The 1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, later 2nd North Midland Brigade, was a Volunteer unit of the Royal Artillery of the British Army recruiting primarily from Staffordshire. It fought on the Western Front during World War I and in the Normandy Campaign and Belgium, Holland, and Germany during World War II. Postwar, it was reformed as a specialist locating unit.
Volunteer Force
The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many units composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need.Beckett. The 1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVC) was one such unit, formed at Etruria, Staffordshire, with the first officers' commissions being issued on 18 December 1860. A second battery was formed by October 1863, a third on 16 October 1866 and a fourth on 10 May 1879.Beckett, Appendix VIII.Frederick, pp. 668–71.Litchfield & Westlake, p. 154. Initially, the 1st Staffordshire (along with the 1st Shropshire and 1st Worcestershire AVCs; there were no 2nd AVCs in any of these counties) formed part of the 1st Cheshire Administrative Brigade. In 1869, it became part of a new 1st Shropshire Administrative Brigade (again with the 1st Shropshire and 1st Worcestershire), with William Field of the 1st Shropshire as lieutenant-colonel in command.Monthly Army Lists.
Later, the Worcester Volunteers left to join with the Warwickshires and, in 1880, the 1st Shropshire and Staffordshire Volunteer Artillery were consolidated into a single unit, with the Staffords providing Nos 5 to 8 Batteries. It was organised as a brigade of 'position artillery', equipped with 16 Pounder Rifled Muzzle Loading field guns. In 1882, all the artillery volunteers were attached to one of the territorial garrison divisions of the Royal Artillery, with the Shropshire and Staffordshire unit attached to the Lancashire Division. When the Lancashire Division was abolished in 1889, the unit transferred to the Southern Division. In 1899, all the artillery volunteers became part of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) and in 1902 the unit was renamed the 1st Shropshire and Staffordshire RGA (Volunteers) with two companies. As late as 1906, they were still using the 16 Pounders in their annual camp at Bare, Morecambe. The brigade's headquarters was at Etruria, later moving to Shelton, Staffordshire.Harrison, p. 313.Harrison & Duckers.
Territorial Force When the RGA (V) were incorporated into the Territorial Force in 1908 under the Haldane Reforms, the Shropshire Battery was separated once more to become the Shropshire Royal Horse Artillery.London Gazette 20 March 1908.London Gazette 20 March 1908Frederick, p. 674. The Staffordshire Battery expanded to form two and these were joined by a third battery formed from J Company of the 1st Volunteer Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment at Leek. This company had originally been raised as the 28th Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps on 28 April 1860 (the rest of the 1st VB became 5th Battalion North Staffordshires).Beckett, Appendix VII.Westlake, pp. 217–21. Together, the RGA at Shelton and the infantry at Leek were formed into a brigade of the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) with the following organisation:Frederick, p. 679.MacDonald, pp. 8–10.Litchfield, p. 210.
II North Midland Brigade, RFA HQ at Victoria Square, Shelton 1st Staffordshire Battery, Shelton 2nd Staffordshire Battery, Shelton 3rd Staffordshire Battery, Alma Street, Belle Vue, Leek II North Midland Brigade Ammunition Column, Shelton
The brigade was assigned to the North Midland Division of the TF.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 61–7. Sir Smith Hill Child, 2nd Baronet, a local Staffordshire landowner and former officer in the Irish Guards, was appointed commanding officer in 1910.Burke: 'Child of Newfield'.
World War I Mobilisation The order to mobilise was received on 4 August 1914. Shortly afterwards, the men were invited to volunteer for overseas service, and the majority having accepted this liability, the North Midland Division concentrated at Luton. In November, it moved to the area round Bishop's Stortford where it completed its war training. At the time of mobilisation, the three batteries of II North Midland Brigade were each equipped with four 15-pounder field guns.
Meanwhile, the men who had not volunteered for foreign service, together with the recruits who were coming forward, remained at Stoke-on-Trent to form a 2nd Line unit designated the 2/II North Midland Brigade, after which the parent unit became the 1/II Brigade.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 17–23.
1/II North Midland Brigade The North Midland Division began embarking for France on 25 February 1915 and, by 8 March, had completed its concentration at Ploegsteert in Belgium – the first complete TF division to deploy to the Western Front. It was numbered the 46th (North Midland) Division shortly afterwards. Over the following months, the artillery supported the division's infantry in routine trench warfare, particularly when 139th (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) Brigade was caught in the German flamethrower attack at Hooge in the Ypres Salient on 30–31 July 1915.MacDonald, pp. 32–5.
Hohenzollern Redoubt The 46th Division's first offensive operation was the Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt. This was an attempt to restart the failed Battle of Loos, and the division was moved down from Ypres on 1 October for the purpose. The Germans recaptured the Hohenzollern trench system on 3 October, and the new attack was aimed at this point. The artillery bombardment (by the field guns of 46th and 28th Divisions, backed by heavy batteries) began at 12.00 on 13 October and the infantry went in at 14.00 behind a gas cloud. The attack was a disaster; most of the leading waves being cut down by machine gun and shell fire from German positions that had not been suppressed by the bombardment.Cherry, pp. 269–97.Rawson, pp. 120–8.
