The 1st London Artillery Brigade or City of London Artillery was a volunteer field artillery unit of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force and later the Territorial Army, that existed under various titles from 1863 to 1971 and fought in World War I and World War II.
Origins
The enthusiasm of the Volunteer movement in 1859 and subsequent years saw the creation of many Rifle, Artillery and Engineer Volunteer units composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need. The 1st London (City) Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVC) was raised in the City of London on 15 April 1863, with its HQ and five (later six) batteries at 5 Farringdon Road. The titles '1st London' and 'City of London' were used interchangeably throughout the unit's history. As one of the later AVCs raised, the 1st Londons ranked 61st (later 65th) in order of precedence.'A short history of the City of London Artillery', in Ceremonial ...Frederick, p. 665.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 116–8.1st London Artillery at Regiments.orgBeckett, Appendix VIII. The first commanding officer was Captain (later Lieutenant-Colonel) John Walmisley (1818–90), a London solicitor, famous oarsman and former officer in the Honourable Artillery Company.Francis Family website accessed 14 October 2013Old Francis Family website accessed 14 October 2013Retirement as Captain from HAC, London Gazette, 30 May 1854.Commission as Captain in 1st London AVC dated 15 April 1863, London Gazette, 8 May 1863.Commission as Major-Commandant dated 16 March 1864, London Gazette, 22 March 1864.Commission as Lt-Col of 1st Administrative Bde dated 13 September 1873, London Gazette, 12 September 1873. The unit's first Honorary Colonel was Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.Monthly Army List, passim.
In 1873, the 1st London AVC became part of the 1st Administrative Brigade of Middlesex Artillery Volunteers under the command of Walmisley. Artillery Volunteer units proved expensive to maintain, and the Secretary of State for War, Edward Cardwell, refused to pay for the upkeep of horses, harness and field-guns from the annual capitation grant. As a result, many Volunteer Field artillery units were wound up in the 1870s and the two batteries of the 1st (Hanover Square) Middlesex AVC were absorbed into the 1st London.Beckett, p. 179. In 1883, the 1st London also absorbed the 1st Surrey AVC, and by now it had 16 batteries around the City and County of London (Nos 1–3 and 8 at Camberwell; Nos 4, 9, 11 and 13–16 at the HQ at the Barbican; No 5 at Peckham; No 6 at Norwood; No 7 at Tooting; No 10 at Kilburn; No 12 at Shepherd's Bush). At first the brigade had consisted of Horse and Field artillery batteries, but now the 16 batteries became Garrison Artillery companies, divided into two wings, each commanded by a lieutenant-colonel. This made it one of the strongest brigades in the country, at one time boasting a strength of over 1,500 volunteers.
Walmisley retired in January 1875 and was succeeded by William Hope, who had won a Victoria Cross in the Crimean war and had afterwards become a City businessman.Monthly Army Lists, passim, Hope's commission as Lt-Col dated 26 January 1876.
In 1887 and 1890, the Corps won the Queen's Prize at the annual National Artillery Association competition held at Shoeburyness.Litchfield & Westlake, p. 189. By 1893, the War Office Mobilisation Scheme had allocated the unit to the Thames defences.Mobilization Tables for Home Defence, List of Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteer Units, HMSO, London, 1893 During the Second Boer War, the brigade supplied volunteers to the City of London Imperial Volunteers and other branches of the Regular forces.
The 1st Londons had been included in the London Division when the Royal Artillery (RA) adopted a territorial structure on 1 April 1882, but this was disbanded and the unit was assigned to the Eastern Division on 1 July 1889. All artillery volunteers were assigned to the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) in 1899. When the divisional organisation was abandoned on 1 January 1902, the unit was re-titled 1st City of London Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers). At this time, the 16 companies were based at Staines House, Barbican (HQ and Nos 1-7), Shepherd's Bush (Nos 8–10) and Brixton (Nos 11–16).Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 4–6.
Territorial Force
In 1908, the Haldane Reforms created the Territorial Force (TF), which subsumed the previous Volunteers. The large 1st London corps provided three field brigades of the Royal Field Artillery in the new force: the companies at Shepherd's Bush became the VII London Brigade while those at Brixton became the VI London Brigade. The remaining companies based at the Barbican became the I City of London Brigade RFA (TF):Barnes, Appendix IV.Frederick, p. 677. Brigade HQ – from HQ and part of No 7 Company 1st City of London Battery – from Nos 1 and 4 Companies 2nd City of London Battery – from Nos 2 and 6 Companies 3rd City of London Battery – from Nos 3 and 5 Companies 1st London Ammunition Column – from No 7 Company I City of London Bde, along with II, II and IV London Bdes, was assigned to the 1st London Division of the TF. The three batteries were each equipped with four 15-pounder guns. In 1913, the brigade moved to a new headquarters at Artillery House, Handel Street, in Bloomsbury. The building was shared with the 1st (City of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers).Becke, Pt 2a, Appendix I.Litchfield.Times (London), 24 February 1913.Post Office London Directory, 1914.
