North Midland (Staffordshire) Royal Garrison Artillery
| North Midland (Staffordshire) RGA | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1908–1950 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Territorial Army
|
| Role | Heavy artillery Medium artillery |
| Size | Battery, later two Regiments |
| Garrison/HQ | Stoke-on-Trent |
| Engagements | WWI: Western Front WWII: Battle of France Tunisian Campaign Italian Campaign North West Europe |
The North Midland (Staffordshire) Heavy Battery was a Territorial Force (TF) unit of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) formed in Staffordshire in 1908. It fought on the Western Front during World War I. Converted to medium artillery in the 1920s, the unit took part in the Battle of France and Dunkirk Evacuation in the early part of World War II, before returning to action in North Africa and Italy, and finally in North West Europe.
When the TF was created in 1908 as part of the Haldane Reforms, each of its infantry divisions included a heavy artillery battery in its establishment. For the North Midland Division a new unit was raised at Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent, under the title of North Midland (Staffordshire) Heavy Battery, RGA.
The battery, consisting of four 4.7-inch guns, mobilised at the beginning of World War I, and was quartered at Bishop's Stortford with the rest of the North Midland Division. On 31 August 1914 all TF units were authorised to raise 2nd Line units, upon which the parent battery was designated 1/1st North Midland Heavy Battery and the new unit recruiting at Hartshill became the 2/1st Battery.
The battery went to France with the North Midland Division, landing at Le Havre on 1 March 1915. On arrival in France, the division was designated 46th (North Midland) Division. The battery first went into action on 23 March. However, artillery policy in the British Expeditionary Force was to withdraw heavy batteries from the divisions and allocate them to heavy brigades (later Heavy Artillery Reserve Groups (HAGs)), so on 18 April the battery left 46th Division and after short attachments to other infantry divisions became part of XIII Heavy Brigade, RGA.
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