Royal Field Artillery Explained

The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) and the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA). It ceased to exist when it was amalgamated with the Royal Garrison Artillery in 1924. The Royal Field Artillery was the largest arm of the artillery. It was responsible for the medium calibre guns and howitzers deployed close to the front line and was reasonably mobile. It was organised into brigades, attached to divisions or higher formations.

It participated in the Mesopotamian campaign during World War 1.

Notable members

• Ernest Wright Alexander, Victoria Cross recipient
• Tom Barry served in Mesopotamian campaign^{[1] [2]}
• Ralph Chetwynd (1890-1957), Canadian businessman and politician, recipient Military Cross 1918
• Henry Curling, sole British front line officer to survive the Battle of Isandlwana
• Colin Gubbins (1896 - 1976), prime mover of the Special Operations Executive (SOE)
• Dar Lyon (1898 - 1964). first-class cricketer
• Norman Manley (1893 - 1969), first Premier of Jamaica, serving from 14 August 1959 to 29 April 1962
• Donald McLeod (1882 - 1917), represented Scotland at football
• Cecil Patteson Nickalls, D.S.O. (1877-1925), champion polo player who killed himself with a gun on 7 April 1925^[3]
• Alfred William Saunders (1888 - 1930), World War I flying ace
• Garth Neville Walford, Victoria Cross recipient
• Francis Wallington, first recipient of the Military Cross four times

Bibliography

• Book: Carman, W.Y. . 1973 . The Royal Artillery . 25 of Man-at-Arms Series . Osprey Publishing . Oxford . 0-85045-140-X.
• Book: Clarke, Dale . 2004 . British Artillery 1914–19 Field Army Artillery . 94 of New Vanguard Series . Osprey Publishing . Oxford . 1-84176-688-7.

External links

• A List of the formation, attachments and history of each Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery

Notes and References

1. Book: Atia . Nadia . World War I in Mesopotamia: The British and the Ottomans in Iraq . 2015 . . 68.
2. Web site: McLoughlin . Mark . Tom Barry: guerrilla days in Iraq . 6 March 2013 . History Ireland.
3. Book: David Frith . Silence Of The Heart: Cricket Suicide . 2011 . 55 . Random House . 978-1-78057-393-9 . Cecil Patteson Nickalls, who won the DSO while serving in the Royal Field Artillery in the Great War ... representing England at polo against the United States in 1902 ... .