The 1st Sussex Artillery Volunteers was a part-time unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery from 1859 to 1961. Raised as coastal defence artillery, the unit later served as field artillery in Mesopotamia during World War I, and in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and North West Europe during World War II. It carried out a number of roles in the postwar Territorial Army.
Volunteer Force Origin 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 Sussex Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVC) was formed at Brighton on 19 November 1859. This soon reached a strength of eight batteries. Other AVCs were formed along the Sussex Coast and, on 8 June 1860, the 1st Administrative Brigade, Sussex Artillery Volunteers was formed at Brighton with the following composition:Beckett, Appendix VIII.Frederick, p. 670.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 160–4.Army List.1st Sussex Artillery Volunteers at Shoreham Fort. 1st Sussex AVC at Brighton 2nd Sussex AVC, formed at Fairlight, East Sussex on 13 March 1860 3rd Sussex AVC formed at Hailsham on 15 May 1860; HQ moved to Eastbourne in 1878 4th Sussex AVC, formed at Shoreham-by-Sea on 28 December 1860; absorbed into 1st Sussex AVC September 1864, regained independence 14 July 1875.
G.C. Dalbaic, formerly of the 4th Light Dragoons, was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 1st Admin Brigade in 1864, with Lt-Col Thomas G. Johnston of the 1st Sussex AVC as his major. Major Charles S. Hannington of the 1st Sussex AVC, owner of Hanningtons department store in Brighton, became lt-col of both the AVC and the Admin Brigade in 1868, and honorary colonel in 1873. In 1865, the 1st Sussex became the first unit to win the Queen's Prize at the annual National Artillery Association competition held at Shoeburyness. They subsequently won it again in 1867.Litchfield & Westlake, p.189.
In April 1880, the 1st Admin Brigade was consolidated as the 1st Sussex Artillery Volunteers with 12 batteries organised as follows: Nos 1 to 8 at Brighton No 9 at Fairlight Nos 10 and 11 at Eastbourne No 12 at Shoreham
The 1st Sussex was assigned to the Cinque Ports Division of the Royal Artillery (RA) in 1882, transferring to the Eastern Division after the Cinque Ports Division was disbanded in 1889.
In 1886, the unit was divided into the 1st and 2nd Sussex Artillery Volunteers based at Brighton and Eastbourne respectively.
Position artillery
As well as manning fixed coast defence artillery, from the early days of the Artillery Volunteers, Captain George Darby of the 3rd Sussex AVC, a former MP for Sussex, had promoted the idea of the Volunteers manning semi-mobile 'position batteries' of smooth-bore field guns pulled by agricultural horses. This concept was put into practice by a number of AVCs, but the War Office refused to pay for the upkeep of field guns and they had died out among the AVCs in the 1870s. In 1888, the concept was revived and some Volunteer batteries were reorganised as position artillery to work alongside the Volunteer infantry brigades. In 1892, the 1st Sussex was reorganised as follows:Beckett, p. 178.
No 1 Position Battery at Brighton Nos 2–6 Garrison Companies at Brighton No 7 Garrison Company at LewesLewes at Drill Hall Project. No 8 Garrison Company at High Street, ShorehamShoreham at Drill Hall Project.
In 1899, the Artillery volunteers were transferred to the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA), the Sussex units becoming the 1st Sussex RGA (V) at Brighton and 2nd Sussex RGA (V) at Eastbourne respectively, with the 2nd Sussex designated as position or 'heavy' artillery.
Railway gun
Charles Gervaise Boxall (1852–1914), a Brighton-born London solicitor, was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Sussex in 1873 and rose to become its commanding officer (CO) in 1893. In 1884 he published The Armoured Train for Coast Defence in Great Britain, outlining a new way to employ heavy artillery. No 6 Garrison Company of the 1st Sussex AVC was formed entirely from railway workers, and in 1894 they manned an Armoured train constructed in the workshops of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (of which the unit's Honorary Colonel, Sir Julian Goldsmid, was a director).Boxall at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Boxall was an enthusiastic member of the Volunteer Movement, and was awarded the Volunteer Decoration (VD) in 1894 and made a Companion of the Bath (CB) in 1897. He succeeded Goldsmid as Honorary Colonel in 1896. When the Second Boer War broke out, he suggested the creation of a combat unit drawn from the London volunteer units. This became the City of London Imperial Volunteers (CIV) to which he acted as secretary and depot commandant. Boxall was knighted (KCB) for his services during the war, and in 1906–7 he served on the committee that recommended the creation of the Territorial Force.Beckett, p. 212.
Territorial Force
When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908,Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. the bulk of the 1st and 2nd Sussex RGA (V) transferred to the Royal Field Artillery (RFA), forming the I Home Counties Brigade and two batteries of the II Home Counties Brigade respectively. Two companies of the 1st Sussex remained with the RGA to form part of the Kent and Sussex RGA.Frederick, pp. 676, 688.Litchfield, pp. 229–30.Litchfield, pp. 110 & 234.
