Royal Artillery

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.

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".

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

• 6 (Howitzer) Brigade (regular, VI (How))

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.

• 7 Brigade (regular, VII)

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.

Royal Artillery Mountain Batteries

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. 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.

Recommended reading

• Tales of the Mountain Gunner: 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.

Chapters include: in the days work, good fighting, the soldier, the mule, the gun, some characters and more.

• 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.

See also

• Stations of the Royal Artillery in India
• Artillery elephants for Elephant Brigades.
• Indian Army Artillery
• Matross
• Military ranks
• Royal Artillery Batteries. Those batteries which have an honour title relating to India, Burma or China, or which have a connection with the East India Company.

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. 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. 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.

The main record series, with catalogue entries, are:

• WO 10: Commissary General of Musters Office and successors: Artillery Muster Books and Pay Lists 1708-1878. Arranged by unit; often battalion and company, or brigade and battalion.
• WO 16: War Office: Muster Books and Pay Lists 1878 to 1898. From 1888 onwards the series consists of muster rolls only.
  • Royal Horse Artillery WO 16/1-84
  • Royal Artillery WO 16/85-860
• WO 23: Royal Hospital Chelsea: Admission Books, Registers and Papers
  • WO 23/63: Horse Artillery to 16 Brigade (Artillery) 1865-1875 and WO 23/64: 17 Brigade to Depot (Artillery) 1865-1875
• 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

• WO 69: Royal Artillery Records of Service and Papers 1755-1917. A large number of volumes were destroyed during World War 2. WO 69 subgroups include:
  • 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
  • Royal Artillery Registers of Marriages and Baptisms WO 69/551-580
  • Royal Artillery Registers of Deceased Soldiers. WO 69/583-597

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 microfilm, (107 reels) with this catalogue entry (Ordering microfilms).

• WO 74: Army Purchase Commission Records. Royal Artillery:Bengal Bombay and Madras 1871-1891 WO 74/173
• WO 116: Registers of the award of out-pensions
  • Royal Artillery WO 116/125 November 1833 to WO 116/185 1913

• 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.

Online Resources

• Some of the WO 116 records mentioned above are available online free of cost from The National Archives Documents Online: Digital Microfilms. Those available online are

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 previously held at the Royal Artillery Museum, refer Museum closure below.

Searching is free but charges apply for examination of the record.

• Ancestry introduced in April 2016 the data base 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.

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 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.

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.

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

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 email for the enquiry service is enquiries@royalartillerymuseum.com

Details may also be found on the 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.

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

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 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 Google Books, (2 versions) and 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.
• 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). UIN: BLL01012703981

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 ‘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.

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. 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.

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. There is one reference to an Anglo Indian Boy Trumpeter in the Royal Horse Artillery c 1936

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. During the First World War, there are references to Lascars, see Gun Lascar. There is one reference 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".

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.

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

External links

• Royal Artillery Wikipedia
  Royal Regiment of Artillery Wikipedia
  
• Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, London Wikipedia
  
• British Army Artillery Victorians at War Google Books
  
• Gunner (rank) Wikipedia
• Bombardier Wikipedia
  
• Salisbury Plain Heritage Centre Home of the Royal Artillery Collection. Not expected to open until c 2020.
• 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 Royal Artillery Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations by Philip Jobson 2008
• Victorian Wars Forum
• Great War Forum
• "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, Artillery Regiments That Served With The 7th Armoured Division. Includes details of regiments whose history dates back to the Bengal, Madras and Bombay Artillery. desertrats.org.uk
• 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
• "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 Boxer Rebellion in addition to further garrison duty in India. army.mod.uk/documents/general
• "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
• "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
• "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
  • 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
• 2 Heavy Battery Royal Artillery Hinds Company includes History, with details of India 1883-1920 and 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 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
• WW2Talk Forum
• 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 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.
  • Photograph: 25 Pounder Gun, NW Frontier Province 1945
  • Photograph: Royal Artillery, 9th Field Regiment Barracks, Nowshera 1940s
  • Photograph: Royal Artillery Camp, 9th Field Regiment. Nowshera
  • Photograph: Regimental Canteen, 9th Field Regiment, likely Nowshera
  • Photograph: 19th Battery, Sialkot. Christmas Day 1946, Although this photograph is labelled Officers’ Mess it seems likely to be the “Other Ranks” Mess.
• British Artillery in World War 2 including Field Artillery Formations and Regiments of the Royal Artillery in World War 2. Website by Nigel F Evans
• The Royal Artillery 1939-45 ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

Memorials

• 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
• Monument to those who died 67th Battery Royal Field Artillery 1904-1906 at Tehkal Cemetery, Peshawar indian-cemeteries.org
• Monument to those who died No 6 Mountain Battery Royal Garrison Artillery 1914-1921 at Tehkal Cemetery, Peshawar indian-cemeteries.org
• From Stephen Lewis’ Soldiers Memorials
  • Royal Artillery Memorials in India (scroll down) Quetta 1891-96, Peshawar 1884-1906, Rawalpindi 1877-1894, together with other places and periods
  • Royal Garrison Artillery Quetta 1888-1902, Peshawar 1909-1921 Rawalpindi 1895-1913, Rangoon 1904-1911
• Memorials: Afghanistan 1878-80 Scroll down for Artillery Officers from Stephen Lewis’ Officers Died

