Page 87 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2017

REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 85
D Battery – 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
DBattery, Royal Horse Artillery was formed from F Troop in 1889 and is best known for the mounted charge against In- dian mutineers at ‘Secunda Gunge’ in 1858. Throughout World War I, until 1926, D Battery almost exclusively supported the 16th Lancers, which led to the continued affiliation of D Bat- tery with The Royal Lancers today. The Royal Lancers, as the descendant Regiment of the 16th Lancers, is still referred to as, “Our Regiment” by members of the Battery to this day.
D Battery is a 105mm Light Close Support Battery with six guns and a ‘Tac’ Group formed of the Battery Commanders’s Tactical Party, Joint Fires Cell and three Fire Support Teams. The Bat- tery is part of 3rd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (3RHA) and is currently based in Albemarle, Northumberland - having re- turned from Hohne, Germany in Spring 2015. Under Army 2020 Refine, 2018 sees the Regiment re-affiliating to 1st Strike Bri- gade (currently 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade), where 3RHA has been chosen as the regiment to align to the Strike Experi- mentation Group in order to test and adjust the concept.
Last summer both the ‘Tac’ and Gun group deployed to Sen- nybridge on a regimental live firing exercise: Exercise CYPHER SPEAR 17. 32 members of the Gun group then supported the Household Cavalry Regiment Battlegroup in BATUS on Exer- cise IRON STRIKE 2 in October, as part of strike experimen- tation. Most recently D Battery deployed alongside the rest of 3 RHA as the lead British Army Regiment on Exercise DY- NAMIC FRONT 18 in Graffenwoehr, a brigade level exercise developing interoperability between Great Britain and NATO allies, testing all members of the Battery as they battled freezing temperatures to deliver six weeks of live firing.
In December, members of the ‘Tac’ Group successfully walked the length of Hadrian’s Wall over the course of four days, devel- oping navigation skills and leadership at JNCO level as part of Exercise HADRIAN’S CYPHER. Several teams also competed
D Battery ‘Tac’ Group
in a Battery level Yorkshire Three Peaks competition, challeng- ing themselves physically and mentally as they fought to com- plete the 24 mile route in under 12 hours.
Alongside military training and Adventurous Training, mem- bers of the Battery have also enjoyed sporting success repre- senting the Army in a variety of sports, notably; Sergeant Taura (Rugby), Gunner Broughton (Biathlon), Lieutenant Richardson (Swimming and Bobsleigh), Gunner Carney (Orienteering), and Gunner Winterbottom (Road Cycling).
Our affiliation to the descendant Regiment of the 16th Lanc- ers remains a source of great pride to the Battery. As the Brit- ish Army continues to evolve to meet the challenges of the fu- ture, we hope that one day we may yet again be aligned to ‘Our Regiment’.
A camouflaged gun group