The 51st (Westmorland & Cumberland) Field Regiment, was a Royal Artillery unit of Britain's part-time Territorial Army (TA) formed after World War I from a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment recruited in Cumbria. One of its batteries served in the Norwegian campaign at the beginning of World War II. The regiment then sailed to the Middle East and took part in the Western Desert campaign, including the Siege of Tobruk and Operation Crusader. It was next transferred to Ceylon and later formed a Chindit column in the Burma Campaign. The regiment continued in the postwar TA until 1961.
Origin
The Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry (WCY) was a cavalry unit of the Territorial Force (TF), which had served in World War I. Before the TF reformed on 7 February 1920 the War Office had decided that only a small number of mounted Yeomanry regiments would be required in future, and the remainder would have to be re-roled, mainly as artillery. Only the 14 senior Yeomanry regiments were retained as horsed cavalry. The WCY, 17th in the order of precedence, therefore converted to the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) as 2nd (Cumberland Yeomanry) Army Brigade with two batteries and headquarters (HQ) at Penrith. When the TF was reorganised as the Territorial Army in 1921 these were numbered as:Frederick, p. 56.Monthly Army List, various dates.Frederick, pp. 489–92, 515.Litchfield, pp. 36–8.Westmorland & Cumberland Yeomanry at Regiments.org.
93rd (Westmorland & Cumberland Yeomanry) Army Brigade, RFA Brigade HQ at Drill Hall, Penrith 369 (Westmorland Yeomanry) Battery 370 (Cumberland Yeomanry) Battery
A further reorganisation on 1 June 1923 saw the brigade exchange its number and two Cumberland batteries with 51st (East Lancashire & Cumberland) Brigade, becoming the 51st (Westmorland & Cumberland) Brigade, a four-battery brigade within 42nd (East Lancashire) Division. Before World War I the two Cumberland batteries had constituted the 4th East Lancashire Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (The Cumberland Artillery). Finally, on 1 June 1924 the RFA was subsumed into the RA and its units were termed 'Field Brigades' and 'Field Batteries', giving the following organisation:Frederick, p. 524.WO, Titles & Designations, 1927.
51st (Westmorland & Cumberland) Field Brigade, RA Brigade HQ at Artillery Drill Hall, Albert Street, Carlisle 369 (Westmorland Yeomanry) Field Bty at Artillery Drill Hall, Carlisle 370 (Cumberland Yeomanry) Field Bty at Artillery Drill Hall, moving to the Riding School, Carlisle, by 1937 203 (Cumberland) Field Bty at Whitehaven 204 (Cumberland) Field Bty (Howitzers) at Workington
The establishment of a TA divisional artillery brigade was four 6-gun batteries, three equipped with 18-pounder guns and one with 4.5-inch howitzers, all of World War I patterns. However, the batteries only held four guns in peacetime. The guns and their first-line ammunition wagons were horsedrawn and the battery staffs were mounted. Partial mechanisation was carried out from 1927, but the guns retained iron-tyred wheels until pneumatic tyres began to be introduced just before the outbreak of World War II.Sainsbury, pp. 15–7.
In 1938 the RA modernised its nomenclature and a lieutenant-colonel's command was designated a 'regiment' rather than a 'brigade'; this applied to TA field brigades from 1 November 1938.
The TA was doubled in size after the Munich Crisis, and most regiments formed duplicates. Part of the reorganisation was that field regiments changed from four six-gun batteries to an establishment of two batteries, each of three four-gun troops. For 51st Field Rgt this resulted in:Frederick, p. 528.Sainsbury, pp. 17–20.
51st (Westmorland & Cumberland) Field Regiment, RA Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) at Riding School, Carlisle 370 (Cumberland Yeomanry) Field Bty at Riding School, Carlisle 203 (Cumberland) Field Bty at Whitehaven
109th Field Regiment, RA RHQ at Workington 369 (Westmorland Yeomanry) Field Bty at Artillery Drill Hall, Carlisle 204 (Cumberland) Field Bty at Workington
World War II 51st (W&C) Field Rgt mobilised with 42nd (East Lancashire) Division on the outbreak of war in September 1939, but left on 10 April 1940, the day before the rest of the division embarked to join the British Expeditionary Force in France.Joslen, p. 68.
Norway Shortly afterwards 203 Bty, equipped with new Mk II 25-pounder guns, was detached and sent to participate in the Norwegian campaign. It formed part of 'Rupertforce', which sailed from Scapa Flow and began landing at Harstad, north of Narvik, on 15 April. However, it was not until 22 April that the gunners of 203 Bty landed, and another week before the first of their guns arrived on a landing craft. Although a naval bombardment had been tried, movement was greatly hampered by deep snow and no immediate attack was made on the German troops in Narvik. However, at the end of the month a force landed near Håkvik and advanced along the coast road towards Ankenes, from where Narvik could be threatened. Two of 203 Bty's guns were landed on the coast road on 4 May. By 9 May French Chasseurs Alpins had established themselves on the high ground overlooking Narvik and had been joined by another 2-gun section of 203 Bty.Derry, pp. 65, 146–59, 193–4.Derry, Appendix B.Farndale, Years of Defeat, p. 28; Annex C.Joslen, p. 461.
