3rd Kent Artillery Volunteers (Royal Arsenal)
| 3rd Kent Artillery Volunteers (Royal Arsenal) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1860–1920 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Territorial Force
|
| Type | Artillery Regiment |
| Role | Garrison Artillery (1892–1908) Field Artillery (1908–1920) |
The 3rd Kent Artillery Volunteers (Royal Arsenal) was a unit of the British Volunteer Force from 1860 to 1920. Originally raised from the workers of Woolwich Arsenal, near London, it later became a London unit of the Territorial Force and served on the Western Front. during World War I.
When an invasion scare in 1859 led to a flood of volunteers forming new military units to defend Great Britain, it was natural that men working at Woolwich Arsenal would organise themselves into an Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVC). (They also formed the 26th (Royal Arsenal) Rifle Volunteer Corps, which eventually became the 20th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Blackheath and Woolwich).) Formally constituted on 28 February 1860, and designated the 10th (Royal Arsenal) Kent AVC, the unit was manned by artisans from the Shot and Shell Factory. The nearby Royal Dockyards at Deptford and Woolwich also raised an AVC, numbered 14th (Royal Dockyard) Kent AVC. However, the dockyards closed in 1869 and the 14th Kent AVC was disbanded the following year. Originally raised as eight batteries, the strength of the 10th Kent AVC declined to six batteries during the 1860s, but it also had the small 2nd and 3rd Essex AVCs attached to it. The 9th Kent AVC, formed in 1860 at Plumstead, near Woolwich, was also absorbed by the 10th in 1873. In 1875 the 10th Kent Artillery Volunteers won the Queen's Prize at the National Artillery Association annual competition held at Shoeburyness Old Ranges.
During the 1880s many Artillery Volunteer units were reorganised, and the 10th Kent became the 3rd Kent Volunteer Artillery (Royal Arsenal), with its HQ and eight batteries at Woolwich, while the Essex and Plumstead units resumed their independent identities. In 1892 the unit was converted to the role of 'position artillery', with four batteries. In this role the 3rd Kent did well, winning the Queen's Prize for position artillery at the annual National Artillery Association competition held at Shoeburyness, for 1895, 1897 and 1898.
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