On 23 December, the 46th (NM) Division was ordered to embark for Egypt. It entrained for Marseille, and some of the infantry had actually reached Egypt before the order was rescinded on 21 January 1916. The artillery returned from Marseille and the whole division reassembled on the Western Front near Amiens by 14 February.
46th Divisional Artillery rearmed with 18-pounder guns in November 1915. In April and May 1916, the BEF's artillery was reorganised: II North Midland Brigade became CCXXXI Bde RFA (231 Brigade), its batteries were lettered A–C, and a new D Battery was formed. D Battery was almost immediately exchanged for D (Howitzer) Battery from CCXXXIII Brigade (formerly A Battery of CLIV (Empire) Brigade, a unit from Croydon attached to the New Army 36th (Ulster) Division) equipped with 4 x 4.5-inch howitzers. Lastly, the Brigade Ammunition Columns were absorbed into the Divisional Ammunition Column.Frederick, p. 692.MacDonald, pp. 86, 108.
Gommecourt On 1 May 1916, the division was ordered into the line facing Gommecourt in preparation for the forthcoming Somme Offensive. Over the first 10 days of the month, the divisional artillery took over the existing battery positions along this front and began digging additional ones. The sector was a quiet one, but on the night of 15/16 May there was a sudden German bombardment of the division's positions, apparently set off by the Germans detecting a wiring party of the adjacent 56t (1st London) Division working in No-Man's Land. CCXXXI's batteries returned the fire from their position behind Foncquevillers, and the exchange went on for about 50 minutes.MacDonald, pp. 69, 80, 89–90.
Preparations were under way for the 46th and 56th Divisions' assault on Gommecourt on 1 July as a diversion from the main attack further south. While the heavy guns were moved up and dug in, CCXXXI's 18-pounders were used on 22 May to bombard a suspected German machine gun position.MacDonald, p. 107. On 18 June, the divisional artillery was allocated its tasks for wire-cutting and registration of targets ahead of the attack: CCXXXI and CCXXXII Brigades formed the Left group, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hill Child of CCXXXI. This group supported the attack of 139 Brigade, which was made by two battalions (1/5th and 1/7th (Robin Hoods) Sherwood Foresters) over a frontage of 520 yards into an area of dead ground in front of Gommecourt Wood where the German wire entanglements could not be seen by artillery observers.MacDonald, pp. 165–8.
Although CCXXXI Brigade thought that its wirecutting was successful, the results of this bombardment were patchy.MacDonald, pp. 214–5. The Germans reported that in this area their 'front trenches were levelled and the wire shot away' but their casualties had been few because of their deep dugouts, and when the attack went in on 1 July their men emerged to receive the attack with heavy machine-gun and rifle fire.Edmonds, 1916, pp. 474–5. During the attack, the 18-pounders fired a covering barrage, which was lifted onto each enemy trench line in turn, but the infantry were unable to keep up with these lifts: artillery observation during the attack was difficult due to the smokescreen and confusion.Edmonds, 1916, p. 461.MacDonald, pp. 455–57. 139 Brigade broke into the first German trench and some parties reached the second, but overall the attack was a bloody failure, as was the whole Gommecourt action.Edmonds, 1916, pp. 467–8.MacDonald, pp. 358–417.Anon, Robin Hoods, pp. 202–7. Attempts to reinforce 139 Brigade during the afternoon broke down and the Germans retook the positions lost.Edmonds, 1916, pp. 469–70.MacDonald, pp. 418–63.
Although the 46th Division remained in the line in front of Gommecourt until March 1917 (apart from a month's rest in November), it did not attack again. On 28 August 1916, the brigade's former D Battery returned, and was broken up to bring B and C Batteries up to six guns each. Similarly, A Battery received a section from CCXXXII Brigade's D Battery. On 2 January 1917, C (H)/CCXXXII (former 512 (H) Battery) was broken up and a section joined D (H)/CCXXXI to bring it up to six 4.5-inch howitzers. For the remainder of the war, the brigade had the following organisation: A/CCXXXI (1st Stafford Battery + half former D/CCXXXII) 6 x 18-pdrs B/CCXXXI (2nd Stafford Battery + half former D Battery) 6 x 18-pdrs C/CCXXXI (3rd Stafford Battery + half former D Battery) 6 x 18-pdrs D (H)/CCXXXI (Empire Battery + half 512 Battery) 6 x 4.5-inch howitzers
Bucquoy At the beginning of March 1917, patrols found that the Germans were beginning to retreat from the Gommecourt defences. The division followed up slowly and cautiously, but on the night of 14 March an attack on Bucquoy Graben (trench) by 137th (Staffordshire) Brigade led to heavy casualties. The rushed attack had been ordered by V Corps headquarters despite the protests of the divisional commander, and there was not time for the artillery adequately to cut the enemy wire. The attack went in behind an artillery barrage moving at 100 yards in four minutes but although 'the assault was gallantly pressed' (Official History) it was a complete failure.MacDonald, pp. 556–7.Campbell-Johnson, p. 9.Falls, pp. 108–9.Accounts of attack on Bucquoy at Buxton War Memorials The Germans eventually retreated as far as their new Hindenburg Line defences well beyond the Somme battlefields, but 46th Division was withdrawn from the pursuit on 17 March.MacDonald, pp. 559–6.
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