In the Second World War, it briefly saw service in France after the Dunkirk evacuation and later served with the Eighth Army in North Africa and Italy.

The Major in command was Sir James Gardiner Baird, 7th Baronet of Saughton Hall, a former Regular Army officer in the 10th Hussars, from which he had been obliged to retire because of an injury sustained in a steeplechase.

[8][6][12] It unit dropped the 'Midlothian Coast' subtitle in 1888, and moved its headquarters (HQ) to a new drill hall at 30 Grindlay Street in Edinburgh the following year.

In 1886 the 1st Midlothian obtained two 40-pounder rifled breech-loading (RBL) guns on travelling carriages pulled by Brewer's dray horses from Younger's and McEwan's breweries.

Jamieson of the 1st Midlothian RGA (V) served during the Second Boer War as machine gun commander with the 6th (Scottish) Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry.

[9] When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908,[16][17] the MRGAV was transferred to the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and provided the bulk of the I (or 1st) Lowland Brigade, RFA, with one battery coming from the 1st Edinburgh (City) RGA (V), giving the following organisation:[10][6][18][19][20][a] The unit was the senior field artillery brigade in the TF's Lowland Division.

[22][23][24][27] The brigade finally went overseas in October 1915, when it landed at Le Havre to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front.

On arrival in France the batteries were rearmed with modern 18-pounder guns, and on 10 November the brigade joined the 51st (Highland) Division, with which it would serve for the rest of its career in the First World War.

A quarter of the 18-pounders deliberately fired 100 yards (91 m) short of the barrage line – this would have suppressed German outposts sheltering in shell craters in No man's land.

However, on 28 January 1917 CCLX Bde was broken up and its batteries distributed as follows:[28][30][31][32] Army Field Artillery (AFA) brigades were used to support different formations as required.

LXXXIV and CCCXV AFA Bdes continued to support 51st (Highland) Division during the Arras Offensive in early 1917, but thereafter they were regularly moved around.

[54] One of the lessons learned from the Battle of France was that the two-battery organisation did not work: field regiments were intended to support an infantry brigade of three battalions.

[43] In May 1942, the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division began mountain warfare training for a potential operation in Norway, but 78th (L) Fd Rgt left almost immediately.

[66][72] For the Allies' final Spring 1945 offensive in Italy (Operation Grapeshot) the regiment fired in support of US 10th Mountain Division in its crossing of the River Po, 15–23 April.

However, in November the division was placed on a lower establishment and became purely a mobile coastal defence formation in Northumberland, with 44th (L) Bde and 129th Fd Rgt around Wooler.

[55][76][62] 129th (Lowland) Field Rgt arrived at Bombay on 10 August 1942 and moved up to Ranchi, the base for operations in Burma, where it joined 70th Infantry Division with 24 x 25-pounders.

The regiment tried it out on the Tiddim Road and found that with very few modifications to the gun carriage and trail it remained stable even when firing the highest charges.

The CO, Lt-Col Younger, reported the success in October 1943 and the regiment received a gun converted to this 'jury axle' format for trials the following month.

By January 1944 the gun had proved its worth and jeep-towed Jury axle 25-pounders began to be issued to one field regiment in each light division.

17th Division was still skirmishing from Kennedy Peak towards Fort White with a battery of 129th Jungle Fd Rgt supporting 48th Indian Infantry Brigade.

The guns were constantly in action supporting infantry patrols, but enemy strength in the area began to increase in February as a prelude to the forthcoming Japanese offensive (Operation U-Go).

Lieutenant-Colonel Younger organised a fireplan with 393 Bty firing from the north and 311 and 312 from the south, which gave the Japanese no reverse slope for protection.

Suffering heavy casualties from the artillery fire, the Japanese suddenly fell back and opened the way to the bridge over the Manipur River.

While the emphasis was on IV Corps' efforts to relieve the besieged base at Kohima in the north, 17th Indian Division at Bishenpur on the Tiddim Road was still under pressure from the south.

Huntley, who made his own fire plan to neutralise the enemy, then organised a stretcher party to bring out a wounded officer and the body of his FOO.

Nevertheless, the guns came into action and the town was cleared by 4 March where the division prepared to meet the expected Japanese counter-offensive (the Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay).

The gunners used Airburst rounds to dislodge enemy snipers from treetops, and once again had to defend their own gun positions, but the airfield was held and the division's air-transportable brigade was successfully flown in.

[77][96][97][98] The Battle of the Sittang Bend carried on through the Monsoon, with 129th Fd Rgt very active in the fighting as Japanese thrusts were stopped and pockets of resistance mopped up.

[9][10] In the 1930s the CO of 78th (Lowland) Fd Bde introduced silver cap badges and buttons, and trouser turn-ups, for officers in walking-out and mess dress.

[20] In 1958 the sword and full-dress pouch that had belonged to Sir Joseph Noel Paton, the first CO of 1st Edinburgh Bty in 1859, was presented to 278th (Lowland) Fd Rgt by his family, They were worn by the battery commander on every Royal saluting parade until 1967.