The 1st Fife Artillery Volunteers, later the Highland (Fifeshire) Heavy Battery, was a volunteer unit first recruited in Fife, Scotland, in 1860, which fought on the Western Front in the First World War. Its successor units expanded recruitment to Aberdeenshire and again fought in North West Europe, during the Second World War.

Volunteer Force (1859–1908) The Volunteer Force came into existence in 1859 as a result of an invasion scare, and the subsequent enthusiasm for joining local Rifle, Artillery and Engineer Volunteer Corps.Beckett.Grierson, pp. 1–12.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 1–4.Spiers, pp. 163–8. By 1860, there were 11 Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVCs) in Fifeshire, mainly in coastal towns:Beckett, Appendix VIII.Grierson, pp. 135–7.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 72–6. 1st (Tayport) Fife Artillery Volunteers, formed at Ferryport on Craig, 26 January 1860 2nd (Newport) Fife Artillery Volunteers, formed at Newport-on-Tay, 13 April 1860 3rd (St Andrews) Fife Artillery Volunteers, formed on 6 March 1860 4th (Inverkeithing) Fife Artillery Volunteers, formed on 3 March 1860 5th (Kirkcaldy) Fife Artillery Volunteers, formed on 22 March 1860 6th (Burntisland) Fife Artillery Volunteers, formed on 20 February 1860 7th (Anstruther) Fife Artillery Volunteers, formed at Elie on 8 March 1860 8th (Leven) Fife Artillery Volunteers, formed two batteries on 24 July 1860 9th (Dysart) Fife Artillery Volunteers, formed on 19 September 1860 10th (Wemyss) Fife Artillery Volunteers, formed out of the overflow of the 8th on 16 January 1862. 11th (Kinghorn) Fife Artillery Volunteers, formed on 30 April 1863

Together, these units comprised the 1st Fifeshire Administrative Brigade based in St Andrews under the command of Lt-Col W.H.M. Dougall, a Royal Navy officer. The administrative brigade also included the 1st and 2nd Stirlingshire AVCs at Grangemouth and Stirling respectively. It retained its organisation of 13 corps (later companies) throughout the 19th century. They were not connected with the Fife Artillery, which was a Militia regiment based in Cupar.Army List various dates.

Despite the ban on Volunteer involvement in politics, the band of the 5th Fife Artillery Volunteers illegally took part in a trade union demonstration in July 1873. This was a recurrent problem with the Volunteer bands, which were only nominally under military control.Beckett, p. 145.

At the time of the Childers Reforms in 1881, the Administrative Brigade was consolidated as the 1st Fifeshire Artillery Volunteers, covering Fifeshire and Stirlingshire, ranked 18th in the order of precedence of Artillery Volunteers. In 1882, all the artillery volunteers were attached to one of the territorial garrison divisions of the Royal Artillery (RA), and the unit it was included in the Scottish Division. When the Scottish Division was disbanded in 1889, the unit was transferred to the Southern Division.

In 1889, a position battery of 16-Pounder Rifled Muzzle Loading (RML) guns was issued to the Corps and manned by 3rd Battery. In 1892, this became the 1st Position Battery, with the 1st (Tayport) Company becoming the 2nd Position Battery, whilst the 2nd Company became the 3rd Position Battery.

In 1900, a new 14th Company was formed at Kirkaldy.

In 1899, the Artillery Volunteers were attached to the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA),. When the divisional structure was abolished, the unit was redesignated the 1st Fifeshire RGA (Volunteers) on 1 January 1902. There was also an affiliated Cadet Corps at Kirkcaldy High School.

Territorial Force

When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force in 1908 under the Haldane Reforms,Spiers, Chapter 10. the 1st Fifeshire RGA (V) (except No 7 Company) was split between three units: the Highland (Fifeshire) RGA, the Fifeshire Battery of the II Highland Brigade, Royal Field Artillery at Leven, and (together with the 1st Forfarshire RGA (V)) the North Scottish RGA, later renamed the Forth RGA, a 'defended ports' unit based at Edinburgh.London Gazette, 20 March 1908.London Gazette, 14 October 1910.Litchfield, p. 273.Monthly Army List August 1914.

The Highland (Fifeshire) RGA consisted of a heavy battery equipped with 4.7-inch guns and an ammunition column, based at Kirkcaldy, later at the Drill Hall, Elgin Street, Dunfermline, and was assigned to the Highland Division of the TF. From 1908 until the outbreak of war in August 1914, it was commanded by Major Lord Bruce, son of the Honorary Colonel of the 1st Fife RGA, the 9th Earl of Elgin and Kincardine (and himself later 10th Earl of Elgin and Kincardine).Litchfield, p. 283.Burke.51st (Highland) Division at Long, Long Trail.

World War I 1/1st Highland (Fifeshire) Battery The Highland (Fifeshire) Heavy Battery mobilised at Dunfermline and joined the Highland Division, which was concentrating around Bedford as part of First Army of Central Force. Having separated 'Home Service' men, who remained at the depots forming 2nd Line units with the recruits who were coming in, the division's 1st Line units (now distinguished by the prefix '1/') undertook training for overseas service. The Highland Division was later designated 51st (Highland) Division.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 103–5.

