The 86th (East Anglian) (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, was a unit of Britain's part-time Territorial Army (TA) formed after World War I from existing artillery and Yeomanry Cavalry units recruited in Hertfordshire. Its self-propelled guns were among the first artillery to land in Normandy on D Day and served throughout the North West Europe campaign in World War II, seeing action in Normandy, at the liberation of Antwerp, in Operations Market Garden, Clipper and Veritable, the Rhine crossing and the advance across Germany. The regiment continued in the postwar TA until 1967, and its successor battery continued to 2014.
Origin
The Hertfordshire Yeomanry was a cavalry unit of Britain's part-time Territorial Force (TF), which had served in World War I. When the TF was reconstituted on 7 February 1920 only the 14 most senior Yeomanry regiments remained horsed, the other 39 being re-roled, generally as artillery. In March 1920 the Hertfordshire Yeomanry converted to the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and amalgamated with the 1st and 2nd Hertfordshire Batteries of the 4th East Anglian Brigade, RFA, to form a new 3rd East Anglian Brigade, RFA. The Yeomanry component supplied 3rd and 4th Hertfordshire Batteries. (The remainder of 4th (EA) Brigade, the Northamptonshire Battery, joined the 1st East Anglian Brigade, see below.) When the TF was reorganised as the Territorial Army in 1921 the new 3rd Brigade was designated as 86th (East Anglian) Brigade, RFA, changing the following year to 86th (East Anglian) (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Brigade, RFA, with the following organisation and locations:Frederick, pp. 30–1, 522.Litchfield, pp. 101–3.Sainsbury, Pt 1, pp. 1–4, 31–6.Monthly Army List, various dates.Hertfordshire Yeomanry at Regiments.org.
Headquarters (HQ) at 27 St Andrew Street, Hertford (later known as Yeomanry House) 341 (Hertfordshire) Battery at Riding School, Harpenden Road, St Albans 342 (Hertfordshire) Battery at Hertford 343 (Hertfordshire) Battery at Clarendon Hall, Watford 344 (Hertfordshire) Battery (Howitzer) at Bearton Camp, Hitchin
It had been intended that only two of the batteries would carry the Hertfordshire Yeomanry subtitle, but the first commanding officer (CO), Col Geoffrey Lawrence, had served with the RFA during the war (in 2nd East Anglian Brigade) and ensured that the RFA experience within the brigade was spread among the yeomanry batteries as well, while all four batteries adopted the yeomanry badge.
Equipment and training The establishment of a TA RFA brigade was four 4-gun horsedrawn batteries,Sainsbury, Pt 1, Appendix 2. three of the batteries equipped with 18-pounder guns and one with 4.5-inch howitzers, all of World War I patterns. Recruitment to the Hertfordshire brigade was initially slow, hampered by the transfer of most of the officers and men to the short-lived Defence Force established in 1921 in response to a coal miners' strike (as 86th Brigade, RFA (Defence Force)). After the Defence Force was stood down in July, the brigade attended its first annual training camp.Sainsbury, Pt 1, pp. 15–7, 34–41, Appendix 4.
The RFA was subsumed into the Royal Artillery on 1 June 1924, the units becoming 'Field Brigades' and 'Field Batteries' respectively. 86th (HY) Field Bde formed part of the TA's 54th (East Anglian) Division. The brigade also had an affiliated section of 54th Divisional Signals, Royal Corps of Signals.Sainsbury, Pt 1, pp. 4–6.Titles & Designations 1927.
Partial mechanisation of the brigade began in July 1927, with 343 and 344 Btys replacing their horses with hired Morris Commercial Series D six-wheeled lorries acting as gun tractors. However, the iron-tyred wooden wheels of the guns were not replaced, and towing speed was restricted to per hour. 344 Battery reached the finals of the annual King's Cup TA artillery competition that year – the only mechanised battery to do so – and won the trophy, despite one gun tractor overturning on the way to the competition leaving one gun with an improvised crew due to the injuries. In the 1930s the guns were towed at annual camp by lorries supplied by the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC), but these were unsuitable. Later each battery was allocated one gun tractor and was made up to strength with RASC vehicles for annual camps. The brigade's first fully mechanised camp was held in 1933. In the late 1930s the UK began re-arming, and in 1937 it was announced that TA artillery units would progressively be issued with up-to-date guns and vehicles. This began with the fitting of pneumatic tyres to the old 18-pdrs and 4.5-inch howitzers, and 86th (HY) Fd Bde was selected to have one 18-pdr battery converted to 4.5-inch: 342 Bty was chosen, and its 18-pdrs were withdrawn for conversion to 18/25-pounders. A few Morris CDSW gun tractors were issued to TA batteries in early 1939.Sainsbury, Pt 1, pp. 17–9, 42–55.
The four batteries unofficially adopted local names in 1930, but it was not until August 1937 that these titles were made official:Frederick, pp. 491–5.Sainsbury, Pt 1, p. 46. 341 (St Albans) Field Bty 342 (Hertford) Field Bty 343 (Watford) Field Bty 344 (Hitchin) Field Bty (How)
The RA updated its nomenclature in 1938, with 'Regiment' replacing 'Brigade' for a lieutenant-colonel's command; the TA field artillery adopted the new designation on 1 November.Sainsbury, Pt 1, p. 19.
World War II Mobilisation The TA was doubled in size after the Munich Crisis, and most regiments formed duplicates. The Hertfordshire Yeomanry actually contributed to three new regiments by 1942. The process began on 1 November 1938 when 86th (HY) Fd Rgt split off 343 (Watford) Bty to form 79th (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment. This regiment served in the Battle of France and the personnel were evacuated from western France almost three weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation had ended. It was in Anti-Aircraft Command during the Blitz and then served in the Tunisian and Italian campaigns.Frederick, p. 775.Sainsbury, Pt 1, pp. 58–9.Sainsbury, Pt 2, pp. 27–114.
