The 1st Ayrshire and Galloway Artillery Volunteer Corps was formed in 1859 as a response to a French invasion threat. It was transferred to the Territorial Force (TF) in 1908 and its successor units fought with the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division in Palestine during World War I, and in North West Europe and Burma during World War II. It continued in the Territorial Army (TA) until amalgamation in 1967.Frederick, pp. 649, 661.Litchfield, pp. 278–9.
Artillery Volunteers The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle and Artillery Volunteer Corps composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need.Beckett.Grierson, pp. 1–12.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 1–4.Spiers, pp. 163–8. The 1st Administrative Brigade of Ayrshire Artillery Volunteers was formed with its headquarters (HQ) at Irvine, North Ayrshire, in November 1860. It comprised the following Ayrshire Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVCs):Beckett, Appendix VIII.Grierson, pp. 146–8.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 27–8.Army List, various dates. 1st Corps formed at Irvine on 22 December 1859, as one and a half batteries; reduced to one battery in 1862. 2nd Corps formed at Ayr on 31 January 1860, as one and a half batteries; increased to two batteries in 1874. 3rd Corps formed at Largs on 1 March 1860, as one battery. 4th Corps formed at Ardrossan on 3 March 1860, as one battery. 5th Corps formed at Kilmarnock on 12 July 1860, as one battery; increased in 1864 to one and a half batteries.
In 1863, the following corps were added to the brigade: 1st Kirkcudbright Artillery Volunteers formed at Kirkcudbright on 2 February 1860, as one battery.Litchfield & Westlake, p. 104. 1st Wigtown Artillery Volunteers formed at Stranraer on 20 February 1860, as one battery. 2nd Wigtown Artillery Volunteers formed at Port Patrick on 22 February 1860, as one battery.Litchfield & Westlake, p. 171. 3rd Wigtown Artillery Volunteers formed at Sandhead on 4 May 1867 as one battery and became part of the brigade.
The first commanding officer (CO) of the administrative brigade was Major Sir Edward Hunt-Blair, 4th Baronet of Dunskey, Wigtown, appointed on 8 May 1861, who was replaced on 17 July 1863 by Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon Greville Vernon, whose his second-in-command (with the rank of major) was Captain (later Admiral) John Eglinton Montgomerie, Royal Navy. Hunter-Blair was reappointed (with the rank of lieutenant-colonel) on 4 September 1866.
In 1863, brigade HQ moved from Irvine to Ayr and, in May 1880, the brigade was consolidated as the 1st Ayrshire & Galloway Artillery Volunteers, with headquarters at Ayr and 11 batteries as follows:
No 1 at Irvine (late 1st Ayrshire Corps) Nos 2 and 3 at Ayr (late 2nd Ayrshire Corps) No 4 at Largs (late 3rd Ayrshire Corps) No 5 at Ardrossan (late 4th Ayrshire Corps) Nos 6 and 7 at Kilmarnock (late 5th Ayrshire Corps) No 8 at Kirkcudbright (late 1st Kirkcudbright Corps) No 9 at Stranraer (late 1st Wigtown Corps) No 10 at Port Patrick (late 2nd Wigtown Corps) No 11 at Sandhead (late 3rd Wigtown Corps)
Position artillery The AVCs were intended to serve as garrison artillery manning fixed defences, but a number of the early units manned semi-mobile 'position batteries' of smooth-bore field guns pulled by agricultural horses. At that time, they were not officially supported by the War Office (WO). The concept was revived in 1888 when some Volunteer batteries were reorganised as position artillery to work alongside the Volunteer infantry brigades.Beckett, pp. 178–9.Litchfield and Westlake, pp. 3–6. In 1889, a position battery of 16-pounder Rifled Muzzle Loading (RML) guns was issued to the 1st Ayrshire & Galloway and manned by the two Kilmarnock batteries. In that year, the HQ moved to Kilmarnock.
In 1892, the existing position battery took the number 1, absorbing the 6th and 7th Companies. In 1901, two more batteries of 9 Pounder Rifled Muzzle Loading (RML) guns were issued to the corps, which took the numbers 2 and 3 and absorbed the Irvine and Ayr Companies, and an extra personnel formed as a 6th Company at Kilmarnock. The 8th to 11th Companies took the numbers 7 to 10.
Royal Garrison Artillery In 1882, all the AVCs were affiliated to one of the territorial garrison divisions of the Royal Artillery (RA) and the 1st Ayrshire & Galloway AVC became part of the Scottish Division. In 1889, the structure was altered, and the corps joined the Southern Division. In 1899, the RA was divided into separate field and garrison branches, and the artillery volunteers were all assigned to the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA). When the divisional structure was abolished, their titles were changed, the unit becoming the 1st Ayrshire and Galloway Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers) on 1 January 1902, with its HQ at Kilmarnock. The following year the position batteries were redesignated as heavy batteries.
