Honourable Artillery Company

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Armorial bearings of the HAC, granted in 1821

The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior.

Contents

1 History
2 Current role
3 The Honourable Artillery Company Museum
4 Battle honours
5 Famous members of the HAC
6 External links
7 See also

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 Handguns. 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 12th (HAC) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery served in North-West Europe, North Africa, Sicily and Italy. 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.

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 [link] 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 a 4th 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 its own cap badge).

The HAC is divided into three Patrol Squadrons, 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.

The Honourable Artillery Company Museum

Honourable Artillery Company Museum opened in 1987. The collection includes uniforms, armour, silver, medals and decorations, weapons, equipment and applied art. The archives date from 1657 and are of particular interest for 17th and 18th century militia and City of London matters.

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

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)
John Laurie (1897–1980)
Erskine Childers (1870–1922)
Samuel Pepys (1633–1703)