14th Regiment Royal Artillery

Active from:

March 1900

Role:

The training, experimentation and innovation regiment of the Royal Artillery

Specialism:

Train, facilitate, experiment, innovate, adapt, and support

14th Regiment Royal Artillery has history through 28th Field Regiment right back to 1900. The four sub units are;

• 34 (Seringapatam) Battery formed in 1763 as part of the Bengal Foot Artillery of the Honourable East India Company. It joined the Regiment in 1986.
• 24 (Irish) Battery joined the Regiment in 1994 but its history is from the original Irish Artillery Battery from 1894.
• 1st Headquarter Battery “The Battery” formed in 1779 and has been with the Regiment since 1922.
• The Royal Artillery Young Officers’ Branch began subordination to the Regiment in 2022.

The regimental Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) workshops has been present in Larkhill for nearly 45 years and provided essential support to the Royal School of Artillery throughout.

Initial Trade Training:

A high percentage of Commissioned Officers, Warrant Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers in the British Army have conducted Initial Trade Training. The Regiment aims to create a well-rounded soldier and officer both physically, conceptually, and morally.  

What soldiers learn whilst with the Regiment as a Gunner:

• B Licence Theory
• B Licence Practical
• Service Driver Conversion (SDC)
• Royal Artillery Signaller
• Gunner Command Systems (GCS)
• Close Support (CS)
• Deep Fires (DF)
• Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD)
• Surveillance & Target Acquisition (STA)
• Remotely Piloted Air Systems (RPAS)
• Artillery Logistics
• Strike – L118                
• Military Skills Professional Development (MSPD): Builds on Basic Training: Fieldcraft, Skill at Arms, Fitness Training, Qualities of a Soldier, Military Knowledge, Battlefield Casualty Drills, Individual Health, Education etc

What officers learn when they are commissioned into the Royal Artillery:

Following Officer Selection, and subsequent basic training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, as a newly commissioned officer in the Royal Regiment of Artillery they are assigned to the Young Officers’ Branch.

Initially there are six weeks of primary training to meet the standards expected as an initial Troop Commander, followed by eight weeks of Special-to-Discipline training to cater for the Regiment that they spend their first tour with, focusing on respective equipment, soldiers, location, ethos and outputs.

STANDARDS OF TRAINING

The delivery of training is executed with a carefully synchronised regimental programme and is aimed to offer progression, variety and fidelity. The highest standards are maintained in line with Ofsted guidance, Welfare Duty of Care policies and third-party assurance bodies. There is a balance between in-barracks and field training and is adapted to meet the changing nature of conflict.

SUBSEQUENT TRADE TRAINING, EXPERIMENTATION, AND INNOVATION:

The Regiment facilitate the delivery of Subsequent Trade Training in support of the wider Royal School of Artillery, where students will return as trained soldiers and officers to further enhance their personal and professional development as their careers progress.

To meet the evolving threats of the 21st Century, 34 (Seringapatam) Battery crucially support the Land Warfare Centre’s Experimentation and Trials Group as part of the Next Generation Combat Team, with innovative and creative methods to employ the equipment owned by the entire Royal Artillery, alongside other cap badges including infantry, armoured and rotary-wing assets.

14th Regiment Royal Artillery is based in Larkhill Garrison, on Salisbury Plain.

34 (Seringapatam) Battery deploys for over 200 days a year, firing approximately 19,000 rounds of artillery ammunition from the 105mm L118 Light Gun. The Battery are also the Royal Artillery’s and Regiment’s lead for innovation and experimentation directly supporting the Next Generation Combat Team as part of the Army’s drive towards future capability. Deploying regularly on global experimentation and future focused exercises with multination military partners and industry.

34 (Seringapatam) Battery RA

34 Battery RA is the training support battery for the RA and provides Strike and Integrate support to RA Subsequent Trade Training courses. The Battery comprises circa 100 soldiers who are posted to the regiment on a two year ERE posting. With approximately 250+ training commitments per year, the Battery is deployed on Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) more than 200 days per year: firing more than 19,000 rounds of Light Gun ammunition in the process which offers unparalleled opportunity to exploit innovation and experimentation on behalf of the Royal Regiment. The Battery Commander’s Tac Party, as part of the Next Generation Combat Team, deploy globally on numerous future-focused exercises with multinational partners.

24 (Irish) Battery RA

24 Battery RA is the RA (Gunner) Initial Trade Training (ITT) Battery. The Battery comprises of 36 instructors/permanent staff and delivers approximately 500 Gunners into the Royal Artillery Units annually. The Battery is solely responsible for the Welfare for all Gunners in ITT and fostering the identity of ‘the Gunners’ into every Royal Artillery Soldier. Each Gunner is coached and mentored throughout their time in training and are empowered to highlight their chosen units with assistance from the Battery instructors. Once unit confirmation has been given to each Gunner, they are then issued with the appropriate insignia for that unit which also instils a sense of belonging, fostering teamwork and instilling the Gunner ethos. Furthermore, 24 Battery educates the next generation on the history and heritage of the Gunners, builds unit cohesion, and aims to prepare each soldier for the challenges they will face once posted to the Field Army.

1st Battery RA ‘The Blazers’

‘The Blazers’ is the ITT delivery sub-unit within 14 Regt and performs the Headquarters function. The role of 1st Battery is to provide trade training delivery and enable the Regiment’s administration, supporting all departments across the unit. Specifically, the battery comprises of the following sub-departments:

• Training Delivery Sections (GCS, Strike, Artillery Logistics, SDC)
• Regimental Headquarters
• Medical / Dental Centre
• Regimental Duty Staff
• Station MPGS
• Garrison Gymnasium

Young Officers’ Branch

The Young Officers’ Branch oversee the delivery of ITT for all officers following their training at Sandhurst. The Branch executes the primary training to develop officership of newly commissioned Royal Artillery Officers and deliver technical expertise within a tactical context to enable them to command effectively on their initial tour of duty. This includes Special-to-Discipline training of officers destined for the many units across the Royal Regiment, focussing on different equipment, soldiers, locations, ethos, and outputs. The Branch and 24 Battery both maintain the high standards of any national training establishment.

Royal Electrical and Mechanical (REME) Workshop

The 14 Regiment RA REME workshop provides the maintenance, repair, and overhaul of the Regiment’s equipment; ranging from Light Gun through to binoculars. The workshops comprise civilian and military personnel who are distributed between ‘A’ Line which is responsible for all armoured systems, ‘B’ Line which is responsible for soft skin vehicles, and ‘O’ Line which is responsible for control equipment and optronics. The workshops recovery section has two recovery variants: the Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle (CRARRV) and Support Vehicle Recovery (SVR) and is responsible for the safe recovery of 14 Regt assets from the Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) as required.