1st Nottinghamshire Battery Royal Horse Artillery

The 1st Nottinghamshire Battery, Royal Horse Artillery (Territorial Force) was a horse artillery unit of the British Army active during World War I.

Origin
The 1st Nottinghamshire Battery was formed in 1908 at the creation of the new Territorial Force. It was attached to the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Mounted Brigade, which in turn formed part of 2nd Mounted Division. The battery was equipped with the 13 pounder Quick Firing gun. The battery's original CO was Colonel J.F. Laycock.

World war I
At the outbreak of World War I, the 2nd Mounted Division were posted to guard the coast of Norfolk from an expected German invasion. In March 1915, in common with most TF units, the battery formed a second-line unit to take over home defence, thereby releasing the parent battery for overseas service. The 1st Notts thus became the 1/1st Notts. The 2/1st Notts RHA would also eventually fight abroad in Mesopotamia.

The battery left England on 9 April 1915 and joined the Imperial Mounted Division, which later became the Australian Mounted Division. It guarded the Suez Canal at Ismailia until 18 November 1915 and then fought the Senussi at Mersa Matruh until December 1916 with the Western Frontier Force.

In January 1917, the division went to Palestine in time for the first battle of Gaza; it was the battery that supported the famous charge of the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade at the Battle of Beersheba.

On 1 May 1918, the battery was supporting an attack in the Jordan valley when it (and other batteries of 19th Artillery Brigade) were overrun by Turkish forces. The Nottingham battery lost three of its six guns; a further six guns were lost by the other two batteries.

Characters
The England test cricketer Harry Elliott, who had worked for Col. Laycock before the war, served with the battery,.

Duplicate unit
A Second Line unit, 2/1st Nottinghamshire Battery RHA (renumbered 816 Battery Royal Field Artillery in February 1918) was raised in World War I, and also served in Mesopotamia, as part of CCXV Brigade RFA in 15th Indian Division.