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.
• Photograph: Royal Artillery Officer in India c 1860 flickr.com
• Photographs from Soldiers of the Queen: The Jewel in the Crown
  • Lt. John Keith, R.A. and the newspaper article relating to his death after being attacked by a wounded tiger. He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery on 1 April 1861 and was assigned to the 13th Brigade, 8th Battery in Secunderabad, India on in May 1861. He died 24 April, 1867 at Nagpore. He was stationed at the nearby cantonment of Kamptee where he was buried
  • Bombardier Sturgeon of the 3rd Mountain Battery, Royal Artillery Quetta, c 1890's
  • Gunner George Thomas Sida of the Royal Artillery served in India with "F" Battery, Royal Horse Artillery.for only a few months - from 11 March, 1893 to 4 July, 1893 before he died from being kicked by a horse at Mhow.
  • Royal Artillery Gunner Bombay c 1900
  • Artillery Sergeant & family c 1900
  • Leonard George Watkins Bombay 1886, with previous information on the 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 of the funeral of Dudley Maryon Wilson, Lieutenant and Local Captain, Royal Artillery who died at Rawal Pindi November 1871.
• 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, 8 th Brigade, Royal Artillery. He saw active service in India to 1888. members.dca.net
• "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
  • Letter to his old school from Sidney D. Igglesden 2nd Kent Battery, R.F.A. (T.), Jubbulpore. The Pharos. The Magazine of Dover County School, No. 19. July, 1915. Vol. VI. Scroll down to “Letters from Old Boys”
  • Photograph: Driver J Goodwin 2nd Kent Battery RFA May 1916. Probably/possibly in India. flickr.com
• 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.
• Article "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
• "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
• 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.
• 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

• 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. Covers the period to the peace of 1783.
• History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Vol II by Major Francis Duncan 1873 Archive.org. Covers the period 1783 up until the Battle of Waterloo 1815.
• History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery 1815-1853 by Henry W.L. Hime 1908 Archive.org
• 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, which in turn is available online on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3 (located in World War II/Military Books/India). Also limited geographic (USA etc) online availability on Google Books, (2 versions) and 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, are available in three reprint editions, which in turn are available as one digital file on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3 (located in World War II/Military Books/India).
• 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, which in turn is available 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.
• 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, which in turn is available online on the Ancestry owned pay website fold3 (located in World War II/Military Books/Britain). History from establishment to the Boer War.
• 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. HathiTrust version, with rotatable pages.
• Remarks on the Organization of the British Royal Artillery by Charles James B. Riddell 1852 Google Books
• "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
• 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
• 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.
• ‪Camp and Cantonment‬: ‪A Journal of Life in India in 1857-1859 to which is added A Short Account of the Pursuit of the Rebels in Central India by Majot Paget, RHA by Mrs Leopold Paget 1865 Google Books
• 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). Thomas Bland Strange Wikipedia. “Strange, Thomas Bland” by Roderick C. Macleod in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 15, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003.
• 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.
• "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.
• 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 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. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Archive.org version. He was CO of a Light Battery, or Mountain Battery, where the gunners were British.
• The Indian Artillery [of the E. I. Company] as incorporated with the Royal Artillery 1863 Google Books
• 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.
• Standing Orders, Dress Regulations, and Trumpet and Bugle Sounds, for the Royal Regiment of Artillery 1864 Google Books. Includes
  • "Marriage, and Soldiers' Wives", page 53
• Standing Orders of the Royal Regiment of Artillery 1876 Archive.org
  • "Married Soldiers" page 41
• Army Equipment: Part II: Equipment of Artillery by Major Miller RA Prepared at the War Office. 1864 Google Books
• 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
• Six Months in the Ranks; or, The Gentleman Private [by E.C.G. Murray] 1881 Archive.org
• 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 link has coloured illustrations. soldierssoldiers.com. This book is also available on the pay site Ancestry, (Worldwide subscription required), where it is possible to browse the pages.
• Siege Artillery Drill-1900 by Great Britain War Office. Combined Arms Research Library (CARL) Digital Library.
• 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 Hathi Trust version, issuu.com version. 1910 version: Entirely rewritten Hathi Trust Digital Library.

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.

• 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
• 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.
• For WW1 accounts, also see Western Front - Historical books online - Artillery
• 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).
• Big Game Hunting in the Himalayas and Tibet by Major G. Burrard RFA (Retired) 1925 HathiTrust Digital Library. Download from PAHAR- Mountains of Central Asia Digital Dataset (MCADD)
• R. A. School of Equitation, India 1922 Archive.org. Printed at Allahabad.
• 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