Royal Garrison Artillery

Brigade Headquarters

  • XX (from Egypt, 1916)
  • XXXVII (03-Mar-17)
  • LXI (to Egypt Sep-17, return Mar-18)
  • LXVII (about Jan-17)
  • LXXV(Jan-17)
  • LXXXII (Feb-17)
  • LXXXVII (Mar-17)

Heavy Batteries

  • 13th, 18th 20th (three by Jan-16)
  • 143rd (Ashton-under-Lyne), 153th (Tottenham) (both by Aug-16)
  • 180th, 181st, 185th, 188th, 190th, 192nd & 196th

Siege Batteries

  • 43rd, 84th (both by Jan-16)
  • 127th, 130th, 132nd, 134th, 138th, (five by Aug-16), 205th, 209th, 292nd, 320th, 322nd, 395th (three from Egypt Mar-18)
  • 396th (from Mesopotamia Jan-18)
  • 424nd (from Egypt Jan-18) & 445th from Egypt Mar-16)
  • 181st Heavy, 1 Section 43rd, 134th, 138th, 209th & HQ & 1 Section 292nd Siege Batteries to Egypt, Sep-17; some returned Mar-18.

Mountain Brigade Headquarters

  • III (formed in theatre, Jul-16)
  • IV (Highland) (from UK 10-Aug-16)

Mountain Batteries

  • 2nd, 5th, 7th (three from UK, 28-Dec-15)
  • Ross, Argyll (both from UK, 10-Aug-16)
  • Bute (from UK, Nov-16)

Medium Trench Mortar Batteries

  • A – F (all by Jan-18)

Anti-aircraft Sections

  • 24th, 32nd (both by Apr-16)
  • 73rd, 74th (both 06-Aug-16)
  • 90th, 91st, 94th, 95th, 97th, 98th, 99th, 141st, 153rd & 154th

Notes

Royal Garrison Artillery Brigades were designated Heavy Artillery Groups between 02-Apr-16 and about 17-Dec-17. The heavy artillery organisation was not fixed; batteries moved often, as with the field artillery tasked groups were formed for set-piece attacks and, because of the small number of larger pieces available, 6” guns and 8” howitzers were sometimes allocated individually. Because of this complexity only dates of entering and/or leaving the theatre are noted (where known) for brigade headquarters and individual batteries. Batteries were equipped as follows:-

  • Heavy Batteries with four horse-drawn 60pdr Mk1 guns.
  • Siege Batteries with four 6” 26cwt howitzers except; 43rd (two to five 6” Mk1 or Mk7 guns), 84th (two 6” Mk1 and two 4.7” naval guns from the Alexandria and Mudros defences), and 424th (four 8” howitzers). By 1918 84th Battery’s 6” guns were emplaced in the old entrenched camp around Salonika and the 4.7” guns were attached to the Serbian Army. The 6” howitzers were drawn by wheeled FWD tractors and the mobile 6” guns and 8” howitzers by tracked Holt tractors.
  • Mountain Batteries with four mule-packed 2.75” mountain guns.
  • Medium Trench Mortar Batteries with four 2” ‘Toffee Apple’ mortars in three batteries (in theatre by Dec-16), there were also twelve 6” Newton mortars in the theatre by the end of 1917, presumably four each in the other three batteries. All were usually attached to XII Corps.
  • Anti-aircraft Sections with two 13pdr antiaircraft guns. Most were mounted on Thorneycroft lorries but at least one was on an experimental field carriage with hinged axles.

A Naval Battery also served in the theatre for some time from January 1916 equipped with one 6” Mk7 and two 4” naval guns from the Alexandria and Mudros defences.

Front cover of 'The War Illustrated', 24 June 1916. British Heavy Gun Position at Salonika: "Laying" the gun before firing.
Front cover of ‘The War Illustrated’, 24 June 1916. British Heavy Gun Position at Salonika: “Laying” the gun before firing.
Illustration from 'The War Illustrated' 24 June 1916. Getting busy at Salonika - landing a huge gun on the quay at the Greek port. The weapon was partially dismantled before being "dropped over the side", suspended on powerful steel hawsers. The barrel of the weapon is seen lying on the quay.
Illustration from ‘The War Illustrated’ 24 June 1916. Getting busy at Salonika – landing a huge gun on the quay at the Greek port. The weapon was partially dismantled before being “dropped over the side”, suspended on powerful steel hawsers. The barrel of the weapon is seen lying on the quay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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