30 Battery (Rogers's Company) Royal Artillery

30 Battery (Rogers's Company) Royal Artillery is a British Army artillery battery with origins in the Royal Artillery’s eighteenth-century company system. It was raised on 1 January 1759 as Captain F. J. Buchanan’s Company, 2nd Battalion, Royal Artillery, during the Seven Years’ War. Rather than operating permanently as a single self-contained formation, the battery traditionally supplied detachments and personnel for assignments in different theatres. Its history therefore follows a wide range of British military operations, garrison responsibilities and coastal-defence commitments across Europe, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, India, Burma and the British Isles. The unit’s early service included the defence and attempted recovery of Menorca and duty at Gibraltar. Elements are associated with the Great Siege of Gibraltar, while individual detachments could be assigned to ships and other specialised duties. During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the battery took part in operations in Martinique and Guadeloupe and in security operations in the Caribbean. Prolonged overseas service, disease and demanding garrison conditions repeatedly affected its strength and readiness. The battery’s enduring honorific derives from Captain Thomas Rogers, who assumed command in 1806 and led it for nineteen years. Under Rogers, the company served in the Walcheren expedition of 1809 and later fought in the Waterloo campaign. At Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815, its guns supported the British position against French artillery and infantry attacks. At Waterloo on 18 June, Rogers’s Company delivered close-range artillery fire against advancing French formations, endured heavy losses among its personnel and horses, and helped oppose the Imperial Guard during the battle’s decisive phase. The action established Waterloo as the unit’s defining battle honor and the source of its Rogers’s Company title. During the nineteenth century, the unit alternated between home service, imperial garrison duty and active campaigns. It served in Ireland during periods of civil unrest, then deployed to the Crimea in 1855 for the siege of Sevastopol. Disease and harsh conditions caused severe losses throughout the Crimean campaign, although the battery was not recorded as losing a soldier in combat at Sevastopol. It subsequently served in India during the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny, including operations connected with the capture of Delhi, and later undertook garrison and internal-security duties in Bengal and other parts of the subcontinent. Further service followed in Burma, Madras, Karachi and Fort Attock. The battery’s twentieth-century identity was strongly shaped by coast defence. It was based at Gibraltar from 1905 to 1926 and underwent several organizational and title changes, including service as 54 Company Royal Garrison Artillery, amalgamation with 55 Company, and designation as 8 Heavy Battery Royal Artillery. During the First World War, its Gibraltar detachments engaged German submarines. On the night of 31 December 1915, guns at the South Mole and Elbow batteries fired on hostile submarines attacking the fortress, an action for which the Army Council praised the unit’s vigilance and training. After the First World War, the battery returned to Britain and participated in artillery trials and coastal-defence duties in Ireland and England. In the late 1930s it was reduced and reorganized as manpower was transferred to formations being prepared for war. In September 1939 it became 2nd Coast Defence Training Battery Royal Artillery within 2nd Heavy Regiment at Plymouth, training recruits as coast-defence gunners. After the Second World War it was redesignated 8th (Rogers’s Company) Coast Battery Royal Artillery in 1946 and 30 (Rogers’s Company) Coast Battery in 1947. The battery later served within the post-war Royal Artillery structure and is currently part of 16th Regiment Royal Artillery. Its legacy is therefore that of a continuously restructured military unit rather than a commercial brand: a battery whose identity has been preserved through battle honors, lineage, titles and successive operational roles.

Raised on 1 January 1759 as Captain F. J. Buchanan’s Company, the unit emerged during the Seven Years’ War, when Royal Artillery companies were frequently divided into detachments and attached to larger formations, fortresses, ships and expeditions. Its early operational record consequently spans several locations rather than a single continuous battlefield formation. Menorca and Gibraltar were among its principal early theatres. The company was involved in efforts connected with Menorca and is associated with Gibraltar service during the period of the Great Siege. A small detachment also served aboard the bomb vessel Thunder in 1778. In the French Revolutionary Wars, the company participated in the capture of Martinique and Guadeloupe in 1794. Other detachments performed security duties in St Lucia, Grenada and St Vincent. Disease and overseas attrition led to periods of recovery at Woolwich. Captain Thomas Rogers took command in 1806 and remained in command for nineteen years, giving the unit the name by which it is now distinguished. The 1809 Walcheren expedition was a major but unsuccessful deployment, as sickness forced the British force to withdraw. The company’s most celebrated service came in the 1815 Waterloo campaign. Equipped with six 9-pounder guns, it fought at Quatre Bras on 16 June as part of the 5th Division. The battery maintained fire despite casualties, horse losses and the threat of French cavalry. At Waterloo two days later, it opened fire on advancing French infantry at close range, joined the fighting when the position became endangered, and later helped fire on the Imperial Guard. One gun was spiked by its Number 1 to prevent capture. The death of Sir Thomas Picton near the battery and the unit’s participation in the final advance cemented Waterloo as its principal honor. After Waterloo, the unit undertook home service followed by garrison duties in the West Indies and Gibraltar. It served in Ireland during the unrest of 1849–53 and then deployed to the Crimea in 1855. At Sevastopol it formed part of the field artillery contingent supporting the siege. Its strength included gunners, drivers, artificers and specialists needed to maintain guns, horses and equipment. Cholera, cold and other diseases caused severe hardship. After returning in 1856, the battery went to India during the post-Mutiny reinforcement of British forces. It served around Delhi and later spent years in Bengal and other Indian stations. Further imperial service included Burma and garrison duty in Madras, Karachi and Fort Attock. From 1905 to 1926, Gibraltar was again the battery’s principal station. Organizational reforms changed its designations: in 1902 it was known as 54 Company Royal Garrison Artillery, and in 1924 it amalgamated with 55 Company to become 8 Heavy Battery Royal Artillery. During the First World War, its Gibraltar detachments contributed to the fortress’s defence against German submarines. On 31 December 1915, the South Mole and Elbow batteries engaged submarines attacking the fortress, prompting an Army Council commendation. The inter-war period brought trials at Fort Yaverland and alternating coastal-defence assignments in Ireland and England. In 1938 the unit was reduced to cadre strength as personnel were redistributed to formations being brought up to wartime establishment. In September 1939 it became 2nd Coast Defence Training Battery Royal Artillery at Plymouth, training recruits for coast artillery duties. In 1946 it was titled 8th (Rogers’s Company) Coast Battery Royal Artillery and in 1947 became 30 (Rogers’s Company) Coast Battery. Its post-war role included training with 5.25-inch dual-purpose guns against sea and air targets. The battery subsequently continued through Royal Artillery reorganizations and is currently part of 16th Regiment Royal Artillery.

