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Did your ancestor serve in the Royal Artillery from 1886 to 2013? Was he awarded any medals or awards? Find out by searching through Findmypast’s records of Royal Artillery Medals and Awards. Find out more about your ancestor’s military service including the unit he served with, the awards he received, including the Military Cross and the Distinguished Service Order, and where he served. These records cover the period when the Royal Artillery served in the Boer War, both World Wars, Korea, Northern Ireland, Gulf and right up to modern conflicts including Afghanistan and Iraq.

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What can these records tell me?

Each record is a transcript of original source material. The amount of information varies but these records could tell you the following information about your ancestor:

  • Soldier's title, first name (sometimes only initials, last name, rank and number
  • Soldiers post nominal letters at the time of the award
  • Date it appears in the London Gazette
  • Unit the man was serving in at the time of the award, when known
  • Award itself
  • Branch of the regiment
  • Award itself
  • Theatre of operations in which the soldier was serving at the time
  • Schedule number
  • File number
  • Who the award was recommended by
  • Theatre of operations
  • Remarks on the award
  • Further service notes, when known
  • Status
  • Date of event
  • Cause of death
  • Place of residence
  • Date of discharge
  • Reason for discharge

For the majority these fields are blank but are being added in as the author carries out more research.

All the recipients are listed, as are their service numbers, their rank, the date of the award, the award type and the theatre of operations along with the command formation who recommended the award and the schedule and file numbers. Many of the other details are being added as they are discovered.

Discover more about these records

The Royal Artillery

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, more commonly known as the Royal Artillery, is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite the name the RA is made up of several regiments. The first regular companies of artillery men were raised in 1716, by royal warrant of George 1 and the name Royal Artillery came along four years later. By 1771 there were 32 companies in four battalions, as well as two “invalid battalions” of older or unfit men employed in garrison duties.

In 1899 the RA was divided into three groups. The Royal Horse Artillery and the Royal Field Artillery made up one group. A second group called the Royal Garrison Artillery comprised the coastal defence, mountain, siege and heavy batteries. The

third and final group, with responsibility for ammunition storage and supply, was known as the Royal Artillery.

In 1920 the rank of Bombardier was introduced.

Until 1924 the three groups acted as separate companies but at this point they were once again joined as a single regiment. In 1938 RA Brigades were renamed Regiments. During WW2 there were over 1 million men serving in 960 gunner regiments. The RA also has an important role in air defence.

These records span 1886 to 2013 covering conflicts and military action including the Boer War, both World Wars, the Korean War, Northern Ireland, the Falklands War, the Former Yugoslavia, the Gulf as well as Afghanistan and Iraq.

Among the awards RA members received was the Military Cross. Created in 1914, the award is granted in recognition for acts of gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land. Although the MC has subsequently been extended to all ranks and can now be awarded posthumously, these records cover the period from 1916 to 1945. When the award was first introduced it was for commissioned officers up to the rank of Captain and for Warrant Officers. During the First World War, Acting Captain Francis Wallington was the first man to be awarded the MC and all three bars. You can find each of his awards in these records. In 1931 the MC was extended to Majors. From 1979 the award could be received posthumously and since 1993 it has been available to all ranks.

The Distinguished Service Order was introduced in 1886 for officers ranked Major or higher, although the award was sometimes given to Junior Officers, usually in recognition that they had narrowly missed out on a Victoria Cross. There was resentment among lower ranks between 1914 and 1916 when the award went to officers including Staff Officers, who could not have been described as serving under fire. After 1 January 1917 commanders in the field were instructed to only recommend this award for those actually serving under fire.

Notes on the transcripts

Soldier's number:

Both officers and soldiers had individual numbers from WW2. When an officer was commissioned from the ranks, he would stop using his soldier's number and was issued a new officers P number. This means a recipient may be recorded here under two different numbers for pre- and post-commission awards.

Soldier's rank:

Many of the ranks within the RA have been abbreviated. The soldier's full substantive rank is given with any acting 'A', temporary 'T', or local 'L' rank in brackets afterwards.

  • Gnr - gunner
  • L/Bdr - lance bombardier
  • Bdr - bombardier
  • L/Sgt - lance sergeant
  • Sgt - sergeant
  • S/Sgt - staff sergeant
  • QMS - quartermaster sergeant
  • TSM - troop sergeant major
  • BQMS - battery quartermaster sergeant
  • RQMS - regimental quartermaster sergeant
  • BSM - battery sergeant major (warrant officer class 2)
  • WOII - warrant officer class 2
  • SM (AC) - sergeant major (artillery clerk)
  • RSM - regimental sergeant major (warrant officer class 1)
  • WOI - warrant officer class 1
  • 2nd Lt - lieutenant
  • Lt - lieutenant
  • Lt Col - lieutenant colonel
  • Other abbreviations explained
  • U/P - unpaid
  • P/ - paid
  • Art. RA - artificer, Royal Artillery
  • Dvr - driver
  • (AC) - artillery clerk
  • ( IG) - instructor in gunnery
  • (DO) - district officer
  • (DOIG) - district officer and instructor in gunnery
  • (QM) - quartermaster
  • (TIG) -technical instructor in gunnery
  • The unit the man was serving in at the time of the award

