The 1st Glamorganshire Artillery Volunteers was formed in 1859 in response to a French invasion threat. Raised as a coast artillery unit, it later became part of the Royal Field Artillery in the Territorial Force and served during both World Wars until amalgamated in 1961.
Volunteer Force The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Volunteer Corps composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need.Beckett.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 1–3.Spiers, pp. 163–168. A number of Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVCs) were formed for coastal defence in South Wales, and by 8 November 1861 they had been consolidated into the 1st Administrative Brigade of Glamorganshire Artillery Volunteers based at Cardiff with the following components:Frederick, p. 658.Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 81–85.1st Glamorgan Artillery Volunteers at Regiments.org.Beckett, Appendix VIII. 1st Corps formed at Swansea on 10 December 1859 2nd Corps formed at Briton Ferry on 2 June 1860 3rd Corps formed at Cardiff on 13 June 1860 (absorbed the 4th Corps in 1864) 4th Corps formed at Cardiff on 13 June 1860 (absorbed by the 3rd Corps in 1864)
The 1st Glamorgan AVC at Swansea was raised by Captain George Grant Francis. The unit's initial training was given by the permanent staff of the Swansea-based Royal Glamorgan Artillery Militia (RGAM). In 1860 a pair of 18-pounder muzzle-loading cannon arrived in Swansea for the Volunteers who installed them on the Swansea Embankment. The RGAM, which had no guns of its own, were able to use them for their 1860 annual training. A proposal to mount a heavy battery for the RGAM on the salient angle of Swansea Pier was abandoned when it was found that the structure would not support its weight. In June 1861 five 68-pounder muzzle-loaders were installed in a two-tier battery at Lighthouse Island off Mumbles Point. A sergeant and five gunners of the Coast Brigade of the Royal Artillery were responsible for maintaining the battery, but its manning was the responsibility of the RGAM and the Volunteers. In the late 1870s at least two of the 68-pdrs were replaced by 80-pdr rifled muzzle-loaders on traversing slide carriages, but financial stringency prevented any further modernisation and the battery's armament remained unchanged to the end of the 19th Century.Owen, Glamorgan Militia, pp. 161–177.
Captain John Hewett of the 3rd Glamorgan AVCLondon Gazette, 19 June 1860. commanded the 1st Admin Brigade as a Major, later Lieutenant-Colonel.London Gazette, 15 August 1862. Lieutenant-Col Hewett became the Honorary Colonel of the 1st Admin Brigade on 22 July 1864, when Maj Edward Stock Hill of the 3rd Glamorgan AVC succeeded him in command;London Gazette, 26 July 1864. Capt Francis of the 1st Glamorgan AVC had previously been promoted as second major of the brigade on 6 May 1864 and became second lt-col on 27 April 1868.
Also attached to the Admin Brigade were the 1st Glamorgan Light Horse Volunteers (formed at Cardiff 15 February 1861, disbanded 1873)Beckett, Appendix X. and the 1st Monmouthshire AVC at Newport (attached from 1864 to 1866).Litchfield & Westlake, p. 131.
In May 1880 the Corps were consolidated as the 1st Glamorganshire Artillery Volunteer Corps with 17 batteries provided by the following Corps: Number 1, 2, 3 batteries (Swansea) by the 1st Corps Number 4 battery (Morriston) by the 1st Corps Number 5 battery (Briton Ferry) by the 2nd Corps Number 6 battery (Skewen) by the 2nd Corps Number 7 battery (Neath) by the 2nd Corps Number 8-14 batteries (Cardiff) by the 3rd Corps Number 15 battery (Bridgend) by the 3rd Corps Number 16 and 17 batteries (Penarth) by the 3rd Corps
In 1890 the unit's headquarters was moved to Swansea from Cardiff and the Cardiff batteries were detached to form a new 2nd Glamorganshire AVC as a separate unit.<ref name = Regts/Army List, various dates. The commanding officer (CO), Sir Edward Stock Hill, Member of Parliament for Bristol South, first appointed on 22 July 1864, remained Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of both units, though each had its own lieutenant-colonel and Honorary Colonel.
The Glamorganshire Artillery Volunteers formed part of the Welsh Division of the Royal Artillery (RA) from 1882 until 1889 when they were absorbed into the Western Division. By 1893 the War Office Mobilisation Scheme had allocated the 1st Glamorgan Artillery Volunteers to the defences at Milford Haven.Mobilization Tables for Home Defence, List of Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteer Units, HMSO, London, 1893 In 1899 the artillery volunteers became part of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA). On 1 January 1902 the RGA's divisional structure was abolished, and the unit at Swansea was designated the 1st Glamorganshire RGA (Volunteers).Litchfield & Westlake, pp. 4–6.
Territorial Force When the Volunteer Force was subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908,Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. the 1st Glamorganshire RGA (V) transferred to the Royal Field Artillery with the following organisation:Frederick, p. 682.Litchfield, pp. 78–79.London Gazette, 20 March 1908.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 117–123.
1st Welsh (Howitzer) Brigade RFA HQ at Park Road Drill Hall, SwanseaSwansea at Drill Hall Project. 1st Glamorgan (Howitzer) Battery at Swansea 2nd Glamorgan (Howitzer) Battery at Vere Street, Briton FerryBriton Ferry at Drill Hall Project. 1st Welsh Ammunition Column at Banwell Street, MorristonGlamorganshire at Great War Centenary Drill Halls.
