Royal Artillery

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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)

Records

The National Archives

The most accessible soldiers’ records, including soldiers in the Royal Artillery, are the WO 97 series British Army discharge papers up until 1913 many of which are available online.

The National Archives guide British Army: Muster Rolls and Pay Lists, c1730-1898 Military Records Information 7 advises that the records for the Artillery for 1708-1878 are WO 10 ,WO 54, WO 69. From 1878, muster rolls are in WO 16 . From 1888 onwards, the series contains only company muster rolls: there are no longer any pay lists. No muster rolls were kept by the War Office after the mid 1890s.

The muster and other records at the National Archives are complex to navigate, and it is suggested that you read one of the detailed published guides. National Archives publications include

Tracing your Ancestors in The National Archives by Amanda Bevan 2006 (576 pages) which is stated by the National Archives to be the only exhaustive guide to TNA’s holdings. Available at the British Library. Also available from the FIBIS Shop through Amazon.co.uk

Army Records: A Guide for Family Historians by William Spencer 2008 published by the National Archives. It is mainly about records in the National Archives and the India Office at the British Library. It contains chapters Royal Artillery and The British Army in India and the Indian Army. Available at the British Library. Also available from the FIBIS Shop through Amazon.co.uk

The catalogue entries are

External Links

Royal Artillery Wikipedia
Royal Regiment of Artillery Wikipedia
British Army Artillery Victorians at War Website
Bombardier Wikipedia

Historical Books on-line