Thames and Medway Coast Artillery explained

Unit Name:Thames & Medway Heavy Brigade, RA
516th (Thames & Medway) Coast Rgt, RA
517th (Thames & Medway) Coast Rgt, RA
518th (Thames & Medway) Coast Rgt, RA
415th (Thames & Medway) Coast Rgt, RA
Dates:1932–1956
Country: United Kingdom
Branch: Territorial Army
Role:Coast Artillery
Size:1–3 Regiments
Command Structure:Thames and Medway Defences
Garrison:Rochester, Kent
Gravesend, Kent
Battles:World War II

The Thames and Medway Coast Artillery, which at its peak comprised three full regiments, was formed in Britain's Territorial Army in 1932 to man coastal defence guns on both banks of the Thames Estuary. It served in this role during World War II, at the end of which it sent troops to work in the rear areas in Europe. It was reformed postwar but was broken up when the coast artillery branch was abolished in 1956.

Origin

When Britain's Territorial Force (TF) was reconstituted on 7 February 1920 after World War I, the former Essex and Suffolk Royal Garrison Artillery, which had defended the ports around Harwich, was split into separate sections. The Essex Royal Garrison Artillery was redesignated the Essex Coast Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery the following year when the TF was reorganised as the Territorial Army (TA). It consisted of a headquarters at Dovercourt and a single battery numbered 175. When the Royal Garrison Artillery was subsumed into the Royal Artillery (RA) in 1924, the unit was redesignated again as the Essex Heavy Brigade, RA.[1] [2]

Thames & Medway Heavy Brigade

In 1926 it was decided that the coastal defence guns of Great Britain should be solely manned by part-time soldiers of the TA. This involved some reorganisation of existing units and the creation of some new units. By 1932 the reorganisation had taken its final form: the defences of the ports of Eastern England would be responsibility of three RA heavy brigades. The Suffolk Hvy Bde would man the Harwich batteries, the Kent and Sussex Hvy Bdes would combine as the Kent and Sussex to man the batteries from Dover to Newhaven, and a newly-formed Thames and Medway Heavy Brigade would be responsible for the Thames Estuary including the Medway defences.[3] The new unit was formed on 1 October 1932, comprising two batteries transferred from the Kent Hvy Bde and absorbing the single-battery Essex Hvy Bde, giving the following organisation:[1] [4] [5] [6]

In line with the RA's modernisation of its titles, the brigade was termed a regiment from 1 November 1938. As the TA was increased in size after the Munich Crisis, the Thames & Medway (T&M) Hvy Rgt formed a new 192 Hvy Bty at Southend by August 1939.[1] [4] [5]

World War II

Mobilisation

On the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939 the regiment was responsible for the following guns:[7]

These were controlled by:[6]

under the command of RA Fixed Defences, Eastern Ports, with its HQ at Sheerness

Home Defence

With the danger of invasion after the British Expeditionary Force was evacuated from Dunkirk, the coastal artillery regiments underwent a major reorganisation in the summer of 1940. On 14 July the three T&M heavy batteries were expanded into three complete coast regiments:[1] [4] [8] [9]

516th (Thames & Medway) Coast Regiment

Formed with A, B, C and D Btys, later organised as:[8] [10] [11]

517th (Thames & Medway) Coast Regiment

Formed with A and B Btys, later organised as:[8] [10] [12]

518th (Thames & Medway) Coast Regiment

Formed with A and B Btys, later organised as:[8] [10] [13]

During the summer of 1940 a number of emergency batteries of ex-Royal Navy guns were installed, including:[14] [15]

By November 1940 the Thames & Medway guns comprised: [16]

Mid-War

By September 1941, when Britain's coast defences were at their height, the Thames & Medway fixed guns were:[14] [15]

After the rapid expansion in the early part of the war, there was some rationalisation among coast artillery units, with 518th (T&M) Coast Rgt being disbanded on 1 October 1941 and its batteries distributed amongst the other two regiments, which then had the following organisation under the command of HQ Thames and Medway Defences:[4] [8] [10] [13] [17] [18] [19] [20]

516th (Thames & Medway) Coast Regiment

517th (Thames & Medway) Coast Regiment

By July 1942 Coastal Artillery Plotting Rooms had been created to coordinate the 'coast watching' radar of the CODs, with No 13 plotting room assigned to Sheerness.[18] [21]

By the end of 1942 the threat from German attack had diminished and there was demand for trained gunners for the fighting fronts. A process of reducing the manpower in the coast defences began in 1943,[22] but there were few organisational changes for the Thames & Medway defences closest to the enemy.[19] [20]

The manpower requirements for the forthcoming Allied invasion of Normandy (Operation Overlord) led to further reductions in coast defences in April 1944. By this stage of the war many of the coast battery positions were manned by Home Guard detachments or in the hands of care and maintenance parties.[23] On 1 April 168 and 286 Btys were transferred from 517th to 516th Coast Rgt, and 220 Bty was transferred in the opposite direction, while No 3 COD was disbanded.[8] [20] [24]

Late war

By the end of 1944 serious naval attacks on the coast could be discounted and the WO began reorganising surplus coastal units into garrison infantry battalions. On 3 December RHQ of 516th Coast Rgt was converted into 516th (Thames & Medway) Garrison Rgt, RA, and its batteries (167, 168, 286, 287, 288, 334, 356, 425) became independent and then transferred to 517th (T&M) Coast Rgt.[4] [8] [11] [24] [25] [26] By January 1945 21st Army Group operating in North West Europe was suffering a manpower crisis, so the WO went further and converted the RA garrison regiments (and some other RA units) into infantry battalions for duties in the rear areas. 516th (T&M) Garrison Rgt was converted into 614th (Thames & Medway) Infantry Rgt, RA, comprising five batteries designated A–E. It served in Europe until after the end of the war, passing into suspended animation between 5 and 25 July 1946. On 1 June 1945, shortly after VE Day, RHQ of 517th Coast Rgt had gone into suspended animation together with its TA batteries, while the war-formed batteries were disbanded.[4] [8] [12] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28]

