4th Regiment Royal Artillery
Encyclopedia
The 4th Regiment Royal Artillery is a regiment
of the Royal Artillery
in the British Army
. It currently serves in the armoured field artillery
role, and is equipped with the AS-90
self-propelled gun.
The Regiment
moved from Roberts Barracks in Osnabruck, Germany at the end of 2008 where it had previously been stationed for over 20 years. The Regiment's main recruiting area is in the North East
of England, and so significant effort has been put into re-establishing links, especially to the city of Sunderland where the Regiment holds the Freedom of the City
. These strong links to the local area gives the Regiment its name 'The North East Gunners.'
(RHA) at Helmieh, Egypt in May 1939. The original Batteries were C Battery
, F (Sphinx) Battery, and G Battery (Mercers Troop), drawn from independent commands in India and equipped with the Ordnance QF 25 pounder
.
Shortly after the outbreak of war in September 1939 the Regiment moved to Mersa Matruh in early 1940. 4th RHA fired the opening rounds of the campaign in North Africa against the Italians at Sidi Barrani on 8 December 1940. As part of the newly formed 7th Armoured Division, 4th RHA advanced westwards across the desert, seeing action again in January 1941 at Bardia, the capture of Tobruk, and at Beda Fomm. 16 October 1941 saw the formation of DD (Jerboa) Battery and the men of G (Mercers Troop) returned to England to join 5th RHA. During the battle of Sidi Rezegh on 23 November 1941, Bombardier
William Bradley of F (Sphinx) Battery was immediately awarded the Military Medal
for one of many acts of utmost bravery. In the same battle, Brigadier
John Charles Campbell
, who only a few months earlier had been commanding 4th RHA, won the Victoria Cross
. Following the breakout from El Alamein
, the Regiment joined the rest of the 8th Army
in its pursuit of the Germans to the west, fighting at Tabega Gap, Akarit, El Kourzia and at Tunis. In July 1943, with the Axis forces in North Africa defeated, 4th Regiment returned to England to train for the invasion of Europe. The Regiment saw action again during the Rhine Crossings
between 25 March and 1 April 1945. At the end of the war, the Regiment was at Wismar, Germany and remained there until returning to England in 1948.
By the time the Regiment redeployed to Germany in 1951 it had gone through many changes; consisting of F (Sphinx), G (Mercers Troop) and I Battery (Bulls Troop) equipped with M44 self-propelled guns. In 1961 4th RHA became 4th Regiment Royal Artillery (RA), losing all 3 batteries to 33rd Parachute Light Regiment Royal Artillery, which immediately became 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
. 4th Regiment RA gained 29 (Corunna), 88 (Arracan) and 97 (Lawson’s Company) as gun batteries and was posted to Hong Kong. The Regiment then deployed on operations to the Malayan Peninsula in 1965. It saw active service from February to April and during the confrontation with Indonesia in Borneo until November. The Regiment then resumed service in West Germany, moving to Munsterlager in support of 1st Armoured Division.
In more recent times, the Regiment served three emergency tours of Northern Ireland in 1972, 1974, and 1976. During which, five members of the Regiment were awarded medals for gallantry. Ten soldiers were seriously wounded and eight were killed, including two killed in a terrorist attack on a civilian coach. In March 1977 the Regiment replaced 7th RHA in Aldershot in support of 6 Field Force and equipped with the 105mm Light Gun adopted the parachute role. Members of the Regiment were deployed in Rhodesia in the autumn of 1979 to monitor the ceasefire.
In 1984 the Regiment moved to Osnabruck equipped with the M109 155mm SP gun, remaining in support of the 1st Armoured Division.