The I (or 1st) Home Counties Brigade had the following organisation:
I Home Counties Brigade, RFA HQ at Drill Hall, Church Street, BrightonSussex at Great War Centenary Drill Halls.Brighton at Drill Hall Project. 1st Sussex Battery at Brighton 2nd Sussex Battery at Brighton 3rd Sussex Battery at Drill Hall, Marmion Road, Hove;Hove at Drill Hall Project. C Subsection at Shoreham 1st Home Counties Ammunition Column at WorthingWorthing at Drill Hall Project.
The three batteries were each equipped with four 15-pounder guns. The unit was assigned to the Home Counties Division of the TF.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 49–54.44 Div at Long, Long Trail.Conrad,1914.
Affiliated to the unit were the 1st Cadet Battalion, 1st Home Counties Bde, RFA, (Imperial Service Cadet Corps) at Brighton, the Steyne School Cadet Corps, and the Brighton Brigade, Sussex Cadets.
World War I Mobilisation On the outbreak of war, the TF was mobilised for home defence and units were then invited to volunteer for overseas service. On 15 August 1914 the War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and on 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. Duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were thereby created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way the 1/I and 2/I Home Counties Brigades were formed.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 75–82.67 Div at Long, Long Trail.
On the outbreak of war in August 1914, the unit was under the command of Lt-Col Sir Berry Cusack-Smith, 5th Bt, KCMG, former Consul-General to Valparaíso, and the officer commanding 1st Sussex Bty was Major A.P. Boxall (nephew of Sir Charles Boxall).
1/I Home Counties Brigade The bulk of the Home Counties Division, including the 1/I Home Counties Brigade without its Brigade Ammunition Column, embarked at Southampton and sailed on 30 October 1914 for India to relieve Regular Army units to fight on the Western Front. The Territorials disembarked at Bombay 1–3 December, and were allotted to various peacetime stations across India. Although the Home Counties Division remained in the order of battle and received a number (as the 44th (Home Counties) Division) in May 1915, it never served as a complete formation during the First World War. On arrival in India 1/I Home Counties Bde was assigned to the 5th (Mhow) Division.Perry, pp. 68–9.
The Territorials completed their training in India to prepare them for possible active service, and they supplied drafts to units serving in the Mesopotamian campaign. When there was an urgent request for reinforcements to lift the Turkish Army's Siege of Kut, the 1/I Home Counties Bde was part of the 'Emergency Force' sent from India. Still armed with obsolescent 15-pounders it landed at Basra between 7 and 12 December 1915 and in January 1916 it joined Tigris Corps (soon afterward retitled III Indian Corps).Moberly, Vol II, p. 126.Farndale, Forgotten Fronts, p. 219.
Mesopotamia 1916 1/1st and 1/2nd Sussex Batteries moved up with the Emergency Force to reinforce Nasiriyah on the Euphrates, while 1/3rd Sussex Bty and Bde HQ followed later. During January, 12th Indian Division HQ at Nasiriyah pushed a force including 1/2nd Sussex Bty a few miles up the river to Butaniyah against some opposition, but there it halted.Moberly, Vol II, pp. 191, 208–11. Meanwhile, 1/1st Sussex Bty with 7th (Meerut) Division took part in the Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad, attempting to dislodge the main Turkish force blocking the way to Kut. The force advanced on both banks of the Euphrates, the 1/1st Sussex Bty accompanying the column on the left bank. The attack went in on 6 January, but morning mist followed by Mirage made accurate artillery fire difficult in the flat featureless terrain. Even with the support of 1/1st Sussex Bty, the 37th Dogras had only got to about 800 yards from the Turkish trenches by 15.30 and were digging in under heavy fire. The attack was called off to allow the troops to regroup. In a renewed attack the following day, the battery suffered the same problems, and the column had no better success. The right bank column, however, succeeded in taking Sheikh Sa'ad, despite heavy casualties. The force was too exhausted to take immediate advantage of the position.Moberly, Vol II, pp. 212–38.Farndale, Forgotten Fronts, pp. 223–4.
An attempt to turn the enemy line on 13 January led to the Battle of the Wadi. 1/1st Sussex Bty again supported 7th (Meerut) Division. The infantry forded the River Wadi with ease, but it constituted a serious obstacle to artillery, so the guns were not across until the afternoon. Once they had come into action at 13.30, firing into the rear of the Turkish guns and trenches at a range of 3500 yards, 7th (Meerut) Division began its attack. Most of the Turkish artillery fire was directed at the British guns rather than the infantry, but the attack still made little progress. The divisional artillery had to be concentrated before the next attack, and bad weather on 14 January delayed this. Meanwhile, the Turks had slipped away to their next position of strength at Hanna, and pursuit was hampered by the weather.Moberly, Vol II, pp. 243–59. On 7 February the detachment at Butaniyah was withdrawn, 1/2nd Sussex Bty covering the retirement.Moberly, Vol II, p. 296.
By the beginning of March, the relief force had been reinforced, including 1/3rd Sussex Bty, and a new advance against the Hanna position was begun. 1/1st and 1/3rd Sussex Btys remained with the weak force left to contain the enemy and guard the British camp and bridges, so they played little part in the Battle of Dujaila, which was another failure.Moberly, Vol II, pp. 314.