Catalogue description Honourable Artillery Company Archives (HAC)

Records of the Honourable Artillery Company and its clubs and societies. With some personal papers of individual members

Honourable Artillery Company

The Honourable Artillery Company, which was founded in 1537, has a long and distinguished history in the annals of the British Army. Regiments of the Company have fought with distinction in both World Wars and its current Regiment, which now forms part of the Territorial Army, has a demanding and exciting role. If mobilised, the HAC Regiment would provide part of NATO's Rapid Reaction Corps

The Company is a Charity. Its purpose being to attend to the "better defence of the realm" and this purpose is primarily achieved by sustained support for the Regiment

The vision for the HAC is of a dynamic organisation that has flair, is robust and enduring. The HAC conserves its traditions and its high standards. It aspires to be successful and efficient in fulfilling its purpose with the continuing existence of the Regiment being of paramount importance. Its members share a collective purpose and are vigorous and dedicated to achieving excellence in all their many endeavours

Members of the Regiment are drawn, for the most part, from young professional men and women working in and around the City and Greater London, and the Company values and sustains its close working relationship with the City. Those leaving the Regiment may become Veteran Members and remain within the fraternity of the Company, which they then serve in a variety of ways

There are many other facets to this complex and traditional Company and it is hoped that this guide, however brief, will provide an insight into its make-up, traditions and character

HISTORY

In 1537, the Fraternity or Guild of St George received a Charter of Incorporation from King Henry VIII. According to the Charter, the Guild of St George was intended for 'The better increase of the Defence of this our Realm and maintenance of the Science and Feat of shooting Long Bows, Cross Bows and Hand Guns'. The Honourable Artillery Company is thus the oldest regiment in the British Army. It is, in precedence, the second most senior unit of the Territorial Army. The Guild of St George became known as 'The Gentlemen of the Artillery Garden', after its practice ground in Spitalfields, then simply as 'The Artillery Company'. The word 'artillery' was used at that time to describe archery and other missile weapons, while guns were known as 'great artillery'. The courtesy prefix 'Honourable', which was first used in 1685, was officially confirmed by Queen Victoria in 1860

Captains of the Artillery Garden provided officers for the London Trained Bands, a citizen militia, most notably when they assembled at Tilbury Camp in 1588 to oppose the Spanish Armada. Members of the Artillery Company fought on both the Royalist and Parliamentary sides during the English Civil War of 1642 to 1649. Although the Company's silver was lost during the Civil War, its archives survive from 1657 onwards. Since 1633 the HAC has been governed by a Court of Assistants, similar to many of the City Livery Companies, and a number of committees are appointed by the Court. The first Annual General Court for which a record can be found was held in 1660

The Company has always had strong connections with the City of London. In the early part of the seventeenth century, the Court of Aldermen appointed the chief officers and paid the professional soldiers who trained members of the Company. Even today, the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Sheriffs are honorary members of the Court of Assistants

Since the Restoration, the Company has provided Guards of Honour in the City for visits by members of the Royal Family, foreign Royals and other Heads of State. The Company's role in restoring order to the City following the Gordon Riots of 1780 prompted the gift of its first cannon by the Corporation of London and led to the creation of an HAC Artillery Division

In 1830, King William IV ordered the uniform of the HAC to be based on that of the Grenadier Guards. Thirty years later, control of the Company moved from the Home Office to the War Office and, in 1889, a Royal Warrant gave the Secretary of State for War full control of the Company's military affairs. The Light Cavalry was formed in 1861 as a reconnaissance unit for the infantry, becoming a horse battery in 1891 and accounting for the Regiment's link with the Royal Horse Artillery

The HAC received its first Battle Honour, 'South Africa, 1900-02', during the Boer War. Almost two hundred members of the Company served in South Africa, the majority in the City Imperial Volunteers as infantry, mounted infantry, and in a Field Battery that was officered and for the most part manned by members of the Company. The Company became part of the newly formed Territorial Army with the passing of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act in 1907. Its property and privileges were protected by the Honourable Artillery Company Act 1908

Two Infantry Battalions and five Batteries of the HAC fought in the First World War. The 1st Battalion served in France and Flanders, with particular distinction at Hooge, Beaucourt, and Gavrelle. The 2nd Battalion saw active service in France and in Italy, where it played an important role in the crossing of the Piave. Two Batteries went to the Middle East to fight in Aden, Egypt, and Palestine while two Reserve Batteries and a Siege Battery fought in France. In total, almost thirteen thousand members of the Company served during the First World War and over sixteen hundred of these were killed or died of wounds or sickness. Three members of the HAC were awarded the Victoria Cross. Lieutenant A.O. Pollard, VC, MC, DCM (1893-1960) and Lieutenant R.L. Haine, VC, MC (1896-1982), received the medal for conspicuous bravery and determination while they were fighting with the 1st Battalion at Gavrelle in April 1917. Lieutenant (Acting Captain) T.T. Pryce, VC, MC & Bar (1886-1918), who was originally a private in the 1st Battalion, won a posthumous Victoria Cross as an officer in the Grenadier Guards

A detachment of HAC Metropolitan Special Constables was formed in 1919. The Artillery Division of the HAC was granted the privilege of firing Royal salutes at the Tower of London in 1924. The following year saw the formation of the HAC's Company of Pikemen and Musketeers

At the outset of the Second World War the Infantry Battalion of the HAC became an Officer Cadet Training Unit. The 11th and 12th HAC Regiments of Royal Horse Artillery served in North Africa and in Italy. In 1942 they were re-equipped with 'Priest' self-propelled guns (American 105 mm guns mounted on tank chassis). The 13th HAC Regiment of Royal Horse Artillery fought in Normandy and Holland and across the Rhine into Germany. The Company also provided a Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment and two Heavy Anti-Aircraft Batteries of the Royal Artillery. Major R. H. Cain, VC (admitted to the HAC in 1928), was awarded the Victoria Cross while serving with the South Staffordshire Regiment during the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. Some 3,800 members of the Company received commissions and over seven hundred members lost their lives during the Second World War

In 1947 the Company was reorganised into an Infantry Battalion and two Royal Horse Artillery Regiments of Self-propelled Artillery and of mobile Heavy Anti-Aircraft Artillery. The latter Regiment was disbanded eight years later. The Territorial Army became the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) from 1967 until it resumed its original name in 1980. The HAC was reorganised into four squadrons that formed part of the British Army of the Rhine in 1973. The present-day role of the HAC is to provide surveillance and target acquisition patrols for the NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps

• View Record