In 1991 the Regiment undertook an emergency tour of Northern Ireland as the Tyrone Roulement Battalion, with batteries in Aughnacloy, Middleton, Armagh and Bessbrook. They returned with several wounded after numerous attacks on the Regiment. 52 (Niagara) Battery joined 4th Regiment due to 45th Regiment being placed in suspended animation. Shortly after, the Regiment was tasked with another emergency tour of Northern Ireland, this time to the streets of Belfast. 97 Battery (Lawson's Company) were left to hold the fort in Germany and deployed to Canada for the last time with the M109. The Regiment arrived back from Ireland to find the QM had swapped the M109s for the new Artillery System of the 90’s. A period of conversion training culminated in Regimental live firing at the end of 1994. Shortly after, the AS90s deployed for the first time to the Former Yugoslavia as part of SFOR
. In 1999 the Regiment returned to the Balkans, the guns were based in Macedonia and provided a very effective deterrent when NATO troops moved into Kosovo.
After a packed training period throughout 2001/02, The Regiment took part in Operation Fresco
during the firemen's strike in the autumn of 2002. In 2003 the Regiment deployed to Northern Ireland from June to December, whilst simultaneously providing two Forward Observation Officer parties on Operation Telic
to assist in the capture of Basra. In 2004 the Regiment returned to Iraq and the batteries were split up to fulfil a number of roles, including 3/29 Battery’s task to act as Escort for the Provincial Civ/Mil Operations Centre involved in the reconstruction of Basra. Two years later the Regiment deployed on Operation Tosca on peacekeeping duties as part of the United Nations Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
In 2007 the Regiment began its conversion to the 105mm Light Gun and pre-deployment training for Op HERRICK 7 in Afghanistan. A challenging tour that saw members of the Regiment receiving awards and commendations for bravery, including the Military Cross awarded to Captain Paul Britton of 88 (Arracan) Battery. The Regiment returned from a successful tour in April 2008 and was welcomed home by the city of Sunderland. The close bond between 4th Regiment Royal Artillery and the city of Sunderland was made official in March 1974, when the Regiment was granted the Honorary Freedom of the County Borough of Sunderland. This honour was reconfirmed in 2000 by the City and in July 2008 the Regiment exercised its freedom by marching through the streets in desert uniform to large crowds. With roughly 60% of the Regiment hailing from the north east of England, they are proud to be ‘The North East Gunners’. 2008 was the end of an era as the Regiment departed Germany for the final time. They are now based in Alanbrooke Barracks,Topcliffe, formerly RAF Topcliffe
, North Yorkshire, and about to deploy once again to Afghanistan for Op HERRICK 12.
The recently launched charity aims to gather a substantial amount of money over the time period where the majority of the Regiment is deployed to Afghanistan, and has already collected a considerable sum; where support was shown en-masse by the city of Sunderland at the Remembrance Day Parade. As always, the charity requires your continued support to ensure that it has the capability to help those members of our Regimental family when they need it most.
"To provide immediate and short term financial assistance to 4 Regt RA personnel and their families in the event of serious injury or fatality sustained on or training for operations."
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. It currently serves in the armoured field artillery
Field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
role, and is equipped with the AS-90
AS-90
The AS-90 is a lightly armoured self-propelled artillery piece used by the British Army. It was first delivered in 1993...
self-propelled gun.
The Regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
moved from Roberts Barracks in Osnabruck, Germany at the end of 2008 where it had previously been stationed for over 20 years. The Regiment's main recruiting area is in the North East
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
of England, and so significant effort has been put into re-establishing links, especially to the city of Sunderland where the Regiment holds the Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
. These strong links to the local area gives the Regiment its name 'The North East Gunners.'
History
The Regiment was formed as 4th Regiment Royal Horse ArtilleryRoyal Horse Artillery
The regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery , dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army...
(RHA) at Helmieh, Egypt in May 1939. The original Batteries were C Battery
C Battery Royal Horse Artillery
C Battery Royal Horse Artillery are a Close Support Battery of 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery currently based in Caen Barracks in Hohne, Germany-Northern Ireland:...
