 by Alexander Alexander and edited by John Howell 1830 ( Google Books). The author arrived in Ceylon in 1803 with the Royal Artillery
*[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=GhodAAAAMAAJ&pg=PR3 '' Up Among the Pandies: Or, A Year's Service in India''] by Lieut. Vivian Dering Majendie, Royal Artillery. 1859 Google Books. The author came to India after the outbreak of the [[Indian Mutiny]].
*[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=GhodAAAAMAAJ&pg=PR3 '' Up Among the Pandies: Or, A Year's Service in India''] by Lieut. Vivian Dering Majendie, Royal Artillery. 1859 Google Books. The author came to India after the outbreak of the [[Indian Mutiny]].
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*[https://archive.org/details/gunnerjingosjubi00stra ''Gunner Jingo's Jubilee''] by  Major-General T Bland Strange. Late Royal Artillery 1893 Archive.org. Born 1831 in [[Meerut]] he subsequently came to India when the Indian Mutiny broke out (page 129) and remained, including leave  in 1861, when he went on  on a six months  hunting trek in Kashmir and Ladak,  until c 1862 (page 337). [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bland_Strange Thomas Bland Strange] Wikipedia. [http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?id_nbr=7974 “Strange, Thomas Bland”] by Roderick C. Macleod in ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. 15, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003.   
*[https://archive.org/details/gunnerjingosjubi00stra ''Gunner Jingo's Jubilee''] by  Major-General T Bland Strange. Late Royal Artillery 1893 Archive.org. Born 1831 in [[Meerut]] he subsequently came to India when the Indian Mutiny broke out (page 129) and remained, including leave  in 1861, when he went on  on a six months  hunting trek in Kashmir and Ladak,  until c 1862 (page 337). [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bland_Strange Thomas Bland Strange] Wikipedia. [http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?id_nbr=7974 “Strange, Thomas Bland”] by Roderick C. Macleod in ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'', vol. 15, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003.   
*[https://archive.org/details/cu31924028000101 ''Recollections of a Military Life''] by General Sir John Adye , RA  1895 Archive.org.  He arrived when the Indian Mutiny broke out, and was in India nearly nine years.  
*[https://archive.org/details/cu31924028000101 ''Recollections of a Military Life''] by General Sir John Adye , RA  1895 Archive.org.  He arrived when the Indian Mutiny broke out, and was in India nearly nine years.  
*[http://jramc.bmj.com/content/21/1/111.full.pdf "An Episode of the Second Afghan War, 1878–79"] by Colonel J. M. Beamish ''Journal of the  Royal Army Medical Corps''    1913;21:1 111-116. The author was Medical Officer for the Battery of Garrison Artillery-13/8 R.A.  
*[https://archive.org/details/dli.pahar.1610/page/n1/mode/2up ''Leaves from the Diaries of a Soldier and Sportsman during twenty years’ service in India Afghanistan Egypt and other countries 1865-1885''] by Lt.-General Sir Montagu Gilbert Gerard 1903 Archive.org, mirror from PAHAR: Mountains of Central Asia Digital Dataset. [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1912_supplement/Gerard,_Montagu_Gilbert Biographical details from Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement] wikisource. Born 1842, he had a varied Army career, including Royal Artillery, Bengal Staff Corps, various missions and commissions, and took part in many military campaigns.
*[https://archive.org/details/jramc-1913-vol21/page/n151/mode/2up "An Episode of the Second Afghan War, 1878–79"] by Colonel J. M. Beamish ''Journal of the  Royal Army Medical Corps''    1913;21:1 111-116. Archive.org. The author was Medical Officer for the Battery of Garrison Artillery-13/8 R.A.  
*[https://archive.org/details/soldiersindia00keat ''A Soldier's India''] by  Clifford Keates. Large print edition 1988, first published 1986. Archive.org Book to Borrow/Lending Library.  Edited from a manuscript  ''Flashes of Light from the Storm of Life'' by Keates, Driver No 6278  (born 1864), of the 26th Field Battery, Royal Artillery in India who arrived at [[Neemuch]], 160 miles north of [[Mhow]] in November 1888. The account describes a march  by a Reconnaissance  Party between Neemuch and [[Ahmednagar]] in 1890.
*[https://archive.org/details/soldiersindia00keat ''A Soldier's India''] by  Clifford Keates. Large print edition 1988, first published 1986. Archive.org Book to Borrow/Lending Library.  Edited from a manuscript  ''Flashes of Light from the Storm of Life'' by Keates, Driver No 6278  (born 1864), of the 26th Field Battery, Royal Artillery in India who arrived at [[Neemuch]], 160 miles north of [[Mhow]] in November 1888. The account describes a march  by a Reconnaissance  Party between Neemuch and [[Ahmednagar]] in 1890.
*[https://archive.org/details/memoirofltcoledw00steeiala ''A memoir of Lt.-Col. Edward Anthony Steel, RHA and RFA, 1880-1919 : consisting chiefly of his letters and diaries with numerous illustrations''] 1921 Archive.org. In India from 1901 when he exchanged into  L Battery, Royal Horse Artillery at Secunderabad, to 1904. He subsequently worked for the Colonial Department in Africa.  During WW1 he was on the [[Western Front]] with 35th Battery, briefly in Mesopotamia late 1918/early 1919,  and finally posted to Vladivostok with the British Military Mission to Siberia, where he died  17 October 1919 in Omsk, of influenza.
*[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.208934/page/n5/mode/2up ''Clouds That Flee''] by Colonel Montague Cooke. 1935. Archive.org, mirror from Digital Library of India. Born 1877, he joined, as an officer,  the Militia 1894, and the Royal Artillery 1899. He was mainly in the Royal Horse Artillery.  He was in India in 1906, [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.208934/page/n117/mode/2up  page 109], for a year, and again in 1916, [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.208934/page/n211/mode/2up page 198] to found a School of Gunnery at Akora, North-West Frontier Province, Oct. 1916,  and during WW1 also fought on the [[Western Front]] (2 separate periods) and in [[Egypt, Palestine, Syria (First World War)|Palestine]].
*[https://archive.org/details/leavesfromoffice00craw ''Leaves from an Officer's Notebook''] by Eliot  Crawshay-Williams 1918 Archive.org. Includes Egypt, Sinai from February 1916 to August 1916. The author was in a Battery of the Royal Horse Artillery (Territorial Force).
*For WW1 accounts, also see [[Western Front#Artillery|Western Front  - Historical books online - Artillery]]
*[http://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100037450601.0x000002 ''Thim Days Is Gone'']. Qatar Digital Library. A memoir written by Major Maurice Patrick O'Connor Tandy recounting his career, initially  in the Royal Artillery in a Light Battery, and an Indian Mountain Battery in the 1930s.  He then joined the  Foreign and Political Department in October 1936, (page 33). Further details  are in [http://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2017/02/thim-days-is-gone-a-colonial-memoir.html Thim Days Is Gone – a colonial memoir] 16 February 2017 Untold lives blog, British Library.   
