Royal Artillery

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)

History in India and other parts of the East Indies

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. For full details refer Historical Books on-line "The Royal Artillery in the East Indies"

In December 1861, General Orders were issued concerning the “New Artillery 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".

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

• WO 10: Commissary General of Musters Office and successors: Artillery Muster Books and Pay Lists 1708-1878. Arranged by serving unit; often battalion and company, or brigade and battalion. There are no muster books or pay lists of units of the Royal Artillery serving in India, except occasionally in the earlier part of the series. For the continuation of the series see WO 16

• WO 16 War Office: Muster Books and Pay Lists 1878 to 1898. From 1888 onwards (WO 16/2917-3049) the series consists of company muster rolls only, and these do not contain pay lists. WO 16 subgroups include
  • Royal Horse Artillery WO 16/1-84 1877-1898
  • Royal Artillery, 1st Brigade WO 16/85-135
  • 2nd Brigade WO 16/136-186
  • 3rd Brigade WO 16/187-230
  • 4th Brigade WO 16/231-276
  • 5th Brigade WO 16/277-291
  • 6th Brigade WO 16/292-306
  • 7th Brigade WO 16/307-346
  • 8th Brigade WO 16/347-357
  • 9th Brigade WO 16/358-375
  • 10th Brigade WO 16/376-415
  • 11th Brigade WO 16/416-440

• WO 54 Ordnance Office and War Office: Entry Books and Registers. WO 54 subgroups include
  • WO 54/260- Description Books
  • WO 54/317-Discharges, Transfers and Casualties

• WO69 Royal Artillery Records of Service and Papers 1755-1917. A large number of volumes were destroyed during World War 2. WO69 subgroups include
  • Royal Horse Artillery Registers of Marriages and Baptisms 1859-1877 WO 69/63-73
  • Royal Artillery Description Books WO 69/74-80
  • Royal Artillery Records of Service WO 69/81-177

External Links

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

Historical Books on-line

• England's artillerymen: an historical narrative of the services of the Royal Artillery from the formation of the Regiment up to the amalgamation of the Royal and Indian Artilleries in 1862 by James Alexander Browne 1865 Archive.org including
  • "The Royal Artillery in the East Indies"
• History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Vol I by Major Francis Duncan 1879 Archive.org
• History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Vol II by Major Francis Duncan 1873 Archive.org Includes the history up until the Battle of Waterloo 1815.
• History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery 1815-1853 by Henry W.L. Hime 1908 Archive.org
• List of Officers of the Royal Regiment of Artillery from the Year 1716 to 1899 by John Kane, William Harrison Askwith, 4th edition, 1900 Archive.org
• Remarks on the Organization of the British Royal Artillery by Charles James B. Riddell 1852 Google Books
• Minutes of Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution
  • Volume 1 1858, Contents Google Books
  • Volume 2 1861 Google Books including
    • "Desultory Notes at Takoo. By an Officer of the Siege Train"
    • "The Royal Artillery at Canton"
  • Volume 6 1870 Archive.org including
    • "Central Asia and our Military Position on the North West Frontier of India"
    • "The Field Gun for India"
• 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