, F (Sphinx) Battery, and G Battery (Mercers Troop), drawn from independent commands in India and equipped with the Ordnance QF 25 pounder
Ordnance QF 25 pounder
The Ordnance QF 25 pounder, or more simply, 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was introduced into service just before World War II, during which it served as the major British field gun/howitzer. It was considered by many to be the best field artillery piece of the war, combining high rates of fire with a...
.
Shortly after the outbreak of war in September 1939 the Regiment moved to Mersa Matruh in early 1940. 4th RHA fired the opening rounds of the campaign in North Africa against the Italians at Sidi Barrani on 8 December 1940. As part of the newly formed 7th Armoured Division, 4th RHA advanced westwards across the desert, seeing action again in January 1941 at Bardia, the capture of Tobruk, and at Beda Fomm. 16 October 1941 saw the formation of DD (Jerboa) Battery and the men of G (Mercers Troop) returned to England to join 5th RHA. During the battle of Sidi Rezegh on 23 November 1941, Bombardier
Bombardier (rank)
Bombardier is a rank used in artillery units in the armies of Commonwealth countries instead of corporal. Lance-bombardier is used instead of lance-corporal....
William Bradley of F (Sphinx) Battery was immediately awarded the Military Medal
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
for one of many acts of utmost bravery. In the same battle, Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
John Charles Campbell
John Charles Campbell
Major-General John Charles "Jock" Campbell VC, DSO & Bar, MC was a Scottish officer in the British Army, recipient of the Victoria Cross.-History:Campbell was born in Thurso...
, who only a few months earlier had been commanding 4th RHA, won the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
. Following the breakout from El Alamein
El Alamein
El Alamein is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. As of 2007, it has a local population of 7,397 inhabitants.- Climate :...
, the Regiment joined the rest of the 8th Army
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations of the British Army during World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns....
in its pursuit of the Germans to the west, fighting at Tabega Gap, Akarit, El Kourzia and at Tunis. In July 1943, with the Axis forces in North Africa defeated, 4th Regiment returned to England to train for the invasion of Europe. The Regiment saw action again during the Rhine Crossings
Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
between 25 March and 1 April 1945. At the end of the war, the Regiment was at Wismar, Germany and remained there until returning to England in 1948.
By the time the Regiment redeployed to Germany in 1951 it had gone through many changes; consisting of F (Sphinx), G (Mercers Troop) and I Battery (Bulls Troop) equipped with M44 self-propelled guns. In 1961 4th RHA became 4th Regiment Royal Artillery (RA), losing all 3 batteries to 33rd Parachute Light Regiment Royal Artillery, which immediately became 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It serves in the field artillery role with 16 Air Assault Brigade, and is equipped with the L118 Light Gun.- History :...
. 4th Regiment RA gained 29 (Corunna), 88 (Arracan) and 97 (Lawson’s Company) as gun batteries and was posted to Hong Kong. The Regiment then deployed on operations to the Malayan Peninsula in 1965. It saw active service from February to April and during the confrontation with Indonesia in Borneo until November. The Regiment then resumed service in West Germany, moving to Munsterlager in support of 1st Armoured Division.
In more recent times, the Regiment served three emergency tours of Northern Ireland in 1972, 1974, and 1976. During which, five members of the Regiment were awarded medals for gallantry. Ten soldiers were seriously wounded and eight were killed, including two killed in a terrorist attack on a civilian coach. In March 1977 the Regiment replaced 7th RHA in Aldershot in support of 6 Field Force and equipped with the 105mm Light Gun adopted the parachute role. Members of the Regiment were deployed in Rhodesia in the autumn of 1979 to monitor the ceasefire.
In 1984 the Regiment moved to Osnabruck equipped with the M109 155mm SP gun, remaining in support of the 1st Armoured Division.