Aubers Ridge 1/1st Highland Battery went to France with the Highland Division, to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front, landing on 4 May 1915. However, artillery policy in the BEF was to withdraw heavy batteries from the divisions and group them into dedicated heavy artillery formations, so the battery was immediately posted to II Group, Heavy Artillery Reserve for the Battle of Aubers Ridge.'Allocation of Heavy Batteries RGA' and 'Allocation of HA Groups', The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 95/5494.Farndale, Western Front, Annex E. II Heavy Artillery Reserve consisted of a variety of heavy and siege batteries whose role was to support the assault of IV Corps by demolishing strongpoints and farms that were beyond the range of divisional field guns, and for counter-battery (CB) fire in the Ligny le Grand–Aubers–Fromelles sector. The group was provided with Royal Flying Corps reconnaissance aircraft fitted with wireless to assist observation in the flat country. The bombardment began at 05.00 on 9 May, and soon reports came in that many of the shells were falling short of their targets. This was due to faulty ammunition and wear and tear on the old 4.7-inch gun barrels. In many cases, the copper driving bands stripped off the shells as they left the barrels, resulting in the shell turning end over end and landing anywhere, even deep in the British support positions.Edmonds, 1915, Vol II, pp. 32–3. In spite of the CB fire, German guns were able to open up on the British trenches, which were soon packed with wounded men from the first attacking wave, and support troops waiting to follow up. A second attempt to attack in the afternoon was hampered by the shortage of artillery ammunition to repeat the bombardment.Farndale, Western Front, pp. 103–7.Aubers Ridge at Long, Long Trail.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 156–9.

The battery had been assigned to III Heavy Artillery Brigade on arrival in France, now it was moved to IV Heavy Bde on 3 July and VIII Heavy Bde on 20 August, before being attached to 5th Divisional Artillery from 4 September to 6 November. It then rejoined VIII Heavy Bde.

Somme

In April 1916, the heavy artillery brigades were renamed heavy artillery groups (HAGs), and the battery moved to 1st HAG on 14 June. 1st HAG was with Fourth Army preparing for that year's 'Big Push' (the Battle of the Somme.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 102–7. During the battle, the battery transferred to the 16th HAG on 7 July and on 27 July to 17th HAG, which came under Reserve Army for the latter stages. After the Somme fighting ended, 1/1st Highland Hvy Bty moved to 32nd HAG on 2 December.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 114–9.

Reorganisation On 10 December 1916, the battery was withdrawn from the line to rest and refit, replacing its 4.7-inch guns with 60-pounders. On 23 January 1917, it was joined by a section from 201st Heavy Battery, making it up to six guns. It then returned to action on 29 January. It moved to 56th HAG on 19 February 1917 and 4th HAG on 14 March (both with Reserve Army, now renamed Fifth Army) and then transferred to XVII Corps in Third Army with 7th HAG on 21 March. This corps was preparing for the Battle of Arras.Farndale, Western Front, p. 169.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 92–8.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 235–8.

Arras There were many more guns available for this attack and the artillery plan was much more carefully worked out than previous operations. It began with systematic CB work to put the German artillery out of action. Then, at Zero hour, howitzers laid a standing barrage on the German trenches while the 60-pounders swept and searched in depth to catch machine gunners and moving infantry. As the attacking infantry reached their second objective (the Blue Line), their field guns moved up in support and the 60-pounder batteries moved forward into the vacated positions. On XVII Corps' front, the attack was a great success, the 60-pounders laying a standing barrage on the distant final objective until the infantry reached it. However, the follow-up over succeeding days was less successful, the guns having to be moved forward through mud and destruction, and the later bombardments were rushed and less effective. Fighting on the Arras front dragged on into May.Farndale, pp. 164–74.Arras at Long, Long Trail.

Flanders 1/1st Highland Hvy Bty moved to 48th HAG on 16 May 1917, to 3rd HAG on 29 May, to 73rd on 26 June, and then to 28th HAG in Fourth Army on 7 July. Fourth Army was at the time stationed on the Flanders coast awaiting a breakthrough at Ypres that never came.Wolff, pp. 143–7. Eventually, the battery was transferred on 11 September to 35th HAG with Second Army, which was taking over the direction of the faltering offensive. The Battles of the Menin Road, Polygon Wood and Broodseinde were highly successful because of the weight of artillery brought to bear on German positions. But as the offensive continued with the Battle of Poelcappelle and First and Second Battles of Passchendaele, the tables were turned: British batteries were clearly observable from the Passchendaele Ridge and were subjected to CB fire, while their own guns sank into the mud and became difficult to aim and fire. 1/1st Highland Hvy Bty had been moved to 28th HAG on 17 October then, on 27 October, as the fighting at Passchendaele ground on, it was transferred away to 83rd HAG at Écurie, near Arras, in the quiet sector of First Army's front.Becke, Pt 4, pp. 82–6.Farndale, Western Front, pp. 211–13.Wolff, pp. 223–35, 249–51.Third Ypres at Long, Long Trail.83rd Bde RGA War Diary February 1917–February 1919, TNA file WO 95/478/4.

In the winter of 1917–18, the HAGs were reorganised as permanent brigades. 83rd HAG became 83rd Brigade, RGA, on 1 January 1918, defined as a 'Mixed' brigade, with 60-pdrs and various calibres of howitzers, assigned to CB duties under XIII Corps. 1/1st Highland Heavy Bty served with 83rd Bde until the end of the war.'Headquarters Heavy Artillery Groups', TNA file WO 95/5494/1.Farndale, Annex M.Walters & Hurle Hobbs, pp. 72–4.

Spring Offensive