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The 1st Durham Volunteer Artillery was a unit of Britain's Volunteer Force and Territorial Army from 1860 to 1956. During World War I it was the only coastal defence unit to engage the enemy, and it also trained siege gunners for service on the Western Front. ==Artillery Volunteers (1859-1908)== An invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Volunteer units composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need. Four Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVCs) were raised in County Durham, with their officers' commissions being issued on 14 March 1860:〔Beckett, Appendix VIII.〕 * 1st Durham AVC (Sunderland) * 2nd Durham AVC (Seaham) * 3rd Durham AVC (South Shields) * 4th Durham AVC (Hartlepool) The 2nd (Seaham) Corps was initially the largest, and the other three were attached to it for administrative purposes. By the end of the 19th Century, however, all four were independent units, attached to the Western Division of the Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) and ranked as 51 to 54 in order of seniority among Volunteer Artillery units. In 1902 the divisional structure was abolished, and the units were renamed 1st–4th Durham RGA (Volunteers).〔''Army Lists''〕 The first Captain Commandant of the 1st Corps at Sunderland was the local politician Sir Hedworth Williamson, Bt (1827–1900). He commanded it for 28 years and was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 1st Durham Volunteer Artillery in 1888 after command of the unit passed to Lt-Col Edwin Vaux.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1st Durham Volunteer Artillery」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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