As this is my 1000th post, I thought I'd make it a good one.

I've looked in some detail at the home based Territorial Force Artillery Training Schools that were set up to train men as reserves for the RH & RFA. Established by War Office Instruction 212 of May 1915, there were to be five schools but this was later expanded to eight as follows:

No. 1 T.F. Artillery Training School initially at Leyton Buzzard then South Camp, Ripon.

(Northern Command) 3rd Line Northumbrian, 3rd Line West Riding and 3rd Line North Midland were Affiliated Depots.

Reallocated to Ripon Training Centre for training purposes only.

No. 2 T.F. Artillery Training School initially at Dorking then Bettisfield Park Camp

(Western Command) 3rd Line West Lancs., 3rd Line East Lancs. and 3rd Line Welsh were Affiliated Depots.

No. 3 T.F. Artillery Training School initially at Kettering in May 1915, then Rollestone, then at No. 9 Camp, Bulford in 1916

(Southern Command) 3rd Line South Midland, 3rd Line Wessex and initially 3rd Line Lowland & Highland were Affiliated Depots.

Reallocated to Salisbury Training Centre for training purposes only.

No. 4 T.F. Artillery Training School at High Wycombe.

(Eastern Command) 3rd Line East Anglian, 3rd Line Home Counties and initially both 3rd Line London were Affiliated Depots.

No. 5 T.F. Artillery Training School initially Howitzer and Heavy to be at Aylesbury in May 1915, at Halefield Hutments, Wendover July 1915, then Kettering in December 1915, finally at Scotton Camp, Catterick.

(Scottish Command) 3rd Line Lowland, 3rd Line Highland became Affiliated Depots.

Reallocated to Ripon Training Centre for training purposes only.

No. 6 T.F. Artillery Training School at Biscot, Luton which was to be final destination of No. 5 (T.F.) ATS but changed.

(London District) 3rd Line of 1st & 2nd London became Affiliated Depots.

No. 7 T.F. Artillery Training School initially Luton, then Avington Park Camp, Winchester then Louisburg Barracks, Bordon by November 1916, then Durrington, Wilts in late 1918.

(Howitzer and Heavy) all 3rd Line Howitzer Batteries. Plus 4 Heavy batteries (No.1 and 2 Reserve Brigade RGA T.F.) which remained at Avington Park.

Reallocated to Salisbury Training Centre for training purposes only.

No. 8 T.F. Artillery Training School at Larkhill before July 1916 - "K" & "L" Training Batteries - then at "D" Lines, Bulford.

(Royal Horse Artillery) 2nd and 3rd Line RHA T.F. batteries (if established)

In July 1915 the schools were required to also take 50% of the establishment of the 2nd Line Divisional Ammunition Columns in addition to those from 3rd Line Depots. You occasionally see the batteries described as Divisional Training Batteries in 1916 (numbered as per intended division). In January 1916 all 3rd Line Artillery Depot units moved permanently to their affiliated Artillery Training School built to accomodate 2,100 men and 426 horses. The 2nd Line RHA T.F. were also concentrated at Larkhill (as 3rd Lines were still very small) with accomodation for 1,100 men and 250 horses. There were also remount horses housed at each site.

When call ups started as a result of the Derby Scheme and then conscription, new regulars were also sent and attached to these schools, which were renamed Reserve Brigades T.F. by August 1916. They were given regular numbers but if they were posted to a T.F. Battery or Ammunition Column after training and before the end of 1916 their number would have be changed to reflect the T.F. renumbering to six figures as per A.C.I. 2198 (Appendix 183) of November 1916. Often you will see two changes of number within a short space of time to reflect old and new T.F. numbers. Likewise, a T.F. man might gain a regular number if he was sent to a regular reserve brigade and posted on to a regular unit. Confusion continued into 1917 until it was decided that the number should reflect the attestation the soldier was serving under. This led to a good many men gaining a second six figure number within the RH & RFA.

Also towards the end of 1916, selected men from each Reserve Brigade were formed into Howitzer batteries in the 500 series. See http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=194784. After a short period of training (mostly at Aldershot or Bordon) these men were sent overseas, some before their 2nd Line counterparts. An injured or sick man from any RH & RFA T.F. unit who was returned to the UK would ultimately find himself back at a Reserve Brigade once fully recovered, ready for posting again. He may have also gone through Royal Artillery & Tank Corps Command Depot at Catterick or possibly Woolwich RHA Depot (No. 10 Reserve Brigade).

ACI 469 (Appendix 47) of 1916 laid down the Establishments for Permanent Cadre and those attached to the schools. The numbers appear to increase slightly when becoming Reserve Brigades.

Source: The Territorial Force Artillery Training Schools

Recent blog posts on the training of Royal garrison Artillery at Coastal Units (Tynemouth RGA and Durham RGA) reminded me of David Porter's excellent 1,000th post which outlines the establishment of Territorial Force Artillery Training Schools. These were effectively the 3rd Line units of the Territorials established in 1915 as both 1st line and 2nd line units deployed overseas.