1st Renfrew and Dumbarton Artillery Volunteers

The 1st Renfrew and Dumbarton Artillery Volunteers was a part-time unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery founded in Scotland in 1860. During the First World War, it served with 51st (Highland) Division at the Battle of the Somme before being broken up. In the Second World War, the regiment saw action in the Battle of France, in the campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, the Greek Civil War and in North West Europe. It continued in the postwar Territorial Army until 1969.

Volunteer Force

The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle and Artillery Volunteer Corps composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need. Three Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVCs) were formed in Renfrewshire and three more in neighbouring Dumbartonshire in 1860, and on 22 August 1863 all six were included in the 1st Administrative Brigade, Renfrewshire Artillery Volunteers, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel John Scott, with its headquarters (HQ) at Greenock: 1st (Greenock) Renfrewshire AVC formed 20 January 1860, four batteries by 1867 2nd (Greenock) Renfrewshire AVC formed 20 January 1860, absorbed into 1st in 1864 3rd (Greenock) Renfrewshire AVC formed 20 January 1860, absorbed into 1st in 1864 1st (Helensburgh) Dumbartonshire AVC formed 9 February 1860 2nd (Rosneath) Dumbartonshire AVC formed March 1860, moved to Kilcreggan 1866, disbanded in 1872 3rd (Dumbarton) Dumbartonshire AVC formed 24 December 1860, increased to two batteries 22 March 1869

When the AVCs were consolidated in May 1880, the administrative brigade became the 1st Renfrewshire (Renfrew and Dumbarton) Artillery Volunteers, shortly afterwards adopting the title of 1st Renfrew and Dumbarton Artillery Volunteers with the following organisation: HQ, Greenock Nos 1–4 Batteries, Greenock No 5 Battery, Helensburgh No 6–7 Batteries, Dumbarton

Position Artillery

The AVCs were intended to serve as garrison artillery manning fixed defences, but a number of the early units manned semi-mobile 'position batteries' of smooth-bore field guns pulled by agricultural horses. The War Office (WO) refused to pay for these batteries and they died out. However the concept was revived in 1888 when some Volunteer batteries were reorganised as position artillery to work alongside the Volunteer infantry brigades. In 1889 the 1st Renfrew & Dumbarton AV was issued with a position battery of 40-pounder Rifled Breech-Loading guns, which were manned by two of the Greenock batteries, the remaining batteries moving to Port Glasgow. In 1892 the position battery was numbered 1st and the remaining garrison batteries were redesignated companies (Nos 2–3 at Port Glasgow, 4 at Helensburgh, and 5–6 at Dumbarton).

Royal Garrison Artillery

In 1882 all the AVCs were affiliated to one of the territorial garrison divisions of the Royal Artillery (RA) and the 1st Renfrew & Dumbarton AV became part of the Scottish Division. In 1889 the structure was altered, and the corps joined the Southern Division. In 1899 the RA was divided into separate field and garrison branches, and the artillery volunteers were all assigned to the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA). When the divisional structure was abolished their titles were changed, the unit becoming the 1st Renfrew and Dumbarton Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers) on 1 January 1902.

The unit's HQ and drill batteries were at 8 South Street, Greenock, and gun practice was carried out at Irvine. It also had a carbine range at Drumshantie, near Greenock. During the Second Boer War 72 men of the unit volunteered for service overseas, but only three were accepted.

Territorial Force

When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908, the Dumbartonshire personnel formed two companies of the Clyde and Forth Royal Garrison Artillery while the Renfrewshire men transferred to the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) to form the III (or 3rd) Highland (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA, at North Street, Greenock, with the following organisation: 1st Renfrewshire (Howitzer) Battery 2nd Renfrewshire (Howitzer) Battery 3rd Highland (Howitzer) Ammunition Column at Cathcart Renfrewshire Small Arm Section Ammunition Column

The unit was part of the TF's Highland Division. The batteries were each issued with four 5-inch howitzers.