Cap badge of the Royal Artillery, c1903. NAM. 1960-07-118Introduction
The British Army has used cannon since the 15th century. Until 1716 they were provided by artillery trains, raised and disbanded on a campaign-by-campaign basis. That year King George I issued a Royal Warrant to set up two permanent field artillery companies of 100 men each.
This rose to four companies in 1722, when they were merged with the independent artillery companies based at Minorca and Gibraltar. The new unit was renamed the Royal Regiment of Artillery and its first commander was Colonel Albert Borgard.
Other artillery regiments were also set up at this time, such as the Royal Horse Artillery in 1793, which provided artillery support to cavalry units. Some of these other regiments were merged into the main Royal Artillery, such as the Royal Irish Regiment of Artillery in 1801 and the artillery of the disbanded East India Company in 1862.
8-inch howitzers of the Royal Garrison Artillery, c1917
NAM. 1995-03-86-12In 1899 the Royal Artillery was split into three arms - the Royal Field Artillery (RFA), the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) and the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA). The RHA continued in its previous role, but the RFA was the largest branch, providing howitzers and medium artillery near the front line. The RGA manned the largest guns, especially those mounted in coastal and colonial forts. During the First World War, the RGA manned the heavy guns on the Western Front.
In 1924 the RFA and RGA were merged back into one regiment, the Royal Artillery. This was divided into brigades, which were renamed regiments in 1938. There were 960 of these regiments during the Second World War, with over one million men, including the comedians Harry Secombe and Spike Milligan. Its size fell to 250,000 men in 1945. Since then the Royal Artillery have taken part in all of the British Army’s campaigns.
Key facts
Mottos:
- 'Ubique' (meaning 'Everywhere' - in recognition of the regiment's participation in every campaign in which the Army was involved)
- 'Quo Fas et Gloria Ducunt' (meaning 'Where Right and Glory Lead')
Nickname:
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