Formation The
Territorial Force (TF) was formed on 1 April 1908 following the enactment of the
Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (7 Edw.7, c.9) which combined and re-organised the old
Volunteer Force, the
Honourable Artillery Company and the
Yeomanry. On formation, the TF contained 14
infantry divisions and 14 mounted yeomanry
brigades. Each yeomanry brigade included a
horse artillery battery and an
ammunition column. On 18 March 1908, the
Nottinghamshire Royal Horse Artillery (Territorial Force) was proposed as a new unit and it was recognized by the
Army Council on 31 July 1908 (and the ammunition column on the same date). The unit consisted of :Battery HQ at
Nottingham :Nottinghamshire Battery at Nottingham :Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Mounted Brigade Ammunition Column also at Nottingham The unit was equipped with four guns and allocated as artillery support to the
Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Mounted Brigade. The battery was raised and trained by
Major Joe Laycock.
First World War In accordance with the
Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (7 Edw.7, c.9) which brought the
Territorial Force into being, the TF was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country. However, on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, many members volunteered for
Imperial Service. Therefore, TF units were split into 1st Line (liable for overseas service) and 2nd Line (home service for those unable or unwilling to serve overseas) units. 2nd Line units performed the home defence role, although in fact most of these were also posted abroad in due course. and on 5 August 1914 was assigned to the
1st Mounted Division. A decision was made to form a new mounted division from the mounted brigades in and around the
Churn area of Berkshire. On 2 September 1914,
2nd Mounted Division, with
Headquarters at
Goring, came into being and the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Mounted Brigade was transferred to the new division.
I Brigade and
II Brigade, RHA (T.F.) were formed for the division and the battery was assigned to II Brigade, RHA at Churn, along with
Berkshire RHA and
A Battery and
B Battery, Honourable Artillery Company. In November 1914, the division moved to
Norfolk on coastal defence duties. ;Overseas service In March 1915, the 2nd Mounted Division was put on warning for overseas service. In early April, the division starting leaving
Avonmouth and the last elements landed at
Alexandria before the end of the month. By the middle of May, the horse artillery batteries were near
Ismaïlia on
Suez Canal Defences. The artillery batteries and ammunition columns (along with the signal troops, mobile veterinary sections, Mounted Brigade Transport and Supply Columns and two of the Field Ambulances) were left behind in Egypt. The battery never rejoined the division; on 28 November 1915 the battery departed Ismailia for the
Western Desert and joined the
Western Frontier Force on formation at
Mersa Matruh. ;Imperial Mounted Division The
Imperial Mounted Division was formed in Egypt in January 1917 with four
cavalry brigades: the Australian
3rd and
4th Light Horse Brigades and the British
5th and
6th Mounted Brigades. The Nottinghamshire Battery was one of four that formed the
XIX Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.) to support the division. In practice, the battery was attached to 3rd Light Horse Brigade. The battery served with the Imperial Mounted Division in the
Sinai and Palestine Campaign as part of the
Desert Column. With the division, it took part in the advance across the
Sinai. The battery was re-equipped with four
18 pounders in time for the
First Battle of Gaza (2627 March 1917). It also took part in the
Second Battle of Gaza (1719 April 1917). ;Australian Mounted Division , attached to the Australian
4th Light Horse Brigade, crouch between their
13 pounder quick fire field guns and a cactus hedge near
Belah,
Palestine, in March 1918. At this time, they were in the
XIX Brigade, Royal Horse Artillery (T.F.) along with 1/1st Notts RHA. In June 1917, the Desert Column was reorganised from two mounted divisions of four brigades each (
ANZAC and Imperial Mounted Divisions) to three mounted divisions of three brigades each (ANZAC,
AustralianImperial Mounted Division renamedand the new
Yeomanry Mounted Division). 6th Mounted Brigade, along with Berkshire RHA, joined the Yeomanry Mounted Division and on 20 June 1917 the Imperial Mounted Division was redesignated as
Australian Mounted Division as the majority of its troops were now Australian. The battery served with the Australian Mounted Division for much of the remainder of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. As part of the Desert Mounted Corps, the division took part in the
Third Battle of Gaza (by now the battery was re-equipped with four
13 pounders), in particular the
Capture of Beersheba (31 October) and the
Battle of Mughar Ridge (13 and 14 November), and the defence of Jerusalem against the
Turkish counter-attacks (27 November3 December). ;5th Cavalry Division The battery was attached to the
5th Cavalry Division in September and October 1918 to support the division in the Final Offensive including the
Battle of Megiddo (1925 September), the
Capture of Damascus (1 October), and the
Occupation of Aleppo (26 October).
2/1st Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire RHA formed a 2nd line in 1914, initially designated as the
Nottinghamshire (Reserve) Battery RHA and later given a fractional designation as
2/1st Nottinghamshire Battery, RHA. On 6 March 1915, the
2/2nd Mounted Division was formed as a duplicate of the
2nd Mounted Division which had been warned for overseas service. The brigade joined the division on East Coast Defences in March 1915 and concentrated at
Narborough with the battery at
Scarning and
Wendling. The batteries of the division were quite unready for war. Three had no horses, the fourth had just 23; three batteries had over 200 men on average, but the other just 91; one battery had no ammunition and another reported that its
15-pounders were "practically useless". crew of another battery in action in the open desert of lower
Mesopotamia, March 1917. The battery was posted overseas in June 1917, arriving at
Basra on 13 August when it joined
CCXV Brigade, RFA (T.F.) and was numbered as
812th Battery, RFA (T.F.). At this point it was armed with six
18 pounders. The battery remained with the 15th Indian Division, participating in the
Mesopotamian campaign, for the remainder of the war. The 15th Indian Division was formally disbanded in March 1919, and there is no further mention of the 2/1st Nottinghamshire RHA in the official histories. Most British troops attached to Indian Army divisions in Mesopotamia found themselves in India when their divisions were disbanded/repatriated, as there was a shortage of shipping to get the men home to Britain. In April 1919 the
Third Anglo-Afghan War broke out, and British troops were inducted into various units to serve. At least one soldier of the 2/1st Notts is known to have fought in this war with another battery.
Post war The Nottinghamshire RHA was not reconstituted until 7 February 1920 when it formed a battery (later numbered 240th) in
1st North Midland Brigade, RFA (later 60th (North Midland) Field Regiment,
RA) and ceased to be a Royal Horse Artillery battery. The
Leicestershire RHA also joined the brigade as 240th Battery. In 1938 these two batteries were detached from 60th (NM) Field Regiment (as it had become) to form a separate
115th (North Midland) Field Regiment, RA, which saw service in the
Battle of France and
Burma Campaign in
World War II. In 1950 it was amalgamated into
350 (South Notts Hussars Yeomanry) Heavy Regiment, RA. ==See also==