1st Norfolk Artillery Volunteers
| 1st Norfolk Artillery Volunteers 1st East Anglian Brigade, RFA 84th (East Anglian) Field Brigade, RA 78th (1st East Anglian) HAA Regiment, RA |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 1859–1955 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Territorial Army
|
| Type | Artillery Regiment |
| Role | Garrison Artillery Field Artillery Anti-Aircraft Artillery |
| Garrison/HQ |
Great Yarmouth Norwich |
| Engagements | WWI: Western Front Sinai and Palestine Campaign WWII: The Blitz Italian Campaign |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Colonel The Earl of Stradbroke, KCMG, CB, CVO, CBE, VD, TD |
The 1st Norfolk Artillery Volunteers was a unit of Britain's Volunteer Force raised in the County of Norfolk in 1859 as a response to a French invasion threat. It became part of the Territorial Force in 1908 and served under various designations as field artillery in Palestine during World War I, and as heavy anti-aircraft artillery in North Africa and Italy during World War II. It disappeared in a merger in 1955.
The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle, Artillery and Engineer Volunteer units composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need. The 1st Norfolk Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVC) was formed at Great Yarmouth on 29 September 1859, with further batteries being added on 23 February and 4 June 1860, and 26 December 1862. In January 1864 several AVCs from Essex and Suffolk were attached to the 1st Norfolk for administration, and in November that year the 1st Administrative Brigade of Norfolk Artillery Volunteers was formed with the following composition:
In the early years the corps used large coastal artillery guns at Great Yarmouth.
When the Volunteers were reorganised in 1880 the 1st Norfolk Admin Bde was consolidated into a single unit with headquarters at Great Yarmouth. The batteries were distributed as follows:
However, the Essex volunteers were unhappy with the arrangements and left, so the Suffolk batteries were renumbered as Nos 5, 6 and 7. The unit became the 1st Norfolk (Norfolk & Suffolk) AVC, and was attached to the Eastern Division of the Royal Artillery in 1886. The Artillery Volunteers were transferred to the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) in 1899, and the unit was redesignated the 1st Norfolk RGA (Volunteers) in 1902. An affiliated Cadet Corps was formed at Beccles in 1906.
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