Honourable Artillery Company
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| The Honourable Artillery Company | |
|---|---|
 Cap badge of The Honourable Artillery Company |
|
| Active | 25 August 1537- |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Territorial Army |
| Role | Surveillance and Target Acquisition |
| Size | One regiment |
| Part of | The HAC is not part of any other Regiment or Corps. However they have affiliations to the Royal Horse Artillery and Grenadier Guards |
| Garrison/HQ | London |
| Motto | Arma pacis fulcra (Armed Strength for Peace) |
| March | Quick - The British Grenadiers Slow - The Duke of York Canter - Bonnie Dundee Trot - The Keel Row Walk - The Duchess of Kent |
| Commanders | |
| Captain-General | HM The Queen |
| Insignia | |
| Tactical Recognition Flash |  Corps of Drums only |
The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior.
Contents |
[edit] History
The HAC can trace its history as far back as 1296, but it received a Royal Charter from Henry VIII on 25 August 1537, when Letters Patent were received by the Overseers of the Fraternity or Guild of St George authorising them to establish a perpetual corporation for the defence of the realm to be known as the Fraternity or Guild of Artillery of Longbows, Crossbows and Handgonnes. This body was known by a variety of names until 1656, when it was first referred to as the Artillery Company. It was first referred to as the Honourable Artillery Company in 1685 and officially received the name from Queen Victoria in 1860.
From 1538 to 1658 it occupied and trained at the Old Artillery Ground in Spitalfields on the site of the outer precinct of the dissolved Priory and Hospital of St Mary Spital. In 1658, following disputes over use of the Ground with the Gunners of the Tower, it moved its current site at Bunhill Fields.
The regiment has the rare distinction of having fought on the side of both Parliament and the Royalists during the English Civil War.
Until 1780 the HAC trained the officers of the London Trained Bands.
Contingents first served overseas in the South African War (1899–1902) and three infantry battalions and seven artillery batteries were raised for service during the First World War. In the Second World War The 11th and 12th HAC Regiments of Royal Horse Artillery served in North Africa and in Italy. In 1942 they were re-equipped with M7 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. In recent years formed sub-units from the regiment have been deployed on operations in the Balkans and the Middle East that have seen its soldiers employed in a variety of HUMINT roles.
The Transvaal Horse Artillery
In 1937 the Transvaal Horse Artillery was formally affiliated to the HAC Regiment. The Transvaal Horse Artillery, formed in 1904 as Lys’ Volunteer Corps, fought in South West Africa during the First World War and in East and North Africa during the Second World War.
The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company
The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, was founded in Boston in 1638. Several of the founders were members of the HAC and it is the oldest military body in North America. Since 1887, delegations from the Ancients have visited the HAC in London on a number of occasions, while the first of several visits to Boston by members of the HAC took place in 1903.
[edit] Current role
The HAC is currently a unit of the Territorial Army based in City Road in Islington, just north of the City of London: the regiment has an important historical and ceremonial relationship with the City. It provides the British Army with its only dedicated Surveillance and Target Acquisition patrol regiment—operating small covert reconnaissance patrols gathering intelligence and target information. The regiment includes a dedicated long-range communications capability [1] In recent years its role has expanded to include close-observation and liaison tasks. It is assigned to Commander Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps.
Although closely linked to the Royal Artillery, the HAC is a separate regiment and is not part of the RA (although, unusually, there is a Regular Artillery unit - 4/73 Special OP Battery from 5 Regiment, RA - that would form another patrol Squadron if it was ever required). Its Permanent Staff Instructors are drawn from across the British Army, though it has a strong affiliation with the Grenadier Guards, which they show by wearing the Guards' khaki beret, with the HAC's own cap badge on a black backing. The Corps of Drums and Band whear the old HAC infantry capbadge on a Blue Red Blue backing which is superficially identical to that of the Grenadier Guards.
The HAC is divided into three Patrol Squadrons (to be reduced to two in mid 2007 due to recruiting difficulties), a training wing, a Signal Squadron (which is responsible for supporting the regiment's sophisticated integral communications infrastructure), a Headquarters Squadron, a Liaison Troop (formerly the Gun Troop), a Corps of Drums and a Regimental Band.
The HAC also has a ceremonial role in providing guards of honour at the Guildhall in the City of London during state visits, and providing the saluting battery at the Tower of London for state occasions.
The HAC is odd in that, as well as the Territorial Army Active Unit, it exists as a separate charitable organisation - often colloquially referred to as "The Company" or "The House". As well as owning the Regiment's Headquarters in the City of London and providing the basis for a very active social calendar the Company has a number of affiliated organisations. There is a Detachment of Special Constabulary (or volunteer police officers), established in 1919. Officers serving in the Detachment, who are City of London Police Special Constables, retain the Detachment's unique identity by wearing the HAC Regimental Titles, in addition to their Divisional identification. Also affiliated are the Company of Pikemen and Musketeers (formed 1925, given a Royal Warrant 1955), and the Light Cavalry Troop (formed 1979, given Royal Warrant 2004).The Company of Pikemen and Musketeers and the Light Cavalry forms the guard for the Lord Mayor of London on ceremonial occasions.
[edit] Battle honours
- South Africa 1900–02.
- The Great War (3 Bns and 7 Btys): Ypres 1915 '17, Somme 1916 '18, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Arras 1917 '18, Scarpe 1917 '18, Arleux, Bullecourt, Pilckem, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Amiens, Albert 1918, Bapaume 1918, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Épèhy, St. Quentin Canal, Cambrai 1918, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Piave, Vittorio Veneto, Italy 1917-18, Rafah, Egypt 1915-17, Gaza, El Mughar, Jerusalem, Jordan, Megiddo, Sharon, Damascus, Palestine 1917-18, Aden.
- The Second World War: Bourguébus Ridge, Antwerp, Le Havre, Rhine, North-West Europe 1944-45, Knightsbridge, El Alamein, El Hamma, Sbiba, Thala, Tunis, North Africa 1941-43, Sicily 1943, Cassino II, Coriano, Senio, Italy 1944-45.
Note: battle honours were awarded for services of both infantry and artillery units of the HAC.
[edit] Famous members of the HAC
- HM The Queen - Captain-General of the HAC (b.1926)
- Orde Wingate, son of Maj. Gen. Orde Wingate
- James Gray (b.1954)
- Sir Edward Heath KG (1916–2005)
- Robert Henry Cain VC
- Field Marshal Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke Colonel Commandant HAC 1947?-?
- General Sir Richard O'Connor, KT, GCB, DSO, MC, ADC (21 August 1889 – 17 June 1981)
- Alfred Oliver Pollard VC, MC & Bar, DCM
- Reginald Leonard Haine VC, MC & Bar
- John Laurie (1897–1980)
- Erskine Childers (1870–1922)
- Samuel Pepys (1633–1703)
- Andrew Selous (b.1962)
- Lord Francis Seymour
- Gregory Barker (b.1966)
- Vincenzo Lunardi
[edit] External links
- The Active Unit website
- The "Company" website
- The Light Cavalry HAC website
- The HAC Special Constabulary website
- Pathe newsreel of the pikemen and musketeers circa 1958 (click the first photo to view the film)
- Pathe newsreel of the Queen presenting new colours in 1955 (click the first photo to view the film). This clip demonstrates the unique regimental saluting format "Regimental Fire" (final part of the clip).
