Two new troops of Artillery were formed
in 1813 and were armed with the new rockets, which General Congreve
had been developing, testing, and advocating for some years
previously. The 1st Rocket was disbanded in 1816 but the 2nd Troop
absorbed its Commander and many of its men so that O Battery can be
said to inherit the whole of the British rocket tradition. The 2nd
Rocket Troop played a most distinguished part in the battle of
Leipzig on 16th, 17th, and 18th October 1813 as the only unit of the
British Army present, and was attached to the bodyguard of the
Prince of Sweden. Its commander, Captain R. Bogue, was killed during
the action. On the 16th May 1816 the King was granted the Troop the
battle honour "Leipzig" but this ceased to be effective when the
Royal Artillery was given the single honour "Ubique". However, the
colour of the Swedish Royal House, blue and yellow were adopted as a
reminder that it was under Swedish Command that the Troop fought
that day. Those colours are still worn on the Guns and the vehicles,
and the anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig (October 18th) is still
celebrated. On the Eve of Battle Dinner, 17 October, the Battery
toasts the King of Sweden.
The Troop served at the Battles of Waterloo, Algiers and Inkerman
with its rockets before becoming a normal gun troop for the
remainder of the Crimea, the Second Afghan War, the Boer War, and
both World Wars. The Troop went to India and the Middle East before
joining 2 RHA at in 1951 for BAOR duties. In 1958 the Troop moved to
Malaya for three years in FARELF as an independent Battery. The
Troop returned to Colchester in autumn 1961 and the first four
months of 1964 were spent in Cyprus where the Troop formed part of
UNFICYP. The Troop saw active service in Northern Ireland in 1972,
1973 and 1975. In 1978 the Troop moved to Dortmund and then two
years later was in Larkhill providing support for AMF(L). In 1982
the Troop moved again to Munster, Germany and carried out active
service in Cyprus as part of UNFICYP in 1989-90 and the Gulf War as
part of Op GRANBY in 1990-91,
2nd Regiment RA Disbanded in 1993 and saw the Batteries dispersing
to other Units O Bty amalgamated with Headquarters Battery, 1st
Regiment Royal Horse Artillery on 18th October 1993. Since
Amalgamation the Battery has seen the Radar Troop deploy to the
Former Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) on Op GRAPPLE in 1994 and part
of a Regimental Operational Tour to Bosnia in 1996. The Battery has
completed its second tour of the FRY from July 1998 to January 1999.
During the period 1998-1999, O Bty was merged with the Tac Group of
L (Nery) Bty and became (Nery) Battery (The Rocket Troop) RHA.
Although the Battery still had no guns, the Tac Gp of L Bty were
actively engaged in many exercises supporting a variety of
battlegroups.
In December 1999, L Tac reformed with the Gun Group of N (The Eagle
Troop) Battery from 3 RHA and became l (Nery) Battery (The Eagle
Troop) RHA. O/HQ Battery reverted to its previous title. The Battery
was deployed to the Balkans as part of the Pan-Balkans Regiment in
2000. The majority of the Battery went to Kosovo, serving within the
Bde HQ of 7 Armd Bde initially, followed by 3 Cdo Bde. Some members
of the Met Troop went to Bosnia in support of Ch Tp and the Glamoc
Ranges. In February 2001, almost the entire Battery were deployed on
Op PENINSULA in the fight against the Foot and Mouth Disease that
was raging in the UK. In 2002 the Battery went to the Balkans once
more before taking part in Op FRESCO, the Army’s part in covering
the Firemen’s strikes. In April 2004, the Battery deployed with the
rest of 1 RHA on Op TELIC 4 in Iraq and in 2005, supported the
Battery deployment on Op TOSCA in Cyprus.
L Bty
N Bty O Bty
46 Bty HQ Bty
|
105 Pack
Howitzer |
2nd Regiment Royal Artillery