Next, 86th (HY) Fd Rgt split off 344 (Hitchin) Bty, which together with 336 (Northamptonshire) Bty of 84th (1st East Anglian) Field Brigade (see above) began forming 135th Field Regiment at Hitchin. This process was still going on when war was declared on 3 September 1939; 135th Field Rgt became fully independent on 7 September. 135th Field Rgt maintained Hertfordshire Yeomanry traditions, but the '(East Anglian) (Hertfordshire Yeomanry)' subtitles were only authorised after the regiment had been captured at the Fall of Singapore in February 1942. Many of the regiment's Prisoners of War served on the notorious Burma Railway.Frederick, p. 531.Sainsbury, Pt 1, pp. 153–214.
Part of the reorganisation was that field regiments changed from a war establishment of four six-gun batteries to two batteries, each of three four-gun troops. 86th (HY) Field Rgt struggled with various rearrangements of its batteries, but on the outbreak of war it was organised as follows:Farndale, Annex A.Sainsbury, Pt 1, pp. 60–5, 71. Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) 341 (St Albans) Battery (A, B, C Trps) – 4.5-inch howitzers 342 (Hertford) Battery (D, E, F Trps)
Home defence 86th (East Anglian) (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Fd Rgt mobilised as part of 54th (EA) Division on 1 September 1939, two days before the declaration of war. It was commanded by Lt-Col Sir Patrick Coghill, 6th Baronet. Its former CO, Brigadier Sir Geoffrey Church, 2nd Baronet, was commander, RA, of 54th (EA) Division. About three weeks after mobilisation the regiment was brought up to its full establishment strength with a draft of 'Army Class I' Miltiamen. Training continued at the drill halls, with the men billeted nearby, then on 20 October advance parties set out to Leicestershire where it was planned that 54th (EA) Division would concentrate for training and re-equipment. However, the division was unexpectedly diverted to the East Coast as one of the 'Julius Caesar' anti-invasion defence formations. 86th (HY) Field Rgt was ordered to detach a battery of two troops to act independently under 163 Infantry Bde at Redgrave Hall in Suffolk. 341 Battery went with its eight 4.5-inch howitzers (the only serviceable guns the regiment had at the time; there were four others classified 'DP' – for drill purposes only). On 5 November it was deployed closer to the coast, at Westleton, to cover possible landings at Dunwich, while 342 Bty took over Redgrave Hall (later at Sudbourne Hall, Orford), with RHQ at Yoxford. Through the winter the two batteries alternated in manning the guns at Westleton. A further draft of 150 'Army Class II' militiamen, mainly from Hertfordshire, arrived in December and a joint training battery was established at Redgrave Hall for them and the militiamen of 85th (East Anglian) Fd Rgt. With the regiment now over establishment, it was ordered to supply a cadre to form a new regiment, but this was cancelled.Joslen, p. 89.Sainsbury, Pt 1, pp. 68–73.Sainsbury, Pt 1, Appendix 3.Collier, Chapter 5.
The regiment handed over its forward deployment at Westleton in February 1940 and went into billets in Chelmsford. Then 54th (EA) Division moved to Northumberland, advance parties leaving on 30 March and the rest of the regiment by train on 6 April. RHQ and the Light Aid Detachment (LAD) of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps were billeted at Whalton, 341 Bty occupied Belsay Castle and 342 Bty Capheaton Hall. The 'Phoney War' ended on 10 May with the German invasion of the Low Countries; the regiment began anti-paratroop patrols and was placed under 6 hours' notice to move. To make best use of the resources, the five remaining serviceable 4.5s were concentrated in 342 Bty and 341 Bty became a rifle battery. The regimental signal section joined, having been under training with 54th Divisional Signals. The regiment received its first four 18/25-pounders on 6 June (these hybrids comprised a modern 25-pdr gun mounted on a converted 18-pdr carriage). The regiment carried out some field firing, and the LAD worked on the 'DP' guns to make them fit for firing.Sainsbury, Pt 1, pp. 19–20, 74–5.
By now the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) had been evacuated from Dunkirk without its equipment. Anti-invasion defence became a priority and 86th (HY) Fd Rgt was concentrated at Linden Hall, Longhorsley, near Morpeth to be closer to the shore. However, its 4.5s were taken away to be employed as single beach defence guns, and the need to re-equip the BEF's units led to an acute shortage of guns. In August two troops were each given two 60-pounder medium guns (reportedly World War I 'trophy guns' retrieved from public parks in Scotland) and at the end of the month eight World War I French M1897 75mm field guns arrived from the US under Lend-Lease. 86th (HY) Field Rgt exchanged a group of about 50 officers and other ranks with 19th Fd Rgt, a regular unit returned from Dunkirk, in order to spread its battle experience. By the beginning of October the regiment was deployed as follows:Farndale, p. 103.Sainsbury, Pt 1, pp. 76–7.
RHQ – Acton House, Felton LAD and B Echelon – Campbell's Farm, Old Felton 341 Bty BHQ – Widdrington Station A Trp (4 × 75mm) – Northsteads Farm B Trp (2 × 60-pdr) – Ulgham Park C Trp (4 × 75mm) – Houndalee Farm 342 Bty BHQ – Eastfield Hall D Trp (2 × 60-pdr) – Easthouses Farm, under command 341 Bty E Trp (4 × 18/25-pdr) – Eastfield Hall F Trp (4 × 18/25-pdr) – Swarland, under command 162 Infantry Bde Mobile Column