*[http://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100037450601.0x000002 ''Thim Days Is Gone'']. Qatar Digital Library. A memoir written by Major Maurice Patrick O'Connor Tandy recounting his career, initially  in the Royal Artillery in a Light Battery, and an Indian Mountain Battery in the 1930s.  He then joined the  Foreign and Political Department in October 1936, (page 33). Further details  are in [http://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2017/02/thim-days-is-gone-a-colonial-memoir.html Thim Days Is Gone – a colonial memoir] 16 February 2017 Untold lives blog, British Library.   
* ''Seven Cantonments'' by Major SEG Ponder c 1938. The author was an Officer in the Royal Artillery, based in the North-West Frontier region, in 1937, and perhaps later, including [[Peshawar]].  [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.527935 Archive.org version], mirror from Digital Library of India. He was CO of a Light Battery, or Mountain Battery, where the gunners were British.
* ''Seven Cantonments'' by Major SEG Ponder c 1938. [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.527935 Archive.org version], mirror from Digital Library of India. The author was an Officer in the Royal Artillery, based in the North-West Frontier region, in 1937, and perhaps later, including [[Peshawar]].  He was CO of a Light Battery, or Mountain Battery, where the gunners were British.
*[https://archive.org/details/pickupyourparrot0000penn/mode/2up ''Pick Up Your Parrots and Monkeys: The Life of a Boy Soldier in India''] by William Pennington 2004, first published 2003. Archive.org Books to Borrow/ Lending Library. For more details about this book , see [[Royal Artillery#Recommended reading|Recommended reading]] above.
*[https://archive.org/details/burmarailwaymans0000best/mode/2up ''Burma Railway Man : secret letters from a Japanese POW : the remarkable record of Charles Steel, a Japanese POW''] by  Brian Best 2013. Archive.org Books to Borrow/ Lending Library. Steel was a Battery Sergeant Major, 135th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, who became a POW at the fall of Singapore.
*[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=aaVWAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1‪ ''The Royal Artillery as it Is. 1864‬''] Google Books. A submission regarding one of the anomalies following the transfer in India of the old “Indian Artillery” to the Royal Artillery.
*[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=aaVWAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1‪ ''The Royal Artillery as it Is. 1864‬''] Google Books. A submission regarding one of the anomalies following the transfer in India of the old “Indian Artillery” to the Royal Artillery.
*[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=tSNYAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP4 ''The Indian Artillery [of the E. I. Company<nowiki>]</nowiki> as incorporated with the Royal Artillery''] 1865 Google Books
*[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=tSNYAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP4 ''The Indian Artillery [of the E. I. Company<nowiki>]</nowiki> as incorporated with the Royal Artillery''] 1865 Google Books
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*[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=GgUHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA126 Royal Artillery rates of pay (not India) in 1870], page 126 ''Revised Army Regulations Volume 1: Royal Warrant for the Pay and Promotion, Non-effective Pay, and Allowances of Her Majesty's British Forces serving elsewhere than in India'' dated 27 December 1870 HMSO Google Books
*[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=GgUHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA126 Royal Artillery rates of pay (not India) in 1870], page 126 ''Revised Army Regulations Volume 1: Royal Warrant for the Pay and Promotion, Non-effective Pay, and Allowances of Her Majesty's British Forces serving elsewhere than in India'' dated 27 December 1870 HMSO Google Books
*[https://archive.org/details/sixmonthsinrank00murrgoog ''Six Months in the Ranks; or, The Gentleman Private''] [by E.C.G. Murray] 1881 Archive.org
*[https://archive.org/details/sixmonthsinrank00murrgoog ''Six Months in the Ranks; or, The Gentleman Private''] [by E.C.G. Murray] 1881 Archive.org
*[http://www.archive.org/stream/cihm_09270#page/n11/mode/2up ''The History of the Dress of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, 1625-1897''] compiled and illustrated by R.J. Macdonald  1899. Archive.org Originally some of the prints were in colour, however, the online book is in black and white. This [http://www.soldierssoldiers.com/sales_military_prints_section.php?page=2&section=HistoryOfTheDress  link] has coloured illustrations. soldierssoldiers.com. This book is also available [http://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=33265  on the pay site Ancestry], (Worldwide subscription required), where it is possible to browse the pages.
*[http://www.archive.org/stream/cihm_09270#page/n11/mode/2up ''The History of the Dress of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, 1625-1897''] compiled and illustrated by R.J. Macdonald  1899. Archive.org. Originally some of the prints were in colour, however, the online book is in black and white. Also available [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8427417f/f11.item gallica.bnf.fr version] with high quality images, see the [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8427417f/f13.planchecontact thumbnails] but book reader is slow - download possible. This book is also available [http://search.ancestry.com.au/search/db.aspx?dbid=33265  on the pay site Ancestry], (Worldwide subscription required), where it is possible to browse the pages.
*[http://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15040coll1/id/490/rec/8 ''Siege Artillery Drill-1900''] by Great Britain War Office. Combined Arms Research Library (CARL) Digital Library.
*[http://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15040coll1/id/490/rec/8 ''Siege Artillery Drill-1900''] by Great Britain War Office. Combined Arms Research Library (CARL) Digital Library.
*[https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/jspui/handle/123456789/2730447 ''Annual Report on the Royal Artillery in India for 1901-02''] National Archives of India. abhilekh-patal.in
*[https://archive.org/details/HandbookOfThe4InchGunMarksVAndV ''Handbook of the 4-inch  B. L. Gun, Marks V and VI. (Land Service)''] by  Great Britain. War Office  1904 Archive.org. With Plates at the rear of the book.
