21 Gibraltar (1779-83) Battery
The Battery was formed on
1 Febuary 1758, as P Webdell's Company at Woolich For the first eleven
years of its existence it served in America, Canada & the West Indies,
taking part in the capture of Dominica & Havana.
(Captain Philip Webdell was wounded in the battle of St. Augustine , Florida in 1765 and invalided to the invalid corps where he served the rest of his long career as Captain of this invalid corps in Portsmouth until 1 January 1771 .
In addition to his North American Campaigns which saw Webdell 's Company in the Battle of Louisburg , Martinique, and Havana, Philip served in the Siege of St Philip in 1756 in Minorca -- at which time he was a Captain Lieut .
Philip Webdell began his career in the RA on 18 August 1726 as a Matross . He died 25 May 1780 in Portsmouth .
He had a 45 year career in the RA.)
In Gibralter from 1779 to 1783 the Battery was involved in the great
seige & the Battery still celebrates the sortie against the French
& Spanish lines on the 27 November which destroyed most of the enemy
artillery at the cost of only four men killed.
The latter part of the 18th & early 19th century were spent in the
Mediterranean stations, West Indies, Canada & the UK.
After service in the South African Campaign the Battery went to north
China & served in the far & middle east until the end of the
first world war. The second world war was spent in Gibralter as a costal
battery, a role it maintained until 1956 when, after 18 months of suspended
animation, it became a medium battery with 50 Regt, re-equipping with
Honest John in 1960
It served for 16 years in Menden before joining 27 Regiment in Lippstadt
as an air defence battery armed with Blowpipe.
Since then 21 Battery has maintained its air defence role & served
in Gutersloh & Thorney Island. The battery converted to an air mobile
role in 1992.