Did your ancestor serve during the Second World War with the 80th Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery? Search through 978 names and discover your family’s military history.
Did your ancestor serve during the Second World War with the 80th Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery? Search through 978 names and discover your family’s military history.
Every record is a transcript of information found in original records. The detail in each transcript will vary depending on the information available from the records. The transcripts were created by Martin Edwards. In each record you may find:
Name
Rank
Regiment
Attached regiment
Resident
Age
Birth place
Burial or commemorations
Event
Family details
Role
Country
Many of the first name(s) are listed by initials only.
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, more commonly known as the Royal Artillery, is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, the Royal Artillery is made up of a number of 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 the time of the First World the Royal Artillery was split into three groups. The first group was a combination of the Royal Horse Artillery and the Royal Field Artillery. The second group was the Royal Garrison Artillery. And the final group was simply the Royal Artillery, responsible for supplies and the storage of ammunition. The Royal Artillery massively expanded during the First World War.
In 1920 the rank of corporal was abolished and the rank of bombardier was instated. Until 1924 the three groups acted as separate companies but at this point they were once again joined as a single regiment. In 1938 Royal Artillery Brigades were renamed Regiments. During the Second World War there were over 1 million men serving in 960 gunner regiments. The RA also has an important role in air defence.