*[https://archive.org/details/HandbookOfThe4InchGunMarksVAndV ''Handbook of the 4-inch  B. L. Gun, Marks V and VI. (Land Service)''] by  Great Britain. War Office  1904 Archive.org. With Plates at the rear of the book.
*''Modern Guns and Gunnery 1907. A Practical Manual for Officers of the Horse, Field and Mountain Artillery'' by Lt.-Colonel H A Bethell Royal Field Artillery [http://hdl.handle.net/2027/chi.087227502?urlappend=%3Bseq=7 Hathi Trust version],  [http://issuu.com/carvil/docs/modern_guns___gunnery__bethell_1907_ issuu.com version]. [http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b74047?urlappend=%3Bseq=7 1910 version: Entirely rewritten] Hathi Trust Digital Library.
*''Modern Guns and Gunnery 1907. A Practical Manual for Officers of the Horse, Field and Mountain Artillery'' by Lt.-Colonel H A Bethell Royal Field Artillery [http://hdl.handle.net/2027/chi.087227502?urlappend=%3Bseq=7 Hathi Trust version],  [http://issuu.com/carvil/docs/modern_guns___gunnery__bethell_1907_ issuu.com version]. [http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b74047?urlappend=%3Bseq=7 1910 version: Entirely rewritten] HathiTrust Digital Library.
:[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b16310?urlappend=%3Bseq=13 ''Modern Artillery in the Field: a description of the Artillery of the Field Army, and the Principles and Methods of its Employment'']  by Colonel H. A. Bethell RFA (Retired) 1911 Hathi Trust Digital Library.
:[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b16310?urlappend=%3Bseq=13 ''Modern Artillery in the Field: a description of the Artillery of the Field Army, and the Principles and Methods of its Employment'']  by Colonel H. A. Bethell RFA (Retired) 1911 Hathi Trust Digital Library.
*[http://www.archive.org/stream/modernpigstickin00wardrich#page/n9/mode/2up ''Modern Pig-sticking''] by Major A. E. Wardrop,  Royal Horse Artillery, with chapters by J. Vaughan, F. W. Caton Jones, M. M. Crawford, and H. E. Medlicott 1914 Archive.org
*[http://www.archive.org/stream/modernpigstickin00wardrich#page/n9/mode/2up ''Modern Pig-sticking''] by Major A. E. Wardrop,  Royal Horse Artillery, with chapters by J. Vaughan, F. W. Caton Jones, M. M. Crawford, and H. E. Medlicott 1914 Archive.org
*[https://archive.org/details/memoirofltcoledw00steeiala ''A memoir of Lt.-Col. Edward Anthony Steel, RHA and RFA, 1880-1919 : consisting chiefly of his letters and diaries with numerous illustrations''] 1921 Archive.org. In India from 1901 when he exchanged into  L Battery, Royal Horse Artillery at Secunderabad, to 1904. He subsequently worked for the Colonial Department in Africa.  During WW1 he was on the [[Western Front]] with 35th Battery, briefly in Mesopotamia late 1918/early 1919,  and finally posted to Vladivostok with the British Military Mission to Siberia, where he died  17 October 1919 in Omsk, of influenza.
*[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b25288?urlappend=%3Bseq=11 ''Big Game Hunting in the Himalayas and Tibet'']  by Major G. Burrard RFA (Retired) 1925 HathiTrust Digital Library.   [https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.233394/page/3/mode/2up Archive.org version].
*For WW1 accounts, also see [[Western Front#Artillery|Western Front  - Historical books online - Artillery]]
*[https://archive.org/details/leavesfromoffice00craw ''Leaves from an Officer's Notebook''] by Eliot  Crawshay-Williams 1918 Archive.org. Includes Egypt, Sinai from February 1916 to August 1916. The author was in a Battery of the Royal Horse Artillery (Territorial Force).
*[http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b25288?urlappend=%3Bseq=11 ''Big Game Hunting in the Himalayas and Tibet'']  by Major G. Burrard RFA (Retired) 1925 HathiTrust Digital Library. [http://pahar.in/wpfb-file/1925-big-game-hunting-in-the-himalayas-and-tibet-by-burrard-s-pdf/ Download from PAHAR- Mountains of Central Asia Digital Dataset (MCADD)]
*[https://archive.org/details/royalairobservationcorps19351955book/page/n1/mode/2up ''Royal Air Observation Post. Auster Era 1936-1956. Evolution and Campaigns''] by Major Aamir Mushtaq Cheema 2012. Archive.org. AOP Air Observation Post, a light unarmed aircraft flown exclusively by Royal Artillery Officers. Air OP Squadron, a Royal Air Force Unit consisting of Squadron Headquarters and three Flights A, B and C attached to the Royal Artillery of a Corps. Includes a chapter on WW2 Burma.
*[https://archive.org/details/royalairobservationcorps19351955book/page/n1/mode/2up ''Royal Air Observation Post. Auster Era 1936-1956. Evolution and Campaigns''] by Major Aamir Mushtaq Cheema 2012. Archive.org. AOP Air Observation Post, a light unarmed aircraft flown exclusively by Royal Artillery Officers. Air OP Squadron, a Royal Air Force Unit consisting of Squadron Headquarters and three Flights A, B and C attached to the Royal Artillery of a Corps. Includes a chapter on WW2 Burma.
*[https://archive.org/details/raschoolofequita00rasc  ''R. A. School of Equitation, India''] 1922 Archive.org. Printed at Allahabad.
*[https://archive.org/details/raschoolofequita00rasc  ''R. A. School of Equitation, India''] 1922 Archive.org. Printed at Allahabad.
*[https://archive.org/details/1937-jusii-v67/page/297/mode/2up "The Passing of the R A Horse Driver"] by Major M E S Laws R A page 297 ''Journal of the United Service Institution of India'' Volume 67, 1937. Archive.org
*[https://archive.org/details/memoirsroyalart00farmgoog ''Memoirs of the Royal Artillery Band: its Origin, History and Progress: an Account of the Rise of Military Music in England''] by Henry George Farmer 1904 Archive.org
*[https://archive.org/details/memoirsroyalart00farmgoog ''Memoirs of the Royal Artillery Band: its Origin, History and Progress: an Account of the Rise of Military Music in England''] by Henry George Farmer 1904 Archive.org
*Volumes, from 1911, of ''The Field Artillery Journal'' published by  The United States Field Artillery Association,  are available on the website of [https://sill-www.army.mil/firesbulletin/index.html Fires] (then click on the tab Archives) published by the US Army Field Artillery. sill-www.army.mil  Fort Sill, Oklahoma USA.
*[https://archive.org/search.php?query=%22Journal+of+the+United+States+Artillery%22&sort=date ''Journal of the United States Artillery'']  by Artillery School, Fort Monroe, Virginia USA. Archive.org. Multiple volumes from 1892 to 1922. The title then changed to
:[https://archive.org/search.php?query=%22The+Coast+Artillery+Journal%22&sort=date ''The Coast Artillery Journal''] Archive.org.  Multiple volumes from 1922 to 1949.
*Volumes, from 1911, of ''The Field Artillery Journal'' published by  The United States Field Artillery Association,  are available on the webpage    [https://sill-www.army.mil/fires-bulletin-archive/ Fires Bulletin Archive] published by the US Army Field Artillery. sill-www.army.mil  Fort Sill, Oklahoma USA.
:[https://archive.org/search.php?query=title%3A%28%22Field+Artillery+Journal%22%29&sort=date ''Field Artillery Journal''] Collection of digitised microfilm from 1911 at Archive.org.


