[1][3][6][2][9][10][11][12] Units of the East Lancashire Division had been on their annual training when war came: on 3 August they were recalled to their drill halls and at 17.30 next day the order to mobilise was received.

[14][15][16] On 20 August the East Lancashire Division moved into camps around Bolton, Bury and Rochdale, and on 5 September it received orders to go to Egypt to complete its training and relieve Regular units from the garrison for service on the Western Front.

[11][12][20][21][22][23] After a short period in reserve, 42nd (EL) Division spent the following months engaged in Trench warfare, suffering from sickness, and then from bad weather as winter set in.

Once back in Egypt 1/III East Lancs Bde was reunited with its BAC and on 27 February 1916 was rearmed with modern 18-pounder guns handed over by 29th Division as it left for the Western Front.

The men and horses suffered badly from lack of water, A Bty struggling to keep up with the advance, but it finally came into action and the retreating Turks lost heavily.

The artillery also supported small attacks to capture Hindenburg Line outposts, such as one on The Knoll and Guillemont Farm on 24 April, when Lt-Col Walker had tactical command of his own C Bty and one from 48th (SM) Division.

Casualties were heavy on the gun positions from enemy counter-battery (CB) fire and among the drivers bringing ammunition up shell-swept roads at night.

On 7 September Gunner S. Hardcastle of B Bty left cover to rescue a wounded comrade under heavy shelling, and three days later he ran across to extinguish a fire in an adjacent battery's ammunition dump.

42nd DA began arriving at noon, with CCXI Bde opening fire as soon as it got within extreme range, laying down a barrage near Logeast Wood.

[11][12][42][54][55][56] After a week's rest 42nd (EL) Division returned to the line near Gommecourt, where it spent a relatively quiet summer, reorganising the old German positions from the Battle of the Somme as up-to-date defences.

After the Allies launched their counter-offensive (the Hundred Days Offensive) at the Battle of Amiens on 8 August, patrols from the division found the enemy preparing to withdraw on their front.

[11][12][42][58][59][60] Lieutenant-Col Inches had returned to the UK some weeks previously, and on 22 August Lt-Col F.G. Crompton was posted from 62nd Divisional Artillery to take over command of CCXI Bde.

For the attack on Villers-au-Flos on 2 September 42nd DA was reinforced by brigades from three other divisions, and a section of C/CCXI Bty was directly attached to one of the advancing infantry battalions.

That night the artillery bombarded Barastre and Haplincourt Wood in preparation for the next attack, but patrols early on 3 September found them empty and the division quickly followed up, reaching Ytres by the end of the day.

It had fighting patrols across the Canal du Nord by the end of 4 September, the only hold-ups coming from destroyed roads and bridges, and incessant mustard gas shelling.

Unfortunately the 7th and 8th Lancashire Fusiliers were caught by enfilade fire from the high ground around Beaucamps and by machine guns in front that had not been suppressed by the barrage: the leading companies were practically wiped out.

The brigade persisted, reaching its first objective around midday, and CCXI Bde fired another creeping barrage for it that evening, but the results were disappointing compared to the great victory achieved elsewhere.

By 4 October there were signs of enemy withdrawals, and over the following days the brigade moved up across the Escaut Canal, firing in support of the advancing New Zealanders (the Second Battle of Cambrai).

[11][12][42][68][69] 42nd (EL) Division remained at Hautmont until 14 December, when it began moving to winter quarters near Charleroi in Belgium, with CCXI Bde billeted in and around Montignies-sur-Sambre.

It had been decided to withdraw CCCXXXII Bde from the division to become an independent Army Field Artillery (AFA) brigade, and 66th Divisional Ammunition Column had formed a dedicated BAC for it drawn from the DAC's 2nd Echelon.

[76][94] In Egypt it joined Eighth Army and was attached to 44th (Home Counties) Division for the Second Battle of El Alamein, which was launched on the night of 23/24 October behind a massive artillery barrage.

[103] It continued advancing with short, powerfully supported attacks against stubborn resistance, where artillery ammunition supply became the limiting factor, until winter weather brought an end to operