1st Cinque Ports Artillery Volunteers
The 1st Cinque Ports Artillery Volunteers was a part-time unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery from 1860 to 1956. Raised as coastal defence artillery, the unit later served as field artillery in Mesopotamia during World War I, and as anti-aircraft artillery during the Blitz and in the Middle East during World War II.
1st Cinque Ports Artillery Volunteers
3rd Home Counties (Cinque Ports) Brigade
59th (Home Counties) (Cinque Ports) Field Brigade
75th Heavy AA Regiment
7 November 1859–1 March 1955
Artillery Corps
Coastal Artillery
Field Artillery
Anti-Aircraft Artillery
Artillery Brigade/Regiment
Pro aris et focis (For hearth and home)
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.[1] A large number of coastal artillery corps (AVCs) were formed in the seaports along the Kent and Sussex coast (the ancient Cinque Ports), and on 10 September 1862 these were brought together to form the 1st Administrative Brigade, Cinque Ports Artillery Volunteers, at Dover:[2][3][4][5][6]
1st Administrative Brigade, Cinque Ports Artillery Volunteers
The fourth battery of the 4th (Hastings) Corps was raised in 1861 at Rye, East Sussex from the defunct Rye Rifle Volunteer Corps. This battery wore an unusual naval uniform until it adopted the regulation garrison artillery uniform in 1872. The battery was disbanded in 1876 after a shooting competition at Hastings, when the men refused their captain's orders to march back to Rye and instead caught the train. The 4th (Hastings) Corps also had a Cadet Corps affiliated to it from March 1864 to 1868.[5][7] The commanding officer (CO) of the 1st Admin Bde from 1862 was Lt-Col Edward Vernon Harcourt, formerly of the Oxfordshire Militia and a leading member of the Volunteer movement and the National Artillery Association.[8]
In 1866 the unit won the Queen's Prize at the annual National Artillery Association competition held at Shoeburyness.[9] In 1870 the corps in the 1st Admin Brigade were numbered consecutively as 1st to 9th Cinque Ports AVCs (in most cases reverting to the numbering of May–August 1860). On 16 March 1880 the Admin Brigade was consolidated as the 1st Cinque Ports Artillery Volunteers, organised as follows:[3][4][5]
1st Cinque Ports Artillery Volunteers
The unit was later reduced to 13 batteries. In April 1882 all artillery volunteers were attached to one of the territorial garrison divisions of the Royal Artillery (RA), and the unit was assigned to the Cinque Ports Division. It was briefly (May 1887 to July 1889) designated the 4th Volunteer (Cinque Ports) Brigade, but reverted to its previous title when the Cinque Ports Division was disbanded and the unit joined the Eastern Division in 1889. On 1 April 1890 the Sussex batteries were separated to form the 2nd Cinque Ports Artillery Volunteers, leaving the 1st with the Kent batteries.[3][4][5]
As well as manning fixed coast defence artillery, some of the early Artillery Volunteers manned semi-mobile 'position batteries' of smooth-bore field guns pulled by agricultural horses. But the War Office refused to pay for the upkeep of field guns for Volunteers and they had largely died out in the 1870s. In 1888 the 'position artillery' concept was revived and some Volunteer companies were reorganised as position batteries to work alongside the Volunteer infantry brigades. On 14 July 1892 the 1st Cinque Ports AVs were reorganised as 1 position battery and 7 garrison companies:[3][5][10][11]
1st Cinque Ports Artillery Volunteers
The artillery volunteers were assigned to the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) in 1889, and when the divisional organisation was abolished the unit was designated the 1st Cinque Ports RGA (Volunteers) from 1 January 1902, with a ninth company.[3][4][5][6]
When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908,[12][13] the 1st Cinque Ports RGA was transferred to the Royal Field Artillery (RFA), initially as the I (or 1st) Home Counties Brigade, then from 1910 as the III (or 3rd) Home Counties (Cinque Ports) Brigade with the following organisation:[3][4][5][8][14][15][16][17]
