- Home
- Articles
- World Records
- Full list of United Kingdom records
- Armed Forces & Conflict
- Royal Artillery Military Medal Awards
Records in this collection
- 1st Sportsman's Battalion, Royal Fusiliers 1914-1918
- 1861 Worldwide Army Index
- Afghan War, Fallen Officers & Victoria Cross Recipients 1878-1880
- Airmen Died in the Great War, 1914-1919
- Anglo-Boer War Records 1899-1902
- Army Deserters 1828-1840
- Army List August 1878
- Army Roll of Honour 1939-1945
- Birmingham City Battalions 1914-1918
- Birmingham Employers Roll of Honour 1914-1918
- Bradford Pals 1914-1918
- Britain, Gestapo Invasion Arrest List 1940
- British Armed Forces Soldiers' Wills 1850-1986
- British Armed Forces, First World War Soldiers' Medical Records
- British Armed Forces, First World War Widows' Pensions Forms
- British Armed Forces, Roman Catholic Registers Baptisms
- British Army Casualty Lists 1939-1945
- British Army Discharges, 60th Foot 1854-1880
- British Army Officers' Widows' Pension Forms 1755-1908
- British Army Service Records - WO 363 & WO 364
- British Army Service Records WO 22 & WO 23
- British Army Service Records WO 96 & WO 97
- British Army, Bond Of Sacrifice: Officers Died In The Great War 1914-1916
- British Army, British Red Cross Society volunteers 1914-1918
- British Army, East Surrey Regiment 1899-1919
- British Army, East Surrey Regiment 1899-1919
- British Army, East Surrey Regiment 1899-1919
- British Army, Honourable Artillery Company
- British Army, Imperial War Museum Bond of Sacrifice 1914-1918
- British Army, Indian Volunteer Force Medal Awards 1915-1939
- British Army, Irish regimental enlistment registers 1877-1924
- British Army, List Of Half-Pay Officers 1714
- British Army, Lloyds Of London Memorial Roll 1914-1919
- British Army, Northumberland Fusiliers 1881-1920
- British Army, Queen's Royal West Regiment 1901-1918
- British Army, Queen's Royal West Regiment 1901-1918
- British Army, Queen's Royal West Regiment 1901-1918
- British Army, Railwaymen Died in the Great War
- British Army, Royal Artillery Officer Deaths 1850-2011
- British Army, Royal Artillery Officers 1716-1899
- British Army, Royal Artillery War Commemoration Book, 1914-1918
- British Army, Royal Artillery, 80th Field Regiment, WW2
- British Army, Royal Welch Fusiliers
- British Army, War of 1812 Casualties
- British Army, Women's Army Auxiliary Corps 1917-1920
- British Army, worldwide index 1851
- British Casualties, Aden 1955-1967
- British Casualties, Indian Mutiny 1857-1859
- British Casualties, Korean War 1950 – 1953
- British Casualties, Spanish Civil War 1936 - 1939
- British in Argentina 1914-1919
- British India Office Army & Navy pensions
- British Officers Taken Prisoner of War 1914-1918
- British Red Cross & Order Of St John Enquiry List, Wounded & Missing, 1914-1919
- British Red Cross Register of Overseas Volunteers, 1914-1918
- British Royal Air Force, Airmen's Service Records 1912-1939
- British Royal Air Force, Gallantry Awards 1914-1919
- British Royal Air Force, Officers’ Service Records 1912 - 1920
- British Royal Naval Reserve 1899-1930 ADM240
- British Royal Naval Reserve 1899-1930 ADM337
- British Royal Navy & Royal Marines service and pension records, 1704-1919
- British Royal Navy & Royal Marines service and pension records, 1704-1919
- British Royal Navy & Royal Marines, Battle of Jutland 1916 servicemen
- British Royal Navy Allotment Declarations 1795-1852
- British Royal Navy personnel 1831
- British Royal Navy Seamen 1899-1924
- British Royal Navy, Foreign Awards To Officers Index 1914-1922
- British Royal Navy, Ships' Musters
- British subjects who died in the service of the Indian Empire
- British Women's Royal Air Force Service Records 1918-1920
- Chelsea: documents of soldiers awarded deferred pensions 1838-1896 - WO 131
- Chelsea: pensioners' discharge documents 1760-1887 - WO 121
- Chelsea: pensioners' discharge documents, foreign regiments 1816-1817 - WO 122
- City of York militia & muster rolls 1509-1829
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission Debt of Honour, 1914-1921
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission Debt of Honour, 1938-1947
- Crimean War casualties 1853-1856
- Cyprus Emergency Deaths 1955-1960
- De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour 1914-1918
