175th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery

After the British Expeditionary Force was evacuated from Dunkirk and the United Kingdom was threatened with invasion, a crash programme of installing coastal artillery batteries was implemented in the summer of 1940. Later, as the Home Defence strategy developed, the Royal Artillery formed a number of 'Defence Batteries' to deploy around the coastline for general beach defence. These were not part of the RA's Coast Artillery branch, nor were they included in the field forces under Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces, but equipped with whatever old guns were available they freed up scarce field artillery from static beach defence for the mobile counter-attack forces. Most of these batteries were formed on 1 September 1940, and they were grouped into regiments from 4 October. • 10th Defence Regiment was formed at Mere, Wiltshire with 944–950 Defence Batteries. On 15 March 1941 944, 946, 948 and 950 Defence Btys were disbanded. • 12th Defence Regiment was formed at Dunster, Somerset, with 955 and 956 Defence Batteries. ==175th Field Regiment==

tractor on a training exercise in the UK. By the beginning of 1942 the imminent threat of invasion had passed, the coast artillery batteries were fully established, and the RA required gunners for the field forces. The remaining Defence Regiments in the UK were disbanded or converted into field artillery. On 12 January 1942 10th Defence Rgt was converted into 175th Field Regiment at Tiverton, Devon, and 945, 947 and 949 Defence Btys were designated A, B and C Btys. At the same time 12th Defence Regt and 955 Defence Bty were disbanded, and the personnel of 956 Defence Bty helped to form C Bty. A, B and C Btys were redesignated P, Q and R on 11 March. At this period the establishment of a field regiment was three batteries, each of two troops of four 25-pounder guns. of 77th Division. On 2 July 1942 the regiment was assigned to 77th Infantry Division in Home Forces. On 1 January 1943 the regiment's batteries were numbered as 162, 163 and 164 Field Btys. But on 11 January the regiment's batteries were transferred to 176th Field Rgt, which replaced it in the division. Regimental HQ (RHQ) of 175th Field Rgt remained without any batteries to command until 8 February when it was disbanded at Blandford Camp, Dorset; its personnel were drafted to form RHQ of a new 15th Medium Rgt. However, on 20 July 1943, RHQ of 175th Field Rgt was reformed at Gosforth, Northumberland, when 145, 165, 166 and 167 Field Btys were transferred to it from 176th Field Rgt. 175th Field Rgt and its batteries were disbanded on 11 April 1946. ==Notes==