• 1947

  Renumbered 30 (Rogers’s Company) Coast Battery

  [1]30 Battery (Rogers's Company) Royal Artilleryen.wikipedia.org

  Received the 30 Battery designation after post-war Royal Artillery reorganization.

• 1939

  Coast defence training role

  [1]30 Battery (Rogers's Company) Royal Artilleryen.wikipedia.org

  Became 2nd Coast Defence Training Battery Royal Artillery at Plymouth.

• 1915

  Gibraltar submarine engagement

  [1]30 Battery (Rogers's Company) Royal Artilleryen.wikipedia.org

  Its Gibraltar coast-defence guns fired on German submarines attacking the fortress on 31 December.

• 1902

  Designation as 54 Company Royal Garrison Artillery

  [1]30 Battery (Rogers's Company) Royal Artilleryen.wikipedia.org

  The unit was recorded under the 54 Company Royal Garrison Artillery designation.

• 1855

  Crimean War service

  [1]30 Battery (Rogers's Company) Royal Artilleryen.wikipedia.org

  Deployed to Balaclava and served during the siege of Sevastopol.

• 1815

  Waterloo campaign

  Fought at Quatre Bras and Waterloo, establishing the Waterloo honor and Rogers’s Company identity.

• 1806

  Thomas Rogers assumes command

  [1]30 Battery (Rogers's Company) Royal Artilleryen.wikipedia.org

  Captain Thomas Rogers began the nineteen-year command that gave the unit its enduring honorific.

• 1794

  Caribbean campaigns

  [1]30 Battery (Rogers's Company) Royal Artilleryen.wikipedia.org

  Participated in operations to capture Martinique and Guadeloupe, with detachments serving elsewhere in the Caribbean.

• 1759

  Company raised

  [1]30 Battery (Rogers's Company) Royal Artilleryen.wikipedia.org

  Raised on 1 January as Captain F. J. Buchanan’s Company, 2nd Battalion, Royal Artillery.

A historic British Army artillery battery defined by expeditionary service, distributed detachments, coastal defence, gunnery training and continuity within the Royal Artillery.

Product categories. Field and coastal artillery operation · Artillery gunnery training · Coastal-defence training · Military garrison and security duties · Operational artillery detachments

• 1915Gibraltar submarine defence

  Gibraltar

  Coast-defence detachments engaged German submarines attacking Gibraltar on the final night of 1915.

  Outcome. The submarines were driven off and the Army Council commended the battery’s vigilance and training.

  Source
• 1855Siege of Sevastopol

  Crimea

  Served as one of the field batteries deployed with the British expeditionary force during the Crimean War.

  Outcome. The battery returned in 1856 after severe losses from disease and hardship.

  Source
• 1815Waterloo campaign

  Belgium

  The battery fought at Quatre Bras and Waterloo with the 5th Division, using close-range artillery fire against French infantry and contributing to the defeat of the Imperial Guard.

  Outcome. British-Allied victory; Waterloo became the unit’s defining battle honor.

  Source

• 1947

  Post-war renumberingOther

  Background

  Royal Artillery post-war restructuring changed the titles and organization of coast and anti-aircraft formations.

  Action taken

  The battery was redesignated 30 (Rogers’s Company) Coast Battery Royal Artillery.

  Aftermath

  The Rogers’s Company lineage and Waterloo association were retained within the new designation.

  Source

• 1939

  Conversion to coast-defence trainingStrategy

  Background

  At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Royal Artillery required formations able to train recruits for fixed coastal artillery duties.

  Action taken

  The battery became 2nd Coast Defence Training Battery Royal Artillery within 2nd Heavy Regiment at Plymouth.

  Aftermath

  It continued in a training and coast-defence role during the war.

  Source

1. 130 Battery (Rogers's Company) Royal Artilleryen.wikipedia.org