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Regimental & Service Records/
Royal Artillery Honours & Awards
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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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
During WWII, the RA was organised with batteries in regiments. Their role was normally included in their title:
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.
Occasionally their role is mentioned:
The Awards
Parts of these references give an indication on the chain of command of the unit the soldier was serving in:
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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