- Edinburgh Pals 1914-1918
- Essex, Clacton Roll Of Honour 1914-1918
- Glasgow Pals 1914-1918
- Hampshire, Portsmouth Military Tribunals 1916-1919
- Harold Gillles Plastic Surgery Archives from WWI
- Harts Army List 1840
- Harts Army List 1888
- Honourable Women of the Great War, 1914-1918
- Imperial Yeomanry, soldiers' documents, South African War 1899-1902 - WO 128
- Irish Officers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919
- Jersey, 1815 Militia Survey
- Kempston Servicemen 1914-1920
- Kilmainham Pensioners British Army service records, 1771-1821
- Leicestershire and Rutland, Soldiers Died 1914-1920
- Lincolnshire, Kesteven Militia Ballot List 1824
- Liverpool Pals 1914-1918
- London County Council Record Of War Service 1914-1918
- London Stock Exchange Memorial Roll 1914-1918
- London volunteer soldiers, 1859-1955
- Manchester Employers' Roll Of Honour 1914-1916
- Manchester Regiment city battalions 1914-1916
- Middlesex War Memorials
- Middlesex, Poplar, Military Tribunals 1916-1918
- Military Nurses (Royal Red Cross)
- Military Nurses 1856-1994
- Napoleonic War Records
- Napoleonic War Records
- Napoleonic War Records 1775 - 1817
- National Roll of the Great War 1914-1918
- Northamptonshire Military Tribunals 1916-1918
- Northamptonshire militia lists 1771
- Officers' services, First World War - WO 339 & WO 374
- Oldham Pals 1914-1920
- Oldham Pals Roll of Honour
- Palestine Conflict British Deaths 1945-1948
- Peninsular Medal Roll 1793-1814
- Plymouth Militia records 1625-1831
- Plymouth Rolls Of Honour 1914-1919
- Plymouth Second World War records 1939-1945
- Plymouth Subscribers For Redemption Of Captives In Turkey and Algiers 1680
- Prisoners of War - Second World War (1939-1945) - Europe
- Prisoners of War - Second World War (1939-1945) - Far East
- Prisoners Of War 1715-1945 - Napoleonic
- Prisoners of war 1745-1945: Crimean War to Boer Wars
- Prisoners Of War 1914-1920
- Regimental records of officers' services 1775-1914 - WO 76
- Royal Air Force Muster Roll 1918
- Royal Artillery Attestations 1883-1942
- Royal Artillery Honors & Awards
- Royal Artillery Military Medal Awards
- Royal Artillery Other Ranks: casualty cards 1939-1947
- Royal Fusiliers Collection 1863-1905
- Royal Fusiliers, Stockbrokers' Battalion 1914-1918
- Royal Marine Medal Roll
- Royal Marines 1899-1919
- Royal Naval Division Casualties, 1914-1919
- Royal Naval Division Service Records, 1914-1920
- Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve medal roll
- Royal Navy Officers 1899-1919
- Royal Navy Officers Medal Roll, 1914-1920
- Royal Sussex Regiment Southdown Battalions 1914-1918
- Royal Tank Corps enlistment records, 1919-1934
- Salford Pals 1914-1918
- Silver War Badge roll 1914-1920
- Soldiers died in the Great War 1914-1919
- South Africa Roll Of Honour 1914-1918
- South Lancashire Regiment Prisoners of War 1914-1918
- Surrey Recruitment Records
- Surrey, Military Tribunals 1915-1918
- Swansea Pals (14th Welsh Regt)
- The Household Cavalry 1801-1919 - WO 400
- Waterloo Roll Call 1815
- Welsh Guards 1915-1918
- World War One British Army Medal Index Cards
- WW1 Ships Lost at Sea, 1914-1919
- WWI Distinguished Conduct Medal Citations
- WWII Escapers and Evaders
There were more than 16,500 military medals awarded to members of the Royal Regiment of Artillery from WWI to the Falklands War. This is a nominal roll of those awards.
These records could provide you with the following information about your ancestor:
• Soldier's first name (sometimes only initials), last name, rank and number
• Soldier's post nominals at the time of the award
• Date it appears in the London Gazette
• Unit the man was serving in at the time of the award, when known
• Award itself
• Branch of the regiment: RHA, RFA or RGA
• Type of service: TF (Territorial Force soldier) or blank (everything else)
• Theatre of operations in which the soldier was serving at the time
• Any other service notes discovered about the soldier
• Date on which the soldier entered his first theatre of operations during WWI
• First theatre of operations
• Soldier's domicile
All the recipients are listed, as are their service numbers, the date of the award and the award type. Many of the other details are being added as they are discovered.