== References ==
== References ==
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[[Category:British Army]]
[[Category:British Army]]
[[Category:Royal Artillery| ]]
[[Category:Royal Artillery| ]]

Latest revision as of 00:12, 14 March 2024

History

Chronology

  • 1716 two companies of field artillery raised at Woolwich
  • 1720 first called Royal Artillery
  • 1748 Presidential Artilleries of Bengal, Madras and Bombay formed
  • 1793 Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) raised to provide fire support for the cavalry
  • 1862 absorbed artillery of the British East India Company (21 horse batteries & 48 field batteries) bringing its strength to 29 horse batteries, 73 field batteries and 88 heavy batteries
  • 1899 divided into Royal Horse Artillery, Royal Field Artillery and Royal Garrison Artillery
  • 1924 amalgamated again into one regiment Royal Artillery
  • Today Royal Regiment of Artillery comprised of Royal Horse Artillery (King's Troop & 3 regiments) and Royal Artillery (18 regiments)

Service in India

The first company of the Royal Artillery to serve in India sailed in November 1747. During the 1800s the service in the East Indies was mainly in Ceylon, until the Indian Mutiny in 1857. In 1859, the companies of the Royal Artillery in India were formed into the 11th, 13th and 14th Brigades.[1]

See also Stations of the Royal Artillery in India

Absorbing the Company artillery regiments

In December 1861, General Orders were issued concerning the amalgamation of the Bengal, Madras and Bombay Artillery with the Royal Artillery.

“In accordance with the instructions of her Majesty's Government, the Bengal, Madras, and Bombay Regiments of Artillery will be formed into the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Royal Horse Brigades, and the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th brigades of Royal Artillery.

The 2nd Royal Horse Brigade will be formed of seven troops of Bengal Horse Artillery, the 3rd brigade of the four troops of Madras Horse Artillery, the 4th brigade of the four troops of Bombay Horse Artillery, and the 5th brigade of six troops of Bengal Horse Artillery.

The brigades of Royal Artillery will be formed:—16th of 5 companies of Bengal Artillery ; 17th of 6 companies of Madras Artillery; 18th of 6 companies of Bombay Artillery ; 19th of 5 companies of Bengal Artillery; 20th of 5 companies of Madras Artillery ; 21st of six companies of Bombay Artillery ; 22nd of 5 companies of Bombay Artillery; 23rd of 5 companies of Madras Artillery ; 24th of 5 companies of Bengal Artillery; 25th of 4 companies of Bengal Artillery".[2]

1861 onwards

History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Duncan, vol 2, (1873) lists the batteries in existence in 1872. The names of the Horse Artillery Brigades have changed since 1861, and the 24th and 25th Brigades are no longer in existence.

For information for the period 1863-1911, refer Stations of Royal Artillery in India

For details of Royal Artillery Batteries which have an honour title or history involving India, (current at October 2014) , refer Royal Artillery Batteries

First World War

Regular Army Brigades

Batteries and Brigades of the Royal Field Artillery from "The Long, Long Trail The British Army in the Great War", which indicates there were some Regular Army Brigades in India throughout the War , examples being

Comprising only number 77 Battery and based at Jhansi, this brigade came under command of the 7th (Meerut) Division of the Indian Army. It remained in India throughout the war, leaving the Division when it went to France. In 1915-6 it was under the 1st (Peshawar) Division.
Comprising numbers 4, 38 and 78 Batteries RFA plus 68 and 84 Companies RGA and 104 Battery RGA and based at Rawalpindi, this brigade came under command of the 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division of the Indian Army. It remained in India throughout the war.
  • 16 Brigade (regular, XVI) A unit of Britain's pre-war regular army and comprising 89, 90 and 91 Batteries, this brigade came under command of the 1st (Peshawar) Division of the Indian Army and was based at Nowshera. It remained in India throughout the war, only leaving Nowshera for Rawalpindi in November 1918.

Territorial Force troops

See British Army Territorial Force troops arriving in 1914 for some of the Royal Field Artillery Batteries which arrived at the end of 1914.

In 1916 and 1917 there was a renaming and renumbering of Artillery Brigades and Batteries. As an example, in 1916, the IV Wessex Brigade was renamed, becoming the 218th (IV Wessex) Brigade, RFA. In 1917, the component batteries were numbered, with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Devonshire Batteries becoming 1094th, 1095th, and 1096th Batteries. [3]

Royal Artillery Mountain Batteries

Also known as the Royal Garrison Artillery (Mountain Division). There were eight British Army batteries of mountain artillery in India, numbered 1 to 9, of which one was in Egypt, where the gunners were British, in comparison to the Indian mountain artillery where the gunners were Indian. The designation changed to Pack Battery in 1920 and to Light Battery in 1927.[4] In 1937 these Batteries ceased to exist in their previous form, when they were transformed into Indian mountain artillery, when the British gunners were sent to other artillery units, and were replaced by Indian gunners.[5] In August 1939 the existing 6 regular Indian Mountain Regiments were transferred from RA to the Indian Army, (units of the Indian Regiment of Artillery being authorised at the beginning of 1935). [6]

See External links, below for "17 Pack Battery RGA in India". Albert Bakewell was later stationed in India with Royal Artillery 17th Light Battery, between 1929 and 1936, a lot of the time in the tribal territories.[7]

A regimental account for the 6th Pack Battery is A Norfolkman in the Raj : the Royal Artillery 1920-1933 by Alan W. Roper, published 2010. Available at the British Library UIN: BLL01015383558 .

