19th Regiment Royal Artillery

19th Regiment Royal Artillery – The Scottish Gunners (until 2012 The Highland Gunners) – is a Scottish regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It currently supports 12 Mechanised Brigade in the armoured field artillery role. The regiment has Fire Support Teams mounted in Warrior Mechanised Artillery Observation Vehicles equipped with MSTAR. The regiment's three gun batteries are equipped with 24 AS-90 self-propelled guns

19th Regiment Royal Artillery
Active1900 - Present
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeField artillery
Size5 Batteries
Part of1st Artillery Brigade
Garrison/HQLarkhill, Wiltshire
Nickname(s)The Scottish Gunners
Formerly The Highland Gunners
EquipmentAS-90 self-propelled guns and MSTAR radar
Insignia
Tartan
Robertson hunting tartan

History

19th Regiment traces its history to 17 Brigade Royal Field Artillery which was formed in 1900 but the individual batteries date back to the 18th century. The brigade saw action during World War I. During World War II, the four pre-war batteries combined into two. In May 1940 it had the honour of being the first artillery regiment to fire in the war while stationed at the Maginot Line. It served during the North African and Italian campaigns.

The regiment was renumbered to 19 Regiment in 1947. During the 1950s and 1960s it served in the Korean War and Aden Emergency. With the phasing out of National Service in 1963, 19th Regiment was allocated the recruitment area of the Scottish Highlands.[1]

A piper of The Scottish Gunners at the parade commemorating its renaming in 2012

In 1995, the regiment was deployed to Bosnia at short notice as part of Operation Deliberate Force. It was deployed to Cyprus in 1998 as part of UNFICYP. Since the 2000s, it has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. More recently, the regiment returned from Afghanistan (Op Herrick 16) in October 2012.[2]

In December 2012, the regiment was officially named "The Scottish Gunners" when the 40th Regiment Royal Artillery (The Lowland Gunners) was placed in suspended animation. 38 (Seringapatam) Battery was transferred to 19th Regt. A new banner for the Pipes and Drums was presented and a plaque unveiled at the regiment's barracks to mark the occasion.[3][4]

In 2019, the regiment was due to move within Wiltshire from Bhurtpore Barracks at Tidworth to new purpose-built barracks at Larkhill.[5]

Recruitment areas

The regiment traditionally recruited from the Highlands as its former nickname suggested but now also recruits from Fiji, Africa, The Caribbean, Grampian, Tayside, Fife, central Scotland and Argyll. With 40 Regt "Lowland Gunners" being placed into suspended animation as part of the Army 2020 plans, it became the principal Scottish artillery regiment.

Freedom of the City

19 Regiment RA is the local artillery regiment of the Highlands of Scotland, the Western Isles, Shetland and Orkney. The Regiment has been granted the Freedom of the Cities of Inverness[6] and Colchester and wears the Robertson hunting tartan.

Batteries

The regiment's batteries are as follows:[7]

References
  1. 19th Regt - A short regimental history
  2. "19th Regiment Royal Artillery receive Afghanistan medals". Ministry of Defence. 13 November 2012.
  3. "Scottish Gunners name for 19 Regt RA". army.mod.uk. 17 December 2012. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  4. "19th Regiment Royal Artillery becomes The Scottish Gunners". Ministry of Defence. 14 December 2012.
  5. "19 Regiment Royal Artillery". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  6. "Highland Gunners parade in Inverness". BBC. 15 November 2012.
  7. "19th Regt Batteries". Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  8. "Letter from Brigadier Mead". 1st Artillery Brigade and Headquarters South West. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
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