III Home Counties (Cinque Ports) Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
The three batteries were each equipped with four 15-pounder guns. The unit was assigned to the Home Counties Division of the TF.[24][25][26]
World War I[edit]
Mobilisation[edit]
On the outbreak of war, units of the Territorial Force were mobilised for home defence and 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 form these into reserve units. 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 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/III and 2/III Home Counties (Cinque Ports) Brigades were formed.[27][28][29]
Interwar[edit]
59th (Home Counties) (Cinque Ports) Brigade[edit]
The 3rd Home Counties Brigade (now with 1st to 4th Kent Batteries) reformed on 7 February 1920. When the TF was reorganised as the Territorial Army in 1921 it was designated the 59th (Home Counties) Brigade, RFA, with the second subtitle 'Cinque Ports' added the following year:[4][8][16][58][59]
59th (Home Counties) (Cinque Ports) Brigade, RFA
World War II[edit]
Mobilisation[edit]
In June 1939, as the international situation worsened, a partial mobilisation of the TA was begun in a process known as 'couverture', whereby each AA unit did a month's tour of duty in rotation to man selected AA gun positions. Full mobilisation of AA Command came in August 1939, ahead of the declaration of war on 3 September 1939.[69]
306 AA Battery joined 89th HAA Rgt on 30 August, and then departed for training, returning to 75th HAA Rgt in May 1940.[66]
From 1 June 1940 those AA units armed with 3-inch or the more modern 3.7-inch guns were termed 'Heavy AA' (HAA) to distinguish them for the Light AA units then being formed.[16][64]
Postwar[edit]
When the TA was reconstituted on 1 January 1947, 75th HAA Rgt was reformed as 259 (Mobile) HAA Rgt (Home Counties) (Cinque Ports), RA.[4][6][16][64][83][84][85][a]The regiment came under the command of 53rd AA Brigade (the former 27th (Home Counties) AA Bde) based at Dover, part of 1 AA Group.[85]
[87][88]
AA Command was disbanded on 1 March 1955 and there was a major reduction in AA units. 259 (Mobile) HAA Rgt was placed in suspended animation, and the following year merged with part of 11th AA (Mixed) Signal Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals (the signal unit for 1 AA Group). The merged unit was designated Home Counties District (Mixed) Signal Regiment with HQ at Shorncliffe. ('Mixed' indicated that members of the Women's Royal Army Corps were integrated into the unit.) The unit became 62 (Mixed) Signal Regiment in 1959, regained its 'Cinque Ports' subtitle in 1960, and merged with 44 (Home Counties) Signal Regiment in 1961. In 1967 the merged unit became 44 (Cinque Ports) Signal Squadron in 36 (Eastern) Signal Regiment, which was reduced to 844 Cinque Ports Signal Troop in 2010.[6][16][83][89]
Uniforms and Insignia[edit]
The full dress of the original artillery volunteers was based on that of the RA, but for ordinary parade the men wore a loose undress tunic and trousers of blue Baize. The 4th Battery of the 6th (Hastings) AVC, however, wore a naval uniform with sailors' caps until 1872. The badge of the Cinque Ports artillery volunteers was the Coat of arms of the Cinque Ports surrounded by a circlet. On officers' pouches the circlet carried the motto 'PRO ARIS ET FOCIS' (For hearth and home); on later tunic buttons and belt clasps shared with the rifle volunteers the circlet was inscribed 'CINQUE PORTS VOLUNTEERS'.[5]
From 1953 to 1955, 259 HAA Rgt wore an embroidered arm badge with 'CINQUE PORTS' beneath 'ROYAL ARTILLERY' in red on a navy blue backing.[16]
The following served as Honorary Colonel of the unit:[8]
Memorial[edit]
There is a WWII memorial plaque to the men of 75 (Cinque Ports) HAA Rgt in St Mary in Castro Church at Dover Castle.[90]