World War I Mobilisation and organisation Annual training for 1st London Division had just started when war was declared on 4 August 1914, and the City of London Brigade promptly mustered at Bloomsbury for mobilisation.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 141–7. The Division's infantry were soon posted away to relieve Regular Army garrisons in the Mediterranean or to supplement the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. By January 1915, only the artillery and other support elements of the division remained in England, and these were attached to the Second Line TF division (58th (2/1st London) Division) that was being formed. The City of London Brigade became 1/I City of London Bde and formed 2/I City of London Bde, which served with the 58th Division throughout the war.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 9–15.56th (1st London) Division at Long, Long Trail58th (2/1st London) Division at Long, Long Trail
Colonel J. Stollery, who commanded I City of London Brigade, had been with the unit since 1874 and was too old for overseas service, so he remained behind to train the 2/I Brigade. So many recruits came forward, including many who had previously served with the brigade and whose training could be quickly refreshed, that the 2/I Brigade was soon completed, and a 3rd Line Brigade was also formed to supply reinforcements to the other two.
1/I City of London Brigade The brigade left Handel Street on 23 August 1914 and underwent training in various locations. During the winter of 1914–15, it spent five months guarding the Northumbrian Coast. In August 1915, the 36th (Ulster) Division was being readied for service. Its infantry were largely drawn from the Ulster Volunteers and had already received weapons training before the war; the artillery however were newly raised Londoners, and the drivers were still being taught to mount and dismount from wooden horses. The 1st London Divisional Artillery were therefore attached to the Ulster Division until its own gunners were ready for active service. In September 1915, the 1/I City of London Bde moved to Bordon to re-equip with modern guns and prepare for overseas service. It then accompanied the Ulster division to France, landing at Le Havre on 4 October 1915. 1/I Bde went into the line on 9 October, and first went into action at Colincamps.Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 61–9.Royal Field Artillery at Long, Long Trail36th (Ulster) Division at Long, Long Trail
In December, the Ulster Division's artillery arrived from England, and the London Divisional Artillery was transferred to the 38th (Welsh) Division, which had also arrived in France minus its own artillery. 1/I City of London Bde served with the Welsh Division from 11 December 1915 to 1 February 1916. It was next attached to 16th (Irish) Division until 25 February 1916, when the 16th Divisional Artillery arrived. By now, 1st London Division (now numbered 56th (London) Division) was being reformed in France and its divisional artillery was finally able to rejoin.Becke, Pt 3a, pp. 61–9; Pt 3b, pp. 61–9, 81–9.
1916 In April 1916, a Regular battery (93 Battery, from XVIII Brigade Royal Field Artillery, which had been serving with Indian and Canadian formations) joined 1/I City of London Bde. In May, TF artillery brigades were numbered in sequence with the Royal Field Artillery: 1/I City of London became CCLXXX Brigade (280 Brigade), and the batteries became A–D. Shortly afterwards, D (93rd) Battery was exchanged with a battery (formerly 11th County of London Battery) from the divisional howitzer brigade, equipped with 4.5-inch howitzers. Brigade Ammunition Columns were also abolished at this time, and the men distributed between the batteries and the Divisional Ammunition Column. By mid-May, the division had formed its three medium trench mortar batteries: 1/I City of London Bde provided the manpower for X Battery. In the winter of 1916–17, TF field artillery batteries were reorganised from a four-gun to a six-gun establishment, so B Battery was split between A and C Batteries, and to make up the numbers 93rd Battery rejoined together with a section from 500 Battery (a New Army howitzer unit). For the remainder of the war, therefore, 1/I City of London had the following organisation:Frederick, p. 690.
CCLXXX Brigade RFA 93rd Battery A Battery C Battery D (Howitzer) Battery
Gommecourt
The first major action for CCLXXX (280) Bde came at the Battle of the Somme, and there are detailed accounts of its actions. 56th Division's task for the opening day of the Somme Offensive (the 'Big Push') was to attack the south side of the Gommecourt Salient as a diversion to support the main attack further south.Edmonds, pp. 252, 257, 308–11, 456–7.MacDonald, pp. 20–37, 59–66.Middlebrook, pp. 73–4.Ward, pp.19, 36.
The divisional artillery was disposed in three groups. Lt-Col L.A.C Southam of 280 Bde commanded the Northern Group (called 'Southart') with B/280 and C/280 Btys (together with D (H)/282 and A/283 Btys), while A/280 and D (H)/280 Btys were in the Wire Cutting Group under Lt-Col A.F Prechtel of 282 Bde ('Peltart'), though A/280 Bty reverted to 'Southart' at Zero Hour. During the preliminary bombardment, Southart was under VII Corps control, but from Zero Hour it was assigned to support the assaulting infantry of 169th (3rd London) Brigade. The batteries began moving into position in late May 1916, A/280 and B/280 being the last to arrive on 3 June. The batteries then began to register their targets during June.Edmonds, p. 460.MacDonald, pp. 207–11.Ward, pp. 32–4.
B/280 and C/280 Batteries were positioned west of Gommecourt to take the German lines in enfilade at ranges of 2,000 and 3,000 yards respectively. Their role was to 'search' the enemy trenches, villages, woods and hollows. In the wire cutting group, A/280 Bty was in a fold of ground about 1,500 yards west of the British-held village of Hébuterne and about 2,500 yards from the German lines, while the howitzers of D (H)/280 Bty were dug into the gardens and orchards behind Hébuterne, where they could range into the German rear areas. One section (two howitzers) was on call to assist the heavy counter-battery guns in addition to their wire-cutting task.Edmonds, p. 299–300.