The 1st Devonshire Artillery Volunteers and its successor units served in the British Army's Reserve Forces from 1859 to 1961. During World War I it carried out garrison duty in British India but went on to see active service in the Third Anglo-Afghan War. Converting to an air defence role before World War II its units participated in the Norwegian campaign and the Dunkirk evacuation, the Battle of Britain and then the campaigns in North Africa, Italy, and Burma
Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force came into existence in 1859 as a result of an invasion scare and the consequent enthusiasm for joining local Rifle, Artillery and Engineer Volunteer Corps.Beckett. By 8 August 1860 there were already enough Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVCs) in Devonshire to form an Administrative Brigade with its Headquarters (HQ) at Teignmouth:Beckett, Appendix VIII.Frederick, p. 654.1st Devonshire Artillery Volunteers at Regiments.org.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 52–4.Army Lists.
1st Administrative Brigade, Devonshire Artillery Volunteers HQ at Teignmouth; moved to Torquay in 1863 and to Exeter in 1865 1st (United Woodbury and Topsham 'Royal') Devonshire AVC, raised 18 August 1859 at Woodbury by Robert Brent, formerly a lieutenant in the Devon Artillery Militia; moved to Lympstone in 1874 2nd (Sidmouth) Devonshire AVC, raised 4 September 1859; disbanded November 1871 3rd (Teignmouth) Devonshire AVC, raised 15 November 1859 4th (Torquay) Devonshire AVC, raised 15 February 1860; had an additional half battery for a while from 9 October 1860 5th (Exeter) Devonshire AVC, raised 8 February 1860; later had a second battery 6th (Dartmouth) Devonshire AVC, raised 25 January 1860; transferred to 2nd Administrative Brigade in January 1861 7th (Weymouth) Devonshire AVC, raised at Weymouth, Dorsetshire, 11 March 1860; moved to Exmouth, Devonshire in July 1860 8th (Woodbury) Devonshire AVC, raised 31 March 1860; moved to Topsham in late 1861 and to Heavitree in May 1875 9th (Paignton) Devonshire AVC, formed as a section 2 June 1860, raised to a full battery 3 December 1860 10th (Salcombe) Devonshire AVC, formed as a sub-division 7 July 1860, raised to a full battery August 1860; transferred to 2nd Administrative Brigade in January 1861 11th (Brixham) Devonshire AVC, raised 20 July 1860 12th (Devonport Dockyard) Devonshire AVC, raised 20 December 1860; transferred to 2nd Administrative Brigade in February 1862 14th (Ilfracombe) Devonshire AVC, raised 23 June 1875
In January 1861, a 2nd Administrative Brigade was formed, taking over the units in the west of the county.2nd Devonshire Artillery Volunteers at Regiments.org.
Sir Lawrence Palk, 4th Bt, a former officer in 1st The Royal Dragoons, became lieutenant-colonel commanding the brigade on 2 September 1863, and honorary colonel in 1868, when Brent (promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 13 February 1866) took over command and Palk's son, Lawrence, (formerly an officer in the Scots Fusilier Guards) became a major in the unit. In January 1866, the 1st (Lyme Regis), 3rd (Bridport) and 4th (Portland) AVCs from the neighbouring county of Dorsetshire were included in the 1st Devonshire Administrative Brigade, joined by the 5th (Charmouth) and 6th (Swanage) upon formation in 1868 and 1869. All the Dorsetshire AVCs were transferred to the 1st Hampshire Administrative Brigade in January 1873.