The records explained
Soldier's number
Soldiers' numbers were not uniquely issued until 1920, which means that many soldiers had the same number in WWI. Sometimes numbers had a prefix. 'L' and 'W' were common in the artillery – 'L' stood for 'locally raised volunteer', the artillery equivalent to the 'Pals Battalion' and 'W' equivalent the Welsh version of the same system.
On 1 January 1917 all territorial force soldiers serving in the artillery were renumbered. This means a recipient of a bar to his medal may be recorded under two different numbers. Where known, the new or previous numbers have been listed in the 'notes' field. After WWI ended, the entire army was demobilised and took the opportunity to reorganise and make soldiers' numbers unique to the individual.
Those soldiers remaining in the army had to re-enlist and were issued new, longer numbers. Where known, these longer numbers are also added into the 'notes' field.
Soldier's rank
Many of the ranks within the Royal Artillery have been abbreviated. The soldier's full substantive rank is given with any acting 'A' or temporary 'T' rank in brackets afterwards. During WWI, the artillery rank structure included corporal which was removed from the regiment in the 1920s and Serjeant became Sergeant. The WWI War promotion ladder consisted of:
• Gnr – gunner
• Bdr – bombardier (one stripe)
• Cpl – corporal (two stripes)
• Sjt – serjeant (three stripes with a gun above)
The WWII promotion ladder was:
• Gnr – gunner
• L/Bdr – lance bombardier (one stripe)
• Bdr – bombardier (two stripes)
• Sgt – sergeant (three stripes with a gun above)
Between gunner and bombardier there was a lance bombardier (L/Bdr) and between bombardier and corporal there was a lance corporal (L/Cpl). During WWII there was also the rank of lance sergeant 'L/Sgt'. The names of some of the ranks also denoted their role, for example:
Dvr – driver
A driver was a soldier trained in the management and use of horses. The six horses drawing the gun, or wagon, were driven by three drivers, all on the nearside horses, and much training was required before drivers would be rated as competent. The drivers, of course, also looked after the horses and the management, condition and state of health of these animals was regarded as one of the most important functions in the battery.
All branches of the artillery used horses, not just the RHA. By WWII, mechanisation had replaced the horse but the gun limbers, lorries and self-propelled guns all required drivers and the rank remained.
The number of horses meant specialist roles of saddler, farrier, and shoeing smith were used and added to the name of the rank. Horse-drawn equipment needed wheelers and fitters and the officer needed clerks who could write in artillery code and signallers who could send it.
• S/Sjt – staff serjeant
• SM – serjeant major
• QMS – quartermaster serjeant
• BQMS – battery quartermaster serjeant
• BSM – battery serjeant major (warrant officer class II)
• RSM – regimental sergeant major (warrant officer class I)
The unit the man was serving in at the time of the award
The Royal Field Artillery comprised batteries within brigades. They also supplied men to the ammunition columns and HQ staff.
The Royal Garrison Artillery comprised companies for coast defence, sections for anti-aircraft defence grouped together in large batteries and the siege and heavy batteries for supporting the army in the field who were grouped into heavy artillery groups (HAGs). Mountain batteries comprised batteries within brigades.
The Royal Horse Artillery followed the RFA model of batteries and brigades. The Territorial Force (TF) had a similar structure but using their county name. By mid-1916, this had all become very complicated and TF brigades were renamed with numbers rather than county titles, although many units continued to add their old name into their new title. Volunteers were taken from anywhere to man trench mortar batteries, infantry brigades were supported by numbered trench mortar batteries and the divisions by lettered trench mortar batteries.
The award itself
The military medal could be awarded more than once to the same soldier. This was denoted by the addition of a bar to the original medal. Here each award is listed separately, so checking the 'soldier's post nominal' field is a must to ensure success.
The branch of the regiment: RHA, RFA or RGA
Ever since 1716, men have been recruited into the 'Royal Regiment of Artillery'. In 1899 and until 1924, however, the royal regiment was divided into two branches. Between these years, men were recruited into one or other branch and tended to remain in that branch throughout their service.
There was the mounted branch, comprising the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) and the Royal Field Artillery (RFA), known as the 'RH & RFA' and the dismounted branch, the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA). The RGA manned garrisons and coast defences and had the heaviest guns; however, there was an anomaly in that the RGA also included the mountain artillery. The RHA and RFA, with their lighter field guns, were more mobile for use in the field army. During WWII, soldiers were either RHA or RA.
Type of service
A soldier could enlist under various terms of service. He could join the regular army on a fixed term of service, he could join the Territorial Force (TF), become a wartime volunteer via the New Army Scheme or he may be conscripted.
The theatre of operations
This is normally the country in which the award was won. During WWII, however, this was expanded to include 'special operations', 'ex-prisoners of war' and 'escapees'.