20 Battery Royal Artillery is the headquarters battery of the 16th Regiment Royal Artillery. It is one of the five batteries that make up 16 Regiment Royal Artillery. The Regiment use the Rapier Field Standard C air defence missile system and the Land Environment Air Picture Provision (LEAPP) capability, the only Regiment in the British Armed Forces to do so.
20 Battery was formed in 1771 as No. 7 Company, 4th Battalion Royal Artillery under the command of Captain William Johnstone RA. It fought (under various names and commanders) in the American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Crimean War, First World War, Second World War and the Korean War. In 1971 it was placed in Suspended Animation (not disbanded) and remained on the Royal Artillery's Active List and Order of Battle with its property and Battery Records being placed in central storage in the Royal Arsenal Woolwich. In 1988 it was reformed by an Officer, and former soldier of the battery (Captain Flannagan), and its property records and heritage were reinstated.
The unit has since served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and the Falkland Islands. However, in 2012, the Battery was redesignated a Headquarters Battery, and does no longer deploy with guns or missiles.
History
Formation and the American Wars
20 Battery Royal Artillery can trace its origins to the formation of 7 (Johnstone's) Company of the 4th Battalion Royal Artillery in 1771, in Woolwich, under Captain William Johnstone. Shortly after formation the 4th Battalion was posted to New York City, relieving elements of the other battalions stationed in North America. From there, the Company was sent to Pensacola in the British colony of West Florida. Captain Johnstone was then appointed Commander Royal Artillery (CRA) for the colony.
The colonies of East and West Florida had been Spanish possessions until the 1760s when they were ceded to Great Britain at the end of the Seven Years' War. The defences of these colonies and their cities, including Pensacola, had been seriously neglected under Spanish rule. As a result, the British spend a large amount of time and money attempting to bring them up to standard. Captain Johnstone became heavily involved in the planning and construction of the batteries and fortifications around Pensacola during his time there. Detachments from the company were also stationed in Augusta and Baton Rouge during their time in Florida.
Captain Johnstone and some of the Senior Non Commissioned Officers within the company became involved in the training of gunners from the German Regiment of Waldeck, that were part of the Pensacola garrison. They were trained in field gunnery in the hopes that this would make them more versatile. The company remained in West Florida - the only unit of the Royal Artillery in the southernmost colonies - as the American Revolutionary War raged in the north. Whilst the war had not yet spread to West Florida, the men of the company had to endure hardships, including tropical heat and a volatile relationship with the native tribes.
With forces newly arrived from New York and reinforced with soldiers from Pensacola's garrison, the army embarked upon the campaign for control of the southern colonies. 7 Company was attached to the force as the only gunners and joined the second column commanded by General Augustine Prevost. The early parts of the campaign were a success; with the revolutionaries routed, British dominance was secured for several years. The company fought in a number of battles in this campaign and Captain Johnstone commanded throughout. These battles included Brier Creek, Stono Ferry, the Siege of Fort Morris in Sunbury and a number of skirmishes. The company was instrumental in the victories on each occasion. One of the officers from the company was also appointed CRA later in the campaign, during siege of Charleston, which ended with the largest single surrender of American forces during the war.
Captain Johnstone and his company then returned to Florida, where they remained and where concerns of a Spanish attack on the colony increased following the entry of Spain into the war in 1779. To counter this threat, Captain Johnstone received reinforcements in the form of a detachment from another company within the battalion which were placed under his command in Augusta. In May, 1781, a combined Franco–Spanish force of over 10,000 men under Bernardo Gálvez arrived in the harbour and began the Siege of Pensacola.