In 1880, the AVCs were consolidated, and the 1st Devonshire Administrative Brigade became the 1st Devonshire AVC with the following composition: HQ at Exeter No 1 Battery at Lympstone; later at Tor Square, Torquay,Torquay at Drill Hall Project. with detachment at Lympstone,Lympstone at Drill Hall Project. former 1st Corps No 2 Battery at Drill Hall, New Market Buildings, Brixham,Brixham at Drill Hall Project. former 11th Corps No 3 Battery at Northumberland Place, West Teignmouth,Teignmouth at Drill Hall Project. former 3rd Corps No 4 Battery at Market Hall, Torquay, former 4th Corps Nos 5 & 6 Batteries at Exeter, former 5th Corps No 7 Battery HQ at Exeter Road (later at Ferry Road), Exmouth, with the guns at the beach,Exmouth at Drill Hall Project. former 7th Corps No 8 Battery at Fore Street, Heavitree,Exeter at Drill Hall Project. former 8th Corps No 9 Battery at Public Hall, Paignton,Paignton at Drill Hall Project. former 9th Corps No 10 Battery HQ at Drill Hall, Avenue Road, and Armoury at 24 Oxford Grove, Ilfracombe,Ilfracombe at Drill Hall Project. later HQ and Armoury at 2 Croft Side, High Street, Ilfracombe, former 14th Corps
The corps was attached to the Western Division of the Royal Artillery from 1 April 1882, changing its designation to 1st Volunteer (Devonshire) Brigade, Western Division on 1 September 1886. It changed its name to 1st Devonshire Volunteer Artillery in November 1891, and the batteries were termed companies. By 1893, the War Office Mobilisation Scheme had allocated the 1st Devonshire Artillery Volunteers to the Plymouth fixed defences.Mobilization Tables for Home Defence, List of Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteer Units, HMSO, London, 1893 On 1 June 1899 the Royal Artillery was split into two branches, and the Artillery Volunteers were assigned to the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA). The divisional organisation was abandoned on 1 January 1902 and the unit was re-titled 1st Devonshire Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers).Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 4–6.
Armament The 14th (Ilfracombe) Devonshire AVC was issued with a rifled gun together with a store of shot and powder in 1876, and it was installed on Beacon Point. In 1885, the battery at Beacon Point consisted of a 64-pounder RML gun and a 32-pounder mortar. In succeeding years, the old 64-pounder was sent to Combe Martin, where the unit had formed a half-battery, and two new 64-pounders replaced it and the mortar at Beacon Point. In 1905, two new 6-inch breech-loading guns were installed at Beacon Point.Artillery Volunteer Battery at John Moore's History of Hele.
Territorial Force When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908, the 1st Devonshire RGA became a brigade in the Royal Field Artillery (RFA). Its planned organisation was to have been the III (or 3rd) Wessex Brigade of two Devonshire batteries and the 3rd ammunition column. However, it changed to the IV (or 4th) Wessex in October 1908, and its final organisation in 1910 was as follows:Frederick, p. 682.Litchfield, pp. 42–8.London Gazette 20 March 1908.London Gazette 14 October 1910.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 43–8.
IV Wessex Brigade, RFA HQ and 1st Devonshire Battery at Drill Hall, 24 Friars' Walk, Exeter Detachment 1st Bty at Exmouth 2nd Devonshire Battery at Drill Hall South Parade, DartmouthDartmouth at Drill Hall Project. Detachment 2nd Bty at Public Hall, Paignton Detachment 2nd Bty at Drill Hall, Market Square, Torquay 3rd Devonshire Battery HQ and Gun Room at Crelake, TavistockTavistock at Drill Hall Project. Detachment 3rd Bty at Milton AbbotMilton Abbot at Drill Hall Project. IV Wessex Brigade Ammunition Column at Crediton
The IV Wessex formed part of the Wessex Division of the TF.
World War I Mobilisation On 26 July 1914, the Wessex Division was on Salisbury Plain, beginning its annual training. Three days later, with the international situation deteriorating, the division was warned to take 'precautionary measures'. The divisional HQ returned to Exeter and the units took up their precautionary posts across South West England. On 4 August, the division was ordered to mobilise for war. Between 10 and 13 August, the division returned to Salisbury Plain, this time under war conditions.