The unit was the senior field artillery brigade in the TF's Welsh Division, and was equipped with 5-inch breechloading howitzers.Ward, pp. 9-10.Conrad, British Army, 1914.53 (W) Division at Long, Long Trail.
World War I Mobilisation After the order to mobilise was received on 4 August 1914, the units of the Welsh Division assembled at their drill halls. The 1st Welsh Brigade mobilised at Swansea under the command of a regular officer, Major (Temporary Lt-Col, TF) J. Henry.
By 11 August the Welsh units had completed their concentration and TF members were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service. Four days later the War Office (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.Frederick, p. 694.
1/I Welsh Brigade, RFA
At the end of August the Welsh Division concentrated at Northampton to continue its training. On 18 November the division was warned for garrison duty in India, but this was cancelled and in December it moved to Cambridge, then to Bedford in May 1915. In July the infantry of the division (now renamed the 53rd (Welsh) Division) embarked for service at Gallipoli, but the divisional artillery remained at Bedford. In October the batteries were re-armed with modern 4.5-inch howitzers and on 8 November they handed over their obsolescent 5-inch howitzers to their 2nd Line unit, which had just arrived at Bedford.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 83–90.Ward, p. 13.
53rd (Welsh) Divisional Artillery was now ordered to France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front. It embarked on 20 November and had concentrated at Pont-Remy by 25 November, from where parties were sent to various divisional artilleries for instruction in front line duties.Ward, pp. 56–57.
Meanwhile, after suffering appalling casualties at Gallipoli, 53rd (Welsh) Division had been withdrawn to Egypt to refit. On 30 January 1916 the divisional artillery was ordered to rejoin the rest of the division. The batteries entrained at Pont-Remy, embarked at Marseille on 3 February and disembarked at Alexandria on 11 February. By 22 February the artillery had rejoined the division at Beni Salama. For the rest of the year the recuperating division was stationed in the Suez Canal defences.Farndale, Forgotten Fronts, p. 73.
In May 1916 the TF field brigades were numbered, the 1st Welsh being designated CCLXV (265) Brigade, RFA, and the batteries became A and B. Then on 25 December 1916 the divisional artillery was reorganised: A (1/1st Glamorgan) (H) Bty became C (H) Bty in CCLXVII (1/Cheshire) Bde, which took over the number CCLXV, while B (1/2nd Glamorgan) (H) Bty became C (H) Bty in CCLXVI (1/II Welsh) Bde; the Brigade Ammunition Column was absorbed into the Divisional Ammunition Column.Ward, p. 66.
Both batteries fought with their new brigades throughout the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of 1917–18, including the Battles of Gaza, the Fall of Jerusalem, and the final victory at Megiddo.Ward.
2/I Welsh Brigade, RFA
Although formation of the 2nd Line units began in September 1914, the 2nd Welsh Division (68th (2nd Welsh) Division from August 1915) did not concentrate at Northampton until April 1915, moving in the summer to replace the 53rd (Welsh) Division at Bedford. Training of the units was made difficult by the lack of arms and equipment, and the requirement to provide drafts to the 1st Line overseas. In June the first saddlery and horses began to arrive, but no guns until August, when the brigade received four French De Bange 90 mm guns. Some ammunition wagons arrived in September, and eight more 90 mm guns in October. Training began to speed up. In November the 90 mm guns were handed in, and the brigade moved to Bedford to take over the 5-inch howitzers from the 1st Line.
68th (2nd Welsh) Division was now assigned a role in Home Defence and joined First Army (Home Forces) in Central Force, with its units quartered across Eastern England. In May 1916 the brigade was numbered CCCXL (340) Brigade and the batteries became A and B. However, like the 1st Line brigade, it was broken up before the end of 1916 to provide howitzer batteries to the field gun brigades: A (2/1 Glamorgan) (H) Bty went to CCCXLII (2/Cheshire) and B (2/2 Glamorgan) (H) Bty went to CCCXLIII (2/IV Welsh). They continued to serve with these brigades in Home Defence in Norfolk and Suffolk until the end of the war.
Interwar The 1st Welsh Brigade, RFA, was reformed in the 53rd (W) Division on 7 February 1920 with 1st, 2nd and 3rd Glamorgan Batteries (the 3rd being transferred from the 2nd Welsh Brigade). It was redesignated the 81st (Welsh) Brigade, RFA, when the TF was reorganised as the Territorial Army (TA) in 1921 (becoming a Field Brigade, RA, in 1924 when the RFA was subsumed into the Royal Artillery). At the same time it absorbed the Glamorgan Yeomanry giving the following organisation:Frederick, pp. 491–493, 521, 531.Owen, Gentlemen & Yeomanry, pp. 62–66.Titles and Designations, 1927. HQ at Drill Hall, Swansea, later at Drill Hall, Port Talbot 321 (Glamorgan) Field Bty (Howitzer) at Drill Hall, Swansea 322 (Glamorgan) Field Bty at Drill Hall, Neath 323 (Glamorgan) Field Bty at Drill Hall, Port Talbot 324 (Glamorgan Yeomanry) Field Bty at Drill Hall, Bridgend
The brigade, including the newly converted yeomanry, held its first brigade training camp at Porthmadog in August 1921, and attended the first postwar divisional camp at Aberystwyth in the summer of 1922. In 1925 the divisional camp was held on the Isle of Man giving the brigade experience in embarking and disembarking guns and equipment.