The regiment was formed as 5th Brigade Royal Horse Artillery in March 1901 and was renamed 1st Brigade Royal Horse Artillery in October 1906.[3] It served in Iraq in 1920, returned to the Uk in 1923 and served in Egypt in 1931, before returning to the UK again in 1936.[3] It was renamed 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery on 1 May 1938.[3]
Second World War
Sexton 25pdr self-propelled gun of 1st Royal Horse Artillery, operating as part of 'Porter Force' on the Adriatic coast near Ravenna, 1 December 1944. (IWM NA20334)
In 1939, 1 RHA was part of 51st (Highland) Infantry Division, and fought at Saint Valery. The regiment was captured after severe fighting, but some batteries managed to escape after the Battle of Dunkirk. The regiment reformed and was deployed to Northern Africa in late 1940, where it arrived with the Middle East Command in October 1940 and took a large part in Wavell's campaign which opened on 9 December 1940. The most notable actions were those during the Siege of Tobruk and all the batteries fought during the fierce fighting just before El Alamein and then the First and Second Battles of El Alamein itself.[3]
1 RHA then joined 10 Armoured Division in Aleppo and spent the next year training all over Syria, Palestine and the Suez Canal Zone. 1 RHA then landed in Italy from Palestine in May 1944 at Taranto, and were in action south of Rome on 15 May 1944 and thereafter played a full part in the remainder of the Italian Campaign and finished the war in Italy.[3]
In 1965, RHA deployed to Aden with three batteries (each split into three independent two-gun sections), where they supported British battalions in the Radfan, and South Arabian battalions on the Yemeni border. On returning from the region, the regiment was based at Kirkee Barracks, Colchester Garrison and subsequently renamed as 1st Field Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, and its batteries also taking the new designation. The regiment was then equipped with the 105mm Pack Howitzer, and assigned to the 19th Infantry Brigade.[4]
When the Cold War ended in 1990, the Options for Change reforms were published, and the regiment ordered back to England within the next two years. Another change was during the Gulf War, all three batteries, A, B, and E amalgamated to form A/B/E Bty for Gulf service. On returning from the gulf in April 1991, the batteries were separated into their independent identities again. In September 1992, the regiment moved to Assaye Barracks, Tidworth, renamed as 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery and re-equipped with the L118 light gun in CRA, 3rd (United Kingdom) Mechanised Division in support of the 1st Mechanised Brigade.[4]
In 2004, 1 RHA deployed to Basra, Iraq on Operation Telic (Op TELIC 4) as part of 1st Mechanised Brigade: Sergeant Terry Bryan[6] from 1RHA was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his actions during an incident on 9 August 2004.[7] On 28 September 2004, a convoy of 1 RHA vehicles was ambushed, resulting in the loss of Cpl Marc Taylor REME and Gunner David Lawrence in an improvised explosive device attack.[8] In 2007, 1 RHA re-deployed to Basra, Iraq on Operation Telic (Operation TELIC 10).[9]
Graham E. Watson & Richard A. Rinaldi, The British Army in German (BAOR and After): an Organisational History 1947–2004, 2005 Tiger Lilly Book Productions. ISBN0-9720296-9-9.