Gunners definitely, but not necessarily Arsenal fans

As war broke out in 1914 several of the artillery brigades of the London TF Divisions were on their way to their annual summer training camps, borrowing horses and guns as they went. Many were undermanned but several had men with prior war experience to lead them. London provided four TF divisions, drawn from across the city. Simplistically, this should be the story of some sixteen field artillery brigades. However, it is far more complex. This presentation will seek to follow the histories of the field artillery brigades of the London TF Division’s as they mobilised, trained, learnt to fight, reorganise, and then to win on the Western Front, in Salonika, and in Palestine.

Lt Col (Retd) Simon Shephard MA recently completed a 42 year Regular and Reserve career in the Army. A keen student of military history, he completed an MA in Britain and the First World War at Wolverhampton University. His dissertation ‘“Artillery Conquers, Infantry Occupies”: A study of the effectiveness of British Artillery at Third Ypres’ features as a chapter in Dr Spencer Jones’s edited volume The Darkest Year, The British Army on the Western Front, 1917 (Helion 2022).

Simon is chairman of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Branch of the WFA and was recently appointed to the Council of the Society for Army Historical Research. He is currently co-authoring a history of commissioning in Britain’s Armies from 1660–2027 with Dr Victoria Carr under the title The Steps to Glory. The first volume covering 1660 to July 1914 will be published by Helion in 2026 with the second and final volume following in 2027.

Simon has also produced two chapters for London Pride, an edited two volume book on the contribution of the London Territorial Force (TF) Divisions in the First World War. These chapters cover the Field Artillery Brigades of the London TF Division from mobilization to training and on to operations in on the Western Front and in Salonika and Palestine and are the basis of his talk

Members and non-members of The Western Front Association are equally welcome. Any new visitors are guaranteed a friendly atmosphere and a warm welcome from a group of like-minded enthusiasts.

Main Image: British field gun in action (IWM Q109609).