The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many units composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need.

[6] A major reorganisation of the Volunteer Force in 1880 saw the 1st Norfolk Admin Bde consolidated into a single unit, with the 1st Suffolk AVC due to become No 6 Battery.

[13][15] Meanwhile, the formation of duplicate or 2nd Line TF units from Home Service men and recruits had been authorised, and towards the end of 1914 the 2nd East Anglian Division came into existence at Peterborough.

The divisional artillery rejoined 54th Division at Mena Camp near Cairo and in April moved into No 1 (Southern) Section of the Suez Canal defences.

[22] A six-day preliminary bombardment for the Third Battle of Gaza began on 27 October, with C/270 (H) Bty in No 2 Group supporting 163rd (Norfolk and Suffolk) Brigade.

The brigade was checked by heavy Turkish defensive fire and some confusion because of the dark night, and the Norfolks were unable to reach their third objective, but on the right flank the 5th Bn Suffolk Regiment kept close behind No 2 Group's barrage and overran El Arish Redoubt with few losses.

[23] During the night of 23/24 November the pursuing ANZAC Mounted Division was ordered to seize a bridgehead across the Nahr el Auja supported by A and C/270 Btys.

The Turks made a second serious attack on 27 November, where at Z30, C/270 Bty had one section of howitzers firing in one direction, the other at 180 degrees to it, and both targets had got within 3000 yards of the position.

[25] During the Battle of Jaffa (21–22 December), 270 Bde supported 162nd (East Midland) Brigade's attack on 'Bald Hill' with a pre-dawn bombardment, followed by a barrage on the enemy communication trenches.

There was no preliminary bombardment: after moving into position in No man's land, the batteries opened fire as the infantry attack went in, and then followed the advance of 162nd Bde, 'leap-frogging' forward by sections to ensure that some guns were always available.

On 9 April, 270 Bde's guns supported 75th Division's attack against German troops on Three Bushes Hill (the Battle of Berukin).

1 RA Group, including C/270 (H) Bty, while a series of battery positions were prepared and ammunition dumped (800 rounds per gun for 4.5-inch howitzers).

[29] The division was then taken out of the line and concentrated at Haifa, where it was engaged in repairing communications for the rapidly advancing army.

[13][30] In late November 1918 the division was ordered to return to Egypt, the artillery proceeding by sea and arriving in mid-December.

Demobilisation began in January 1919, but in March, after its guns had been handed in and about one-third of its men had left, 54th Divisional Artillery was converted into an ad hoc cavalry regiment to act as mounted police during disturbances in Cairo.

[13][31] Training for the 2nd Line artillery was hindered by the shortage of equipment, and several months passed before guns, horses and harness were received.

Early in 1915 the 2nd East Anglian Division (which was numbered 69th in August 1915) concentrated round Thetford, where it formed part of First Army in Central Force.

32nd Division's infantry came into the line on 17 November and attacked 'Munich Trench' the following day, though they were quickly stopped by machine gun fire.

CLV Brigade was pulled out of White City to safer positions by 21 November, and the divisional artillery was relieved on 6 December.

[64][65][66] In early 1943, 409 HAA Bty was detached from the regiment and attached to 50th AA Bde covering Derby and Nottingham.

In May, the whole of 136th HAA Rgt moved south to join 37th AA Bde along the north side of the Thames Estuary.

From April 1944, 2 AA Group had the additional responsibility of defending the ports at which the shipping for the invasion of Europe (Operation Overlord) was being gathered.

[70] No sooner had the Overlord fleet sailed on D-Day than the long-anticipated V-1 flying bomb campaign began against London.

Large numbers of HAA guns under 2 AA Group were deployed in depth across the line of flight of the V-1s as part of Operation Diver, but it was not until most of the HAA batteries were moved out to the coast and given the latest Radar No 3 Mark V (the SCR-584 radar set) and No 10 Predictors (the all-electric Bell Labs AAA Computer) that their rate of success against these small fast-moving targets began to improve.

Once 21st Army Group had overrun the V-1 launching sites in Northern France, the Luftwaffe switched to air-launching V-1s over the North Sea, and many of the 'anti-Diver' batteries had to be relocated to the East Coast during the autumn and winter of 1944–45.

[71] After the war ended, 136th HAA Rgt briefly served in Scotland with 40th AA Bde, which had moved to Kincardine.