Postwar

When the TA was reconstituted on 1 January 1947, 614 (T&M) Rgt was reformed as 415 (Thames & Medway) Coast Rgt with RHQ at Gravesend and R (Essex) Bty at Artillery House, Stratford Green. It formed part of 101 Coast Bde at Dover.[4] [8] [9] [29] [30] [31] [32]

The Coast Artillery Branch of the RA was disbanded during 1956,[33] and on 31 October the regiment was broken up. Its Kent batteries amalgamated with 263 (6th London) Medium Rgt to form 263 (6th London) Light Rgt, while the Essex batteries amalgamated with 353 (London) Medium Rgt. In 1961 the Essex (Canvey Island and Southend) batteries of 353 Med Rgt were absorbed into 304 (Essex Yeomanry Royal Horse Artillery) Field Rgt, while the Kent (Sheerness and Gravesend) batteries of 263 Med Rgt were amalgamated with a battery of 458 (Kent) Light Anti-Aircraft Rgt and 211 Field Squadron, Royal Engineers to become 211 (Thames & Medway) Field Sqn in 44th (Home Counties) Divisional/District Engineers.[4] [29] [32] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38]

Honorary Colonels

The following served as Honorary Colonel of the unit:[5]

Insignia

415 Coast Rgt is believed to have worn an unofficial supplementary shoulder title with 'THAMES & MEDWAY' embroidered in the RA colours of red on navy blue.[4]

References

External sources

Notes and References

  1. Frederick, pp. 601, 614–6.
  2. Litchfield, p. 65.
  3. Maurice-Jones, pp. 206–7.
  4. Litchfield, p 111.
  5. Army List, various dates.
  6. http://www.patriotfiles.com/index.php?name=Sections&req=viewarticle&artid=6689&page=1 Eastern Command, 3 September 1939, at Patriot Files.
  7. Maurice-Jones, p. 220.
  8. Frederick, pp. 602–11, 627–8.
  9. Farndale, Annex M.
  10. Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 20: Coast Artillery, 1 June 1941, with amendments, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 212/117.
  11. https://ra39-45.co.uk/units/coast-regiments/516-thames-medway-coast-regiment-rata/ 516 Rgt at RA 1939–45.
  12. https://ra39-45.co.uk/units/coast-regiments/517-thames-medway-coast-regiment-rata/ 517 Rgt at RA 1939–45.
  13. https://ra39-45.co.uk/units/coast-regiments/518-thames-medway-coast-regiment-rata/ 518 Rgt at RA 1939–45.
  14. Farndale, Annex B.
  15. Maurice-Jones, pp. 229–32.
  16. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-Defence-UK/UK-DefenseOfUK-XIX.html Collier, Appendix XIX.
  17. Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 20: Coast Artillery and AA Defence of Merchant Ships, 16 December 1941, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/118.
  18. Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 30: Coast Artillery, Defence Troops, Royal Artillery, and AA Defence of Merchant Ships, 14 May 1942, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/122.
  19. Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 30: Coast Artillery, Defence Troops, Royal Artillery, and AA Defence of Merchant Ships, 12 December 1942, with amendments, TNA file WO 212/123.
  20. Order of Battle of Non-Field Force Units in the United Kingdom, Part 7: Coast Artillery, Defence Troops, Royal Artillery, and AA Defence of Merchant Ships (July 1943), with amendments, TNA file WO 212/124.
  21. Maurice-Jones, pp. 234–5.
  22. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-Defence-UK/UK-DefenseOfUK-19.html Collier, Chapter XIX.
  23. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-Defence-UK/UK-DefenseOfUK-21.html Collier, Chapter XXI.
  24. Order of Battle of the Forces in the United Kingdom, Part 7, Coast Artillery and AA Defence of Merchant Ships (1 April 1944), with amendments, TNA file WO 212/120.
  25. Frederick, pp. 880–1.
  26. https://ra39-45.co.uk/units/garrison-regiments-ra/516-thames-medway-garrison-regiment-ra/ 516 Garrison Rgt at RA 1939–45.
  27. Ellis, pp. 141–2; Appendix IV.
  28. https://ra39-45.co.uk/units/infantry-regiments-ra/614-infantry-regiment-rata/ 614 Infantry Rgt at RA 1939–45.
  29. Frederick, p. 1011.
  30. Litchfield, Appendix 5.
  31. http://www.orbat.info/history/historical/uk/ta47.html Watson, TA 1947.
  32. http://british-army-units1945on.co.uk/territorial-army-royal-artillery/414-443-regiments.html 414–443 Rgts RA at British Army 1945 on.
  33. Maurice-Jones, p. 277.
  34. Frederick, pp. 998, 1003, 1007.
  35. Litchfield, pp. 67, 156, 162.
  36. http://british-army-units1945on.co.uk/territorial-army-royal-artillery/235-265-regiments.html 235–265 Rgts RA at British Army 1945 on.
  37. Watson & Rinaldi, pp. 289, 301.
  38. http://british-army-units1945on.co.uk/territorial-army-royal-engineers/squadrons-100-225.html 100–225 Sqns RE at British Army 1945 on.
  39. Burke's: 'Cornwallis'.