Recommended reading

  • Tales of the Mountain Gunners: an Anthology compiled by those who served with them and edited by C. H. T. MacFetridge and J. P. Warren. Edinburgh : Blackwood, 1973. Second edition, with amendments 1974, which may be the preferred edition.
An anthology of tales and short stories about one of the most unusual and colourful units in the history of the British Empire: the Mountain Artillery. Its reputation for action attracted a collection of adventurous, able and eccentric officers; usually with a combination of all three qualities. See Military reading list - Army - Other - List of books recommended by Peter Moore. Another reader said "I cannot recommend too highly Tales of the Mountain Gunners. It is simply enthralling, moving, funny, inspiring and wonderful. It would be in my top 10 books never to part with.[8]
Chapters include: in the days work, good fighting, the soldier, the mule, the gun, some characters and more.[9]
There is a brief extract in "'Tales from the bushy-topped tree' A Brief Survey of Military Sketching", see External links below.
  • Pick Up Your Parrots and Monkeys: The Life of a Boy Soldier in India by William Pennington. First published by Cassell UK 2003, paperback edition Phoenix, an imprint of Orion Books, London 2004 ISBN-10: 0753817837 ISBN-13: 978-0753817834
This very interesting and ‘easy to read’ autobiography covers the Army career of Temporary Captain Joseph William Pennington, Royal Artillery, 151372, from his training in 1934 as a Boy Trumpeter at age 14 in England, his posting to India at age 15 where he remained until 1939, to his World War 2 experiences in Burma where he was awarded the Military Cross as a Forward Observation Officer. For more details, see History reading list.
Now available on online, see Historical books online below.

See also

Records

FIBIS resources

  • Royal Artillery in India Baptisms and marriages taken from the original record WO69/575 – 21 Brigade Royal Artillery.
  • Royal Regiment of Artillery 1747-1749 - 135 officers and soldiers of the RA who sailed for India to fight with Admiral Boscawen
  • Royal Artillery Muster Rolls 1748 pay list related to above source
  • K Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, Memorial at Bandariabagh (photo)
  • "Life in a British Cantonment in India: Nasirabad, 1929-1930" by John Sworder FIBIS Journal Number 23 (Spring 2010) pages 40-48. For details of how to access this article, see FIBIS Journals.
  • "The Mysterious Murder at Agra" by Rosemary Reardon FIBIS Journal Number 28 (Autumn 2012) pages 3-14. Charles Low a Corporal in O Battery, 3 Brigade stationed at Agra was murdered in October 1882. His wife and another Corporal were charged with the murder but acquitted. For details of how to access this article, see FIBIS Journals.
  • "Trumpeter Inwood, an Anglo-Indian hero of the Kut Garrison" by Rosemary Reardon FIBIS Journal Number 32 (Autumn 2014) pages 18-29. For details of how to access this article, see FIBIS Journals.

The National Archives

The most accessible soldiers’ records, including for soldiers of the Royal Artillery, are the WO 97 series Royal Hospital Chelsea pension records, many of which are available online.

Muster rolls (effectively a pay list register of soldiers in a company) can provide excellent information, however it must be noted that there are almost no muster rolls for the Royal Artillery in India, except a few in very early years.[10] However, checking the rolls for the period before and after an artilleryman is in India can be very useful. The National Archives has an online guide covering British Army muster rolls and pay lists. Be sure to know the brigade and battery of your man before you attempt to find the muster roll and be aware that name changes did occur. The books known as Law's Tables can be useful for sorting out the correct titles.

There was previously a guide booklet produced by Firepower, The Royal Artillery Museum called "Is There A Gunner In Your Family Tree?", and there is a online guide available on Facebook, refer below.

The main record series, with catalogue entries, are:

N.B. The Friends of the National Archives have transcribed details from the WO 69 Registers of Marriages and Baptisms described above. Some of these relate to men who were posted to India. Enter surname and reference "WO69" in the Discovery Search Box
The records for WO 69/1-177, but excluding WO 69/63-73, together with WO 69/583-597 "Description books: Registers of deceased soldiers, with indexes" are available on LDS digitised microfilm, (107 reels) with this catalogue entry (See FamilySearch Centres for viewing access).

  • First World War
    • WO 95 War Diaries, see First World War - The National Archives
      • The TNA pay downloads available include the very informative "List of Royal Artillery, Army Service Corps, Machine Gun Corps and Medical Units" WO 95/5494. [11]

Online Resources

WO 116/125 1 November 1833-08 February 1837 to WO 116/165 3 January 1893 to 26 December 1893
These are stated to be large pdf files, which need a broadband internet connection
  • The findmypast website currently (2017/3) includes the following databases, all located in the category "Armed forces & conflict"
    • Sub-category "Regimental & service records"
      • Royal Artillery Attestations 1883-1942. In practical terms this database consists men who were in the Royal Artillery post WW1 and is a valuable database as it may also include information about prior Army service. For more details about this class of records, see British Army - Attestation, or Enlistment books (Army Book 358) from 1920.
      • Royal Artillery Honours & Awards. This database is a subset of “Britain, Campaign, Gallantry & Long Service Medals & Awards” and is described as Royal Artillery Honours & Awards, 1886-2013 – Transcripts only
      • Royal Artillery Officer Deaths 1850-2011
    • Sub-category "Service Records"
      • "Royal Artillery Officers 1716-1899". These records are from the fourth edition of the List of Officers of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The year 1716 to the year 1899, collected by General W. H. Askwith, Colonel-Commandant Royal Artillery and published in 1900. Refer online books below.
      • "British Army, Royal Artillery, 80th Field Regiment, WW2". Transcripts from various records.
    • Sub-category "First World War" - "Royal Artillery War Commemoration Book, 1914-1918" . This book was published in 1920 and consists of an alphabetical list of 3,505 Officers of the Royal Regiment of Artillery who died during the First World War
    • Sub-category "Second World War" - "Royal Artillery Other Ranks: Casualty Cards 1939-1947". From original cards held at the Royal Artillery Museum, whose Archive is now at Larkhill, Wiltshire.
Searching is free but charges apply for examination of the record.

Church Records

For Overseas Army records of baptisms, marriages and burials, see Chaplains Returns

Firepower, The Royal Artillery Museum, now closed

Firepower Museum at Woolwich closed on 8 July 2016.

It had a Library and Archive with extensive holdings including battery records. A research service was available. Firepower produced a guide booklet for family history researchers called "Is There A Gunner In Your Family Tree?" The sixteen page guide outlined how the Museum's extensive archives could help researchers. It also detailed the other main UK sources and archives to explore when researching army service.

A new Royal Artillery Museum is planned.

Part of Library and Archive now at Larkhill

Initially some 10% of the RA Museum’s Library and Archive was settled in temporary accommodation at Larkhill Army Base, about 10 miles (16 km) north of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Booking up to a month in advance is advised because the archive is now on an Army base and passes for cars and people need to be generated. There will be a daily access fee, and a daily fee for photography.[12]

Further portions of the Archive became available from April 2018. (Details[13]).