In September, the War Office decided to raise 2nd Line TF units and formations, so the IV Wessex (now designated the 1/IV Wessex) began recruiting a duplicate unit, the 2/IV Wessex Brigade, RFA, which would serve in the 2nd Wessex Division.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 55–60.
1/IV Wessex Brigade On 24 September, the 1st Wessex Division accepted liability for service in British India to relieve Regular Army units for the Western Front. The division's infantry battalions and field artillery brigades (less the ammunition columns, which were left behind) embarked at Southampton on 9 October and sailed via Gibraltar, Malta, and the Suez Canal to Bombay, where they disembarked on 9 November. Each of the brigade's three batteries arrived in India with five officers and 140 other ranks, manning four 15-pounder field guns.
Although the 1st Wessex was officially numbered the 43rd (Wessex) Division in early 1915, it never served as a complete formation during the war: on arrival in India all its units were distributed to various garrisons, the individual batteries of the 1/IV Wessex Bde being posted to separate stations. No reinforcements reached the units during 1915, and their strength began to dwindle, made worse by the requirement to provide drafts for other theatres of war, while many of the best Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) were taken away for officer training.
By 1916, it was clear that the complete division could not be returned to the Western Front as intended, so instead training was pushed forwards in India, some drafts were received from home, and the obsolescent 15-pounders were replaced by modern 18-pounder guns, to enable individual units to be sent to reinforce other theatres of war. The RFA brigades received numbers, the 1/IV Wessex becoming the CCXVIII (218th) Brigade, and in 1917 the batteries were also numbered, the 1/1st, 1/2nd and 1/3rd Devonshire Batteries becoming the 1094th, 1095th and 1096th. Subsequently, the batteries were increased to a strength of six guns by splitting one battery (1095th) up amongst the others. In July 1918, the brigade was returned to three-battery strength by the addition of 1104th (2/1st Wiltshire) Battery from 45th (2nd Wessex) Division (see below), so that by the end of the war the brigade had the following organisation:Frederick, p. 695.
CCXVIII Brigade, RFA 1094th (1/1st Devonshire) Battery 1096th (1/3rd Devonshire) Battery 1104th (2/1st Wiltshire) Battery
2/IV Wessex Brigade The units of the 2nd Wessex Division began to form as soon as the 1st Wessex had embarked for India. Any officers and men left behind by the 1st Line units were used to train the 2nd Line. On 25 November, the War Office decided to send the 2nd Wessex to India as well, despite its lack of training. On 12 December 1914, the whole division embarked at Southampton and disembarked at Bombay 4–8 January 1915. The RFA batteries arrived with the same strength of five officers and 140 other ranks, equipped with four 15-pounders. Only in March 1915 was it discovered that half the 15-pounders had obturator pads made of wood, and could not be used for practice until these items had been replaced from England.
Once the units were trained, they suffered from the same drain as the 1st Line, having to provide drafts for active theatres of war and losing their best NCOs for officer training. As with the 43rd Division, the artillery brigades of the 45th Division were gradually re-armed with the 18-pounder and received numbers, the 2/IV Wessex becoming CCXXVIII (228th).
On 12 August 1916, the 2/1st Devonshire Bty (later renumbered 1105th), was sent to Aden where it was re-equipped with 5-inch howitzers. It remained there until demobilisation in March 1919.
The 2/2nd Devonshire Bty received the number 1106, but was broken up during 1917 to bring other batteries up to 6-gun establishment.
By April 1917, CCXXVIII Bde had disappeared: the 2/1st Devonshire Bty at Aden was formally attached to CCXXVII (former 2/III Wessex) Bde and the 2/3rd Devonshire (which had become 1107th (Howitzer) Battery) joined XXI Bde RFA in 4th (Quetta) Division, stationed in Baluchistan in the southern part of the North West Frontier, where it remained until the end of World War I.Perry, p. 65.
3rd Afghan War