In 1991 the Regiment undertook an emergency tour of Northern Ireland as the Tyrone Roulement Battalion, with batteries in Aughnacloy, Middleton, Armagh and Bessbrook. They returned with several wounded after numerous attacks on the Regiment. 52 (Niagara) Battery joined 4th Regiment due to 45th Regiment being placed in suspended animation. Shortly after, the Regiment was tasked with another emergency tour of Northern Ireland, this time to the streets of Belfast. 97 Battery (Lawson's Company) were left to hold the fort in Germany and deployed to Canada for the last time with the M109. The Regiment arrived back from Ireland to find the QM had swapped the M109s for the new Artillery System of the 90’s. A period of conversion training culminated in Regimental live firing at the end of 1994. Shortly after, the AS90s deployed for the first time to the Former Yugoslavia as part of SFOR
SFOR
The Stabilisation Force was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was tasked with upholding the Dayton Agreement. It replaced the previous force IFOR...
. In 1999 the Regiment returned to the Balkans, the guns were based in Macedonia and provided a very effective deterrent when NATO troops moved into Kosovo.
After a packed training period throughout 2001/02, The Regiment took part in Operation Fresco
Operation Fresco
Operation Fresco or Op FRESCO was the codename for the provision of basic emergency cover during the UK firefighter dispute 2002-2003 by civilian firefighters in the United Kingdom, in late 2002 and early 2003. The response to the industrial action was coordinated by the Office of the Deputy Prime...
during the firemen's strike in the autumn of 2002. In 2003 the Regiment deployed to Northern Ireland from June to December, whilst simultaneously providing two Forward Observation Officer parties on Operation Telic
Operation Telic
Operation TELIC was the codename under which all British military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the Invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on 22 May 2011...
to assist in the capture of Basra. In 2004 the Regiment returned to Iraq and the batteries were split up to fulfil a number of roles, including 3/29 Battery’s task to act as Escort for the Provincial Civ/Mil Operations Centre involved in the reconstruction of Basra. Two years later the Regiment deployed on Operation Tosca on peacekeeping duties as part of the United Nations Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
In 2007 the Regiment began its conversion to the 105mm Light Gun and pre-deployment training for Op HERRICK 7 in Afghanistan. A challenging tour that saw members of the Regiment receiving awards and commendations for bravery, including the Military Cross awarded to Captain Paul Britton of 88 (Arracan) Battery. The Regiment returned from a successful tour in April 2008 and was welcomed home by the city of Sunderland. The close bond between 4th Regiment Royal Artillery and the city of Sunderland was made official in March 1974, when the Regiment was granted the Honorary Freedom of the County Borough of Sunderland. This honour was reconfirmed in 2000 by the City and in July 2008 the Regiment exercised its freedom by marching through the streets in desert uniform to large crowds. With roughly 60% of the Regiment hailing from the north east of England, they are proud to be ‘The North East Gunners’. 2008 was the end of an era as the Regiment departed Germany for the final time. They are now based in Alanbrooke Barracks,Topcliffe, formerly RAF Topcliffe
RAF Topcliffe
RAF Topcliffe is a Royal Air Force station in North Yorkshire. It is a satellite station of RAF Linton-on-Ouse.Topcliffe opened in September 1940 as a bomber station in RAF Bomber Command and was home to 77 and 102 Squadrons flying the Whitley heavy bomber. There was a decoy site at Raskelf...
, North Yorkshire, and about to deploy once again to Afghanistan for Op HERRICK 12.
The recently launched charity aims to gather a substantial amount of money over the time period where the majority of the Regiment is deployed to Afghanistan, and has already collected a considerable sum; where support was shown en-masse by the city of Sunderland at the Remembrance Day Parade. As always, the charity requires your continued support to ensure that it has the capability to help those members of our Regimental family when they need it most.
Forever Fourth
Forever Fourth is the new Regimental charity for 4th Regiment Royal Artillery. The charity charter is:"To provide immediate and short term financial assistance to 4 Regt RA personnel and their families in the event of serious injury or fatality sustained on or training for operations."