Narvik was attacked by a combined Norwegian, British, French and Polish force on 13 May. The force successfully landed north of the town and began the operation to capture it. By morning on 16 May the British infantry had been withdrawn to reinforce Bodø (see below) leaving only the artillery (including 203 Bty less a troop) supporting the Allied attack on Narvik. The town was captured on 28 May.Derry, pp. 197–200, 208-11.Farndale, Years of Defeat, p. 28.
Meanwhile, 1st Battalion Scots Guards and a 4-gun Troop of 203 Bty had been sent by sea to Mo i Rana, where they landed on 12 May and took up position at Stein to block German reinforcements approaching from the south. However, their own reinforcements failed to arrive after their troop transport was bombed, and on 17 May the Germans attacked at Stein. The guns were stationed at the rear, but communications along the road from their observers were cut and they could play little part in the action. Supported by a paratroop drop, the Germans pressed on though the short night towards Mo and entered the town at 15.30 o 18 May. The Scots Guards fell back towards Bodø where reinforcements were arriving by small steamships. They took up blocking positions at Krokstrand (21 May) and then Viskikoia (23 May). The field guns could only give limited support because of the loss of their signalling equipment, and the small force was pushed out, but the small force successfully disengaged and got back to Bodø. The exhausted Scots Guards went into reserve and the troop of 203 Bty joined the mixed British–Norwegian force ('Stockforce') defending the approaches at Pothus. Fighting went on throughout 25 May, with both sides using air attacks.Derry, pp. 182–92.
But with the desperate situation that had developed in the Battle of France the government had already decided on 24 May to evacuate the British forces from Norway. On 26 May the British force at Pothus withdrew to Bodø and then withdrew by warship to Borkenes, west of Harstad, where the larger Allied force came from Narvik to await the final evacuation. From 5 to 7 June troopships and smaller steamers embarked men and stores from Hardstad, even bringing away 203 Bty's last six 25-pounders.Derry, pp. 213–5, 219–21.
The reunited 51st (W&C) Field Rgt joined 46th Division on 30 July 1940 while that formation was refitting in Scottish Command after its return from Dunkirk. The regiment left again on 16 September and embarked for the Middle East.Joslen, pp. 75–6.
Tobruk By 23 October 51st (W&C) Field Rgt under Lt-Col J.S. Douglas had landed at Suez and went into camp at Beni Yusef camp, just south of the Pyramids, to equip and train for desert warfare. It then moved from Cairo across the Western Desert to Baggush to join 16th British Brigade in Western Desert Force (WDF). By 15 December it was at Sidi Barrani, which 16th Bde had just captured, and then with 16th Bde it reinforced 6th Australian Division for the capture of Bardia. The attack was timed for 05.30 on 3 January 1941, the guns opening fire without previous registration, the targets having been fixed by careful surveying. 51st (W&C) Field Rgt's role was to deal with enemy artillery, and it moved forward three times during the day's fighting to bring enemy batteries under fire. The three-day operation was a major success, almost the entire Italian garrison being killed or captured. Afterwards, 51st (W&C) Field Rgt moved up with 16th Australian Bde for the capture of Tobruk (21–22 January), where it repeated its counter-battery (CB) role. F Troop had two guns hit and several men wounded, but by nightfall on 21 January the regiment was leap-frogging batteries forward with 19th Australian Bde to positions inside the enemy's wire. The port was secured next day with another large 'bag' of prisoners. On 23 January, when it reverted to the command of XIII Corps (as WDF had become), the regiment was some miles south-west of Tobruk, and at the end of the month it had reached Martuba.Farndale, Years of Defeat, pp. 129, 136–9.Joslen, pp. 257–8.Joslen, p. 478.Playfair, Vol I, pp. 269–70, 282–93.
XIII Corps had cleared the Italians out of Cyrenaica, but its supply lines were now stretched to their limit, and it had to pause its advance in February. Then the balance shifted: the first troops of the Afrika Korps under Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel began arriving to support the Italians, while British forces had to be diverted to the Greek Campaign. This left Cyrenaica Command in a weak condition.Farndale, Years of Defeat, p. 160.Playfair, Vol I, pp. 289–90, 355–6.Playfair, Vol II, pp. 1–8. On 28 February at Cyrene 51st (W&C) Field Rgt was ordered to exchange its modern 25-pdrs for the old 18-pdrs and 4.5-inch howitzers of 2/2nd Australian Field Rgt prior to that regiment's departure to Greece.Farndale, Years of Defeat, p. 161.
The Germans began their advance in North Africa on 31 March and soon the British forces in Cyrenaica were being forced back. 51st (W&C) Field Rgt was sent up with 9th Australian Division and by 4 April was fiercely engaged at Tecmis. B Troop of 203 Bty was engaged by German tanks and knocked out three of them suffering a few casualties. 370 Field Bty was with 20th Australian Bde withdrawing to the pass south of Barca. On 6 April 203 Bty withdrew to Gazala, halting to cover 2/48th Australian Battalion, whole B Trp remained as a rearguard. During the night of 9/10 April the regiment entered the Tobruk perimeter. The Germans attacked next morning, met by C and E Trps firing over open sights. E Trp was forced to retire, but C Trp kept firing. They lost two guns, two men killed and 20 wounded. Next day 203 Bty was able to collect 12 25-pounders. German reconnaissance troops probing the defences at Er Regima were 'severely dealt with' by 2/13th Australian Bn and the guns of 51st (W&C) Field Rgt, before the guns were pulled back from the perimeter into Tobruk itself.Farndale, Years of Defeat, pp. 161–2.Playfair, Vol II, pp. 19–34.