The Royal Artillery Museum website (see External links below) currently (March 2020) advises the archive has been transferred "to a new storage facility near Larkhill, and most records are now available for research purposes".

Previously it was advised access was now possible on Tuesdays and Thursdays and stated "We're happy to answer brief enquiries, and we've started a paid service for more detailed historical research", and that the email for the enquiry service was enquiries@royalartillerymuseum.com. This information does not currently appear on the website (March 2020) but there is an online enquiry form on the website (located under Archive/Overview)

Information may also be found on the Facebook pages Royal Artillery Museum - The Collection, and Royal Artillery Museum Archive, the latter has information to 26 January 2021.[14]

Royal Artillery Museum Archive published on Facebook in June 2018, a three part guide "Gunner Family History".[15]

British Library

For items in the India Office Records refer India Office military records at the British Library.

Published histories in the catalogue include [also see Historical books online, below]:

  • The History of the Royal Artillery : from the Indian Mutiny to the Great War by Sir Charles Callwell and Sir John Headlam (1931, 1940). Volume 1, 1860-1899, Volume 2, 1899-1914, Volume 3, Campaigns 1860-1914. Vol. 3 has separate case of maps. UIN: BLL01006810121. Also available on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3, refer Historical books online, below.
  • History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery : Western Front 1914-18 by Sir Martin Farndale (1986). UIN: BLL01008145795
  • History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery : the Forgotten Fronts and the Home Base 1914-18 by Sir Martin Farndale (1988). UIN: BLL01008145796
  • History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery : Between the Wars, 1919-39 edited by BP Hughes (1992) (Nb: the catalogue entry does not use the subtitle) UIN: BLL01010039429
  • History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Anti-aircraft artillery, 1914-55 by N.W. Routledge (c 1994). UIN: BLL01012703891
  • History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The years of defeat Europe and North Africa, 1939-41 by Sir Martin Farndale 1996. UIN: BLL01012703884
  • History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The Far East Theatre, 1941-1946 by Sir Martin Farndale (2000). UIN: BLL01012703977; revised edition The Far East Theatre, 1939-1946, Farndale (2002). The 2002 edition is available online, refer below.
  • Honour Titles of the Royal Artillery by B P Hughes. [nd], but from elsewhere, first published 1975, 2nd edition 1988. UIN: BLL01008449724, UIN: BLL01011497298
  • A Norfolkman in the Raj : the Royal Artillery 1920-1933 by Alan W. Roper 2010. About the 6th Pack Battery, Mountain Artillery. UIN: BLL01015383558
  • Indian Army
History of the Regiment of Artillery : Indian Army edited by D. K. Palit. 1971 Indian edition, 1972 UK edition. UIN: BLL01001796726 and UIN: BLL01012130331

Other books in the catalogue:

  • Battery Records of the Royal Artillery compiled by M. E. S. Laws. Volume 1, 1716-1859 and Volume 2, 1859-1877 published in 1952 and 1970 . Also known as ‘Laws Tables’.
  • Minutes of Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution. Volume 1 (1858) -Volume 32, no. 3 (June 1905). Volume 12 is missing. The name then changed to
  • The Journal of the Royal Artillery, Vol 32, no. 4 (July 1905). This was published monthly, 1905-July 1924; quarterly Oct 1924-1958; 3 times a year, 1959-1961; half-yearly, 1962-.
  • General Report of the Practice in the Royal Artillery, Poona Circle (Annual Report on Royal Artillery Practice, Bombay Command) for the season of 1894-95 (1896-97-1899-1900)

Royal Artillery Historical Society

The Society normally meets for a lecture three times a year and arranges Summer visits and Battlefield Tours. [16]

Refer External links below for some papers presented to the Society, available online.

Regimental journals

The Gunner has been published monthly since 1919. Its aims include providing a record of regimental history, social affairs, sporting activities, equipment, dress etc

The Royal Artillery Journal is published twice annually, and offers a more in-depth, scientific look at continuing operations and lessons that can be learned from previous campaigns, as well as features on memorable moments and characters from the Gunners' 300 year history. [17] Originally published from 1858 as Minutes of Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution, the name was changed in 1905. Both series of journals are available at the British Library.

Boy Trumpeters in the Royal Artillery

The Regulations for Recruiting for the Regular Army published in 1903 laid out the criteria under which boys aged between fourteen and seventeen years could be recruited. In prior years the recruitment was from even earlier ages. Many such Boys in the Royal Artillery trained as Trumpeters.

A regimental history is Trumpeters- The Story of the Royal Artillery's Boy Trumpeters by Brian Cloughley 2008. Boy trumpeters, known as 'badgies', were a fixture of the British Army for centuries, right up until the 1940s. The majority of trumpeters went to or stayed in India. ‘Badgie’ is derived from the Hindi baju, meaning ‘music’. Badgie wallahs were the music men and timekeepers in days when there were no other means of notifying large numbers of soldiers that they were required for various duties.[18]

An individual account is found in Pick Up Your Parrots and Monkeys: The Life of a Boy Soldier in India by William Pennington 2003, who commenced his training in 1934 as a Boy Trumpeter at age 14 in England, and was posted to India at age 15. This book is available on online, see Historical books online below.

Anglo Indians in the Royal Artillery

Enlistment in the British Army, and therefore the Royal Artillery, was generally restricted to those with European parents, but was possible for Eurasian men of fair complexion―those whose looks allowed them to ‘pass’ as white.[19] There is one reference to an Anglo Indian Boy Trumpeter in the Royal Horse Artillery c 1936[20]

Indians in the Royal Artillery

Prior to 1924, there were Indian soldiers serving in the Royal Artillery as drivers, and native gunners in ammunition columns serving as wagon-men.[21] During the First World War, there are references to Lascars, see Gun Lascar. There is one reference[22] to a WW1 medal for an Indian Gunner in a British Mountain Battery, RGA. In 1924, Indian Mountain/Pack Batteries became Batteries in the Royal Artillery, which was the situation until 1939 when the Indian Mountain Batteries were transferred from the Royal Artillery to the Indian Regiment of Artillery.
C 1927 "Indians are employed as drivers and artificers in the Royal Horse and Field Artillery and in medium batteries, and as drivers, gunners and artificers in the Pack Artillery. In the Frontier Garrison Artillery they are employed as gunners and artificers and in the Indian Coast Artillery as gunners only".[23]

