130th (Lowland) Field Regiment was a Royal Artillery (RA) unit of Britain's part-time Territorial Army (TA) created just before World War II.

The division marched out to the Borders to resume training in April 1940, with 130th (L) Fd Rgt at Stobs Camp, attached to 45th (Lowland) Brigade at Hawick.

[9][10] At the beginning of May the division was suddenly ordered to vacate its camps, which were required to house the troops being evacuated from the failed Norwegian campaign.

The German invasion of the Low Countries followed on 10 May, and four days later 15th (S) Division began moving again, this time by successive brigade groups to take up defensive positions on the south-east Essex coast under Eastern Command.

45th Brigade and the divisional troops first moved to Hertford, then from 26 May the complete division was positioned along the Essex coast under the command of XI Corps.

[7][14][15][16] 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.

[18] In November 1941 15th (S) Division was moved to Northumberland under IX Corps, but was placed on a lower establishment, recognising that it was not going to be deployed overseas in the short term.

130th (Lowland) Fd Rgt left the division on 4 January 1942 and sailed to India, which urgently required reinforcements following the Japanese invasion of Malaya.

[20][21][22][23] 14th Indian Division launched the First Arakan Offensive in late October, moving south from Cox's Bazar down the Mayu Peninsula through Maungdaw with the port of Akyab as its objective.

By 18 January 1943 it was heavily engaged at Donbaik, but the guns of 130th Fd Rgt (less one battery – 16 × 25-pdrs) and 8th (Lahore) Mountain Bty (4 × 3.7s) failed to shift the defenders.

By 04.30 next morning Brigade HQ was surrounded, and Brigadier Ronald Cavendish ordered Nicholson to take command and organise a dawn infantry attack.

455 Light Bty had previously served in the assault force for the invasion of Madagascar (Operation Ironclad) under the division's commander, Maj-Gen Francis Festing.

The seizure of this point after days of bitter fighting effectively ended the Arakan campaign before the arrival of the Monsoon, and 36th Indian Division was withdrawn in May 1944, with 130th Assault Fd Rgt moving to Shillong on 14 May.

[20][21][34][35] With the projected amphibious operations cancelled because of a lack of landing craft, 36th Indian Division was made available to reinforce the Allied campaign in northern Burma.

130th Field Rgt rejoined 39th Division in November, leaving behind 455 Light Bty (which was disbanded on 9 January 1945 to reform a medium battery in India).

[20][29][21][31][36] 36th Division now resumed its advance along the railway corridor, capturing Pinwe on 30 November, and occupying Indaw, Naba and Katha.

[40][41] 36th Division was now the only part of NCAC in action, on the left flank of Fourteenth Army, which was closing in on Meiktila and Mandalay in Central Burma.

While the British Division forced a bridgehead at Myitson and then advanced south (supplied by air) to link up with Fourteenth Army, NCAC was broken up and its Chinese elements returned to China.

However, the difficulty of supplying and reinforcing British formations in Central Burma meant that 36th Division was selected to be flown out before the onset of the Monsoon and the withdrawal of US aircraft to China.

[2] When the TA was reconstituted on 1 January 1947, the 130th reformed at Troon (later returning to Kilmarnock) as 330 (Lowland) Medium Rgt in 85 (Field) Army Group Royal Artillery.