In 1903, 4.7-inch Quick Firing (QF) guns replaced the RML armament of all three heavy batteries. The final organisation of the unit until 1908 was as follows: No 1 Heavy Battery at Kilmarnock Nos 2 and 3 Heavy Batteries at Ayr Nos 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 Garrison Companies (No 6 vacant, accounted for by extra personnel in the heavy batteries)
The corps carried out its gun practice at Irvine. It used the Ayrshire Rifle Association range at Irvine for musketry, except the 7th to 10th Companies, which had ranges near their own headquarters.
In 1900, over 600 men of the unit volunteered to serve in the Second Boer War. However, as artillery men were not required, they were not accepted. Twenty-eight men served in South Africa during the war with other units.
Territorial Force When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force in 1908 under the Haldane Reforms,Beckett, pp. 247–53.Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. the 1st Ayrshire and Galloway RGA (V) was to have formed the III (or 3rd) Lowland Brigade in the Royal Field Artillery (RFA). The new unit would have had the following organisation:Frederick, p. 679.London Gazette 20 March 1908. HQ Ayrshire Battery – from Nos 1,2 and 3 Heavy Btys Kirkcudbright Battery – from No 7 Company Wigtownshire Battery – from Nos 8–10 Companies 3rd Lowland Ammunition Column – from Nos 4–6 Companies It also provided a nucleus for the Lowland Mounted Brigade Transport & Supply Column, Army Service Corps.
However, the Wigtownshire Battery was soon disbanded, the Ayrshire battery expanded to two on 12 September, and the brigade renumbered as II (2nd) by October 1908, giving the final organisation:London Gazette, 14 October 1910.
II Lowland Brigade, RFA HQ at Irvine 1st Ayrshire Battery at Irvine 2nd Ayrshire Battery at Titchfield Street, KilmarnockAyrshire at Great War Centenary Drill Halls. Kirkcudbright Battery at Dee Walk, KircudbrightKirkcudbrightshire at Great War Centenary Drill Halls. 2nd Lowland Ammunition Column at Ardrossan
The II Lowland Brigade was part of the TF's Lowland Division. The batteries were each issued with four 15-pounder guns.Thompson, pp. 3–6.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 109–15.52 (L) Division at Long, Long Trail.52 (L) Division at Regimental Warpath.
World War I Mobilisation The Lowland Division had been attending annual camp on the Ayrshire coast when the order to mobilise was received at 17.25 on Tuesday August 1914. Mobilisation began the following day at unit drill halls, and units undertook some guard duties until mobilisation was completed on 10 August, when the division went to its war stations as the mobile reserve in Scotland. II Lowland Bde was stationed at Larbert, near Stirling, with a battery detached to Invergordon to defend the naval base.
On the outbreak of war, units of the TF were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service. On 15 August the WO issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. Then, 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. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way, duplicate batteries, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.
1/II Lowland Brigade
Egypt On 11 May 1915, the Lowland Division was numbered as 52nd (Lowland) Division, and later that month it began embarking for the Mediterranean, expecting to reinforce the Gallipoli Campaign. Only a portion of the artillery embarked, but 1/II Lowland Bde was one of those that accompanied the division. It travelled by rail to Devonport where on 2 June a section of 1/1st Ayrshire Bty sailed on the troopship Mercian with 1/IV Lowland Bde. The rest of the battery and the Brigade Ammunition Column (BAC) followed with the divisional cyclists and ambulances aboard the Karoa on 5 June, and the 1/2nd Ayrshire and 1/1st Kirkcudbright batteries with the small arms ammunition (SAA) sections of the rest of the BACs aboard the Marquette on 7 June. Although the first ships arrived off Gallipoli, only one infantry brigade landed and the rest were diverted to Egypt; the three ships carrying 1/I Lowland Bde went straight to Port Said, where they arrived on 17, 20 and 23 June respectively. The rest of the infantry did then sail to Gallipoli, but the only artillery sent was 1/IV Lowland Bde with its high-angle howitzers; apart from the SAA section of its BAC, 1/II Lowland Bde with its 15-pdrs never reached the peninsula, remaining at in Egypt during the whole campaign.Farndale, Forgotten Fronts, p. 40.Thompson, pp. 7–15.
1/II Lowland Bde under Lt-Col Wilson was stationed at El Kubri, north of Suez, from 7 January 1916, but when 52nd (L) Division was evacuated back to Egypt following the failure of the Gallipoli campaign and the brigade rejoined it at El Qantara in March. The division took over part of No 3 Section of the Suez Canal defences. Two sections of the brigade (both sections of the Kirkcudbright battery were sent) were then detailed for duty on the Egypt's western frontier to defend against the Senussi. The old 15-pdrs and wagons were dragged for two days from the railhead at Sollum harnessed to camels. The following month the brigade was re-armed with modern 18-pounder guns. The guns were equipped with 'ped-rails', block of wood attached to the wheels to prevent them sinking into soft sand. The brigade was redesignated CCLX (or 260) Brigade, RFA, on 28 May 1916, and the batteries became A, B and C.Farndale, Forgotten Fronts, p. 72.Frederick, p. 691.MacMunn & Falls, Vol I, p. 180; Sketch 10; Appendix 2.Thompson, pp. 251–2, 265.