During WWII, the RA was organised with batteries in regiments. Their role was normally included in their title:

  • AOP - air observation post
  • LAA - light anti-aircraft
  • HAA - heavy anti-aircraft
  • Hy - heavy
  • Obs - observation
  • SL - searchlight
  • (M) - mixed
  • RHU - regimental holding unit
  • HQRA - headquarters Royal Artillery
  • TD - training depot

When a soldier wasn't serving with a regiment or similar, or on a headquarters staff, they would appear on a list

instead. These were called the 'X', 'Y' and 'Z' Lists. They were usually controlled at theatre level.

  • BEF - British Expeditionary Force
  • CMF - Central Mediterranean Force
  • MEF - Middle East Forces

Occasionally their role is mentioned:

  • SBO - senior British officers
  • OC - officer commanding
  • COS - chief of staff
  • GSO - general staff officer
  • AA&QMG; - anti-aircraft and quartermaster general
  • DA&QMG; - director of artillery and quartermaster general
  • BRA - brigade major Royal Artillery
  • CRA - commander Royal Artillery
  • CCRA - corps commander Royal Artillery
  • MGRA - major general Royal Artillery
  • IG - instructor in gunnery

The Awards

  • VC - Victoria Cross
  • GCB - Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the British Empire
  • KCB - Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath
  • KBE - Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
  • CB - Companion, the Most Honourable Order of the Bath
  • CBE - Commander, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
  • OBE - Officer, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
  • MBE - Member, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
  • BEM - British Empire Medal
  • DSO - Distinguished Service Order
  • DSC - Distinguished Service Cross
  • MC - Military Cross
  • DFC - Distinguished Flying Cross
  • DCM - Distinguished Conduct Medal
  • GM - George Medal
  • DSM - Distinguished Service Medal
  • MM - Military Medal
  • DFM - Distinguished Flying Medal
  • MID - Mention in Despatches
  • Commendation
  • Gallantry Certificate
  • CBC -Certificate for Brave Conduct
  • CIGS Certificate - Chief of the Imperial General Staff's Certificate
  • CinC Certificate - Commander in Chief's Certificate
  • MS Certificate - Meritorious Service Certificate
  • GC Cert - Good Conduct Certificate
  • GS Cert - Good Service Certificate
  • Schedule number
  • AFC – Air Force Cross
  • AFM – Air Force Medal
  • CGC – Certificate of Good Conduct
  • CMG – Order of St Michael and St George
  • MM – Military Medal
  • MSM – Meritorious Service Medal
  • QCB – Queen’s Commendation for bravery
  • QCVS – Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service
  • QGM – Queen’s Gallantry Medal
  • RHS Testimonial – Testimonial from the Royal Humans Society
  • RVM – Royal Victorian Medal
  • RVO – Royal Victorian Order
  • US AM – United States Air Medal
  • US BS – United Stated Bronze Star Medal
  • US LoM – United States Legion of Merit

Parts of these references give an indication on the chain of command of the unit the soldier was serving in:

  • 11 AGRO - 11 Army Group Regimental Orders
  • 21 AGRO - 21 Army Group Regimental Orders
  • AACO - Anti-Aircraft Command Orders
  • AGRO - Army Group Regimental Orders
  • BEF - British Expeditionary Force
  • CMF - Central Mediterranean Force
  • MEF - Middle East Forces
  • BM - British Military Mission
  • DDMI - Department & Directorate of Military Intelligence
  • ECO - Eastern Command Orders
  • GRO - General Regimental Orders
  • LDO - London District Orders
  • MRA - Maritime Royal Artillery
  • MI - Military Intelligence
  • MS - Military Secretariat
  • NCO - Northern Command Orders
  • PW - Prisoner of War
  • RO - Regimental Orders
  • SCO - Southern Command Orders
  • SECO - South Eastern Command Orders
  • WCO - Western Command Orders

File number

These references match those written on the surviving honours and awards recommendations held at the National Archives, Kew.

Recommended by

The general officer commanding would send regular despatches home to the UK describing his actions. These were numbered for every theatre of operations and the last despatch was known as the cease-fire despatch 'CF Despatch.'

The headquarters staff would also send back lists of recommendations. Again their titles suggest the chain of command and/or the unit the soldier was serving in when read in conjunction with the theatre of operations.

Theatre of operations

This is usually the country in which the award was won. During WWII, however, this was expanded to include 'Special Operations', 'Ex-Prisoners of War' and 'Escapees'.

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