Regimental flash

The flash, also known as a pagri (puggaree) badge, or Foreign Service Helmet badge, was generally affixed to the pagri on the sun helmet. The Royal Horse Artillery had a square red/blue flash divided diagonally (red to the front) and with a grenade badge affixed, the Royal Field Artillery had a rectangular flash of equal parts red/blue. The Royal Garrison Artillery had the same colours but in a diamond shape during the 2nd Boer War. Red always to the front.[24]

It is difficult to identify Foreign Service (Wolseley Pattern) helmet flashes because the type of black & white film used at that time distorted coloration. [25]

External links

Memorials
Other
  • Leigh and District History: Indian Mutiny 1857-1858, now an archived webpage. Personal accounts from soldiers in India, sent to family in the Leigh District, Greater Manchester, England. The account by James Ramsdale, stated to be of the "14th Battalion Royal Infantry", appears to be a transcription error - it is considered he was actually in No. 3 Coy/14th Bn. Royal Artillery.[26]
  • Photograph: Royal Artillery Officer in India c 1860 flickr.com
  • Photographs from Soldiers of the Queen: The Jewel in the Crown
  • Details[27] of the funeral of Dudley Maryon Wilson, Lieutenant and Local Captain, Royal Artillery who died at Rawal Pindi November 1871.
  • "James Joyce –RA, AOD & RAOC" James Joyce was enlisted at Churat, Bengal 22nd Oct 1875 aged 14 years and 6 months old by his Armourer Sergeant father. His army career extended to 1918 in East Africa. Asplin Military History Resources, now archived.
  • Article: "The amazing story of Bobbie, the bravest dog of war, as told in a British soldier's diary of a bloody battle in Afghanistan 130 years ago" by Geoffrey Wansell 19 November 2009 www.dailymail.co.uk. Describes letters written by Captain John Slade of the Royal Horse Artillery about the Battle of Maiwand in 1880, an action in the 2nd Afghan War
  • Master Gunner, later Major & Quarter Master, John O'Brien, Royal Artillery His first active service was as an underage Trumpeter in the 2nd Afghan War 1878-1880, attached to the 6th Battery, 8th Brigade, Royal Artillery. He saw active service in India to 1888. members.dca.net, now archived.
  • "Forfeiting a Victoria Cross" 2 January 2018 British Library Untold Lives blog. Edward James Collis was serving as a Gunner with the Royal Horse Artillery during the Second Afghan War when an act of bravery gained him the country's highest military honour, the Victoria Cross. He subsequently forfeited the medal due to dishonourable behaviour (the committing of bigamy).
  • Anzac Hero, Police Legend: An Adventure like no other by Lawrence J Harvey. The Story of William Harvey MC pdf, html version William Harvey was initially with the 1st Essexs in India, c 1906 then with the Royal Horse Artillery on the North West Frontier. C 1911 he and an Australian soldier friend, deserted and went to Australia. Note, the Gallipoli extracts within by Digger Craven are considered to be a fictional account, see Gallipoli.
  • 2nd Kent Battery
  • Voyage to India: Memoirs of the 1st/3rd Kent Battery 1914 Frank William Critchley was 22 years old and a sergeant in the 1st/3rd Kent Battery, Royal Artillery. He travelled to India on the troopship Grantully Castle which departed Southampton 29 Oct 1914 and arrived Bombay 2 December 1914. The Battery then travelled to Jubbulpore. voyagetoindia.co.uk
  • Photographs by Francis William Downs “A Bty., 218th Bde., R.F.A. Calcutta c 1916 (Picasa Web Albums), now archived.
  • Charles George Thomas Barnes was in the 1/2nd Sussex, Royal Field Artillery (Territorial Force) in Mhow, Central India from 1915-1917, when the Brigade was sent to Mesopotamia where it joined the 17th (Indian) Division. Two photographs taken in Mhow may be seen here, and service details may be seen here Barnes Family History website.
  • Driver Percy Walter Long, 67528, 63rd Battery, R.F.A was captured at the fall of Kut, in Mesopotamia, in 1916. For his account, see Prisoners of the Turks (First World War) - Historical books online.
  • The 5th Sussex (Reserve) Battery was formed on the South Coast and spent time in England until October 1917 when it joined the Indian Division in Mesopotamia and subsequently took part in the Afghanistan War of 1919. Includes photographs from the collection of Edward Midmore who was based at Karachi, Quetta and Charriam [probably incorrectly transcribed and should be Chaman] in India, and was associated with the Capture of Spin Boldak in Afgahnistan in 1919, although he was not directly involved in the fighting.
  • 17 Pack Battery RGA in India www.king-emperor.com. Contains photographs from an album belonging to Harry Lamming, Battery Sergeant-Major of the 17th Pack Battery RGA. The 17th Pack Battery served in India from 1920 to 1927, and was posted to various stations including Razmak in North Waziristan.
  • Photograph: A group of off-duty Artillerymen from No. 3 Bty, 3rd Bde relaxing in fatigues and solar "topees" by Lance Sergeant Thomas Boddington, Quetta, Baluchistan, about 1926. Family website, now archived.
  • "The Diary and Journal of General Sir John Wilton" (born 1910) He was an officer in India and Burma from December 1931, initially with the 69 Fd Bty Royal Artillery (page 3) and left in May 1939 (page 12) www.raga.com
  • Listen to the 1995 interview with Ronald William Swann British NCO with 238 Bty, 115th Field Regt, Royal Artillery in GB, France and Belgium and India 1939-1942; served with 160th Jungle Field Regt, Royal Artillery in Bengal, India, 1943; officer served with artillery unit during Second Chindit Expedition in Burma, 1944 Imperial War Museums
  • 42 Regiment Royal Artillery: History 1939 to 1947 16 Field Regiment RA includes from 15 April 1942 sailing for India and from April 1944 front line service at Kohima (northeast India) and then Burma. 42regt.com
  • The father of John Cooper A Searchlight Unit was formed from 41st Battalion 5th North Staffs (Originally TA Volunteers). They then were drafted to 126 Light Anti Aircraft Regiment which supposedly never left the UK and then to the 60 Field Artillery Regiment. They were in fact transported out to India under the Command of General Wingate and Brigadier Mike Calvert as part of the Chindits Special Forces 77th Brigade. (WW2) www.anti-aircraft.co.uk
  • Obituary: Ron Burton 09 October 2013 The Telegraph. He was Sergeant, 125 Anti-Tank Regiment Royal Artillery (125 ATR), taken prisoner after the fall of Singapore.
  • Razmak North West Frontier. Circa 1946-47. victor-morgan.com. Alternative views, some photographs may be better. 1, 2, 3, 4. Victor Morgan was a member of 56 Heavy Regiment at Razmak and was subsequently with 123 Field Regt.
  • Account by Nigel Buxton who was in the Royal Artillery during WW2 who spent six months from April 1946 as an assistant adjutant in India during the last days of the Raj, then was ADC to the general commanding Special Force 401 in Iraq, before demobilisation in 1947.[28]
  • Built Heritage Conservation Framework for Dover Western Heights by Liv Gibbs, February 2012. dover.gov.uk. Dover Western Heights is a series of forts at Dover, England. Includes a detailed chronology with information about Quarters for all ranks, facilities provided, military features etc, an indication of military life in a fort (and probably more generally applicable to Army life elsewhere.)

Historical books online

List of Officers of the Royal Regiment of Artillery from ... 1716 to the present date [1869] 1869. Archive.org. Contains some short bibliographies from page 165.
List of Officers of the Royal Regiment of Artillery from the year 1716 to the year 1899 collected by General W H Askwith Fourth edition 1900. Archive.org. HathiTrust Digital Library version with rotatable pages.
Standing Orders of the Royal Regiment of Artillery 1876 Archive.org
Modern Artillery in the Field: a description of the Artillery of the Field Army, and the Principles and Methods of its Employment by Colonel H. A. Bethell RFA (Retired) 1911 Hathi Trust Digital Library.
The Coast Artillery Journal Archive.org. Multiple volumes from 1922 to 1949.
  • Volumes, from 1911, of The Field Artillery Journal published by The United States Field Artillery Association, are available on the webpage Fires Bulletin Archive published by the US Army Field Artillery. sill-www.army.mil Fort Sill, Oklahoma USA.
Field Artillery Journal Collection of digitised microfilm from 1911 at Archive.org.

References

  1. "The Royal Artillery in the East Indies" provides more details
  2. "The New Artillery Amalgamation", pages 606-607 (December 1861) from Colburn’s United Service Magazine, Volume 97, 1861 Part 3 Google Books
  3. Hoplophile. 218th RFA in India, Great War Forum, 30 June 2008 . Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  4. Clifton, Ron. Royal Artillery in India, Pack Battery query Great War Forum 28 January 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2019. Mentions the book A Norfolkman in the Raj : the Royal Artillery 1920-1933 by Alan W. Roper.
  5. Seven Cantonments by Major S E G Ponder, see Historical books online, above.
  6. Field Artillery Regiments of the Indian Artillery in World War 2 from "British Artillery In World War 2" nigelef.tripod.com
  7. No longer available article "Son tells us of gunner's service in 1930s India" by Dan Shaw. http://www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/News/Son-tells-us-of-gunners-service-in-1930s-India-24052012.htm
  8. Muerrisch. Royal Artillery in India, Pack Battery query Great War Forum 28 January 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  9. The no longer available link http://www.military-naval-history.co.uk/pages/artillery.htm Books on Artillery and Fortifications from DP&G Publications.
  10. WO 10 TNA Catalogue description
  11. WO 95/5494 List of Royal Artillery, Army Service Corps, Machine Gun Corps and Medical Units with the Division, Corps or Army they fought with. The National Archives.
  12. MaxD et al. Royal Artillery Museum update mid March 2017 Great War Forum 16 March 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  13. Facebook: Royal Artillery Museum Archive 8 April 2018.
  14. Royal Artillery Museum - The Collection @TheRAMCollection, and Royal Artillery Museum Archive @RoyalArtilleryArchive. The latter has information as a separate page to 26 January 2021, and will be eventually closed (but is still in existence at 5 July 2022). Facebook
  15. Gunner Family History – Part 1 – Service Records 14 June 2018; Gunner Family History – Part 2 – Other Military Records 19 June 2018; Gunner Family History – Part 3 – Civilian Sources 28th June 2018. Royal Artillery Museum Archive on Facebook. These direct links are only available if you are a Facebook member. Otherwise scroll down the posts to 14 June 2018 on Royal Artillery Museum Archive which contains information to 26 January 2021, and will be eventually closed.
  16. The Royal Artillery: Life and Heritage. Scroll down to Royal Artillery Historical Society (RAHS). Archived British Army website, with details current at 14 July 2017.
  17. Royal Artillery: Life and Heritage. Scroll down to The Gunner Magazine and The Royal Artillery Journal. Archived British Army website with details current at 14 July 2017. Also Gunner Magazine Archived British Army website which contains some sample editions of The Gunner c 2013.
  18. Trumpeters- The Story of the Royal Artillery's Boy Trumpeters woodfieldpublishing.co.uk
  19. Loyalty, Parity, and Social Control-The Competing Visions on the Creation of an ‘Eurasian’ Military Regiment in late British India by Satoshi Mizutani The International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies Volume 10, No. 1, 2010
  20. Pages 122-123, Pick up your Parrots and Monkeys: The Life of a Boy Soldier in India by William Pennington 2003
  21. Page 182 The Armies of India described by Major G F MacMunn (Painted by Major Lovett) 1911 Archive.org
  22. Trevelyan Mountain Batteries, 1914 and 1915 Great War Forum 13 July 2004 et al. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  23. Armaments Year-Book : General and Statistical Information Volume: 4th (1928) Chapter: India page 227.
  24. Stuart_Bates. The no longer available link http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=3267#p12850 Foreign Service Helmet Markings 84th Batt RA 1901 Victorian Wars Forum 14 May 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  25. FROGSMILE. Help needed ID-ing unit flash on pith helmet Great War Forum 30 May 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  26. Snook, Mike. How did new troops get to Roorkee in 1858? Victorian Wars Forum 3 August 2017, now an archived website. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  27. BingandNelsonFan. The no longer available link http://www.victorianwars.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=12921 A Funeral in India (1872) Victorian Wars Forum 11 March 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019. Originally from Broad Arrow 06 Jan 1872, page 28, available online on findmypast, and the British Newspaper Archive.
  28. The Fading Margin by Nigel Buxton. The following cover his time in India and Iraq: Serial 15, Serial 16, Serial 17, Serial 18 February and March 2013, Buxton's blog baaaddad.wordpress.com, archived. The account commences November 2012, navigate via side bar.
  29. History of “J” Battery, Royal Horse Artillery (Formerly A Troop, Madras Horse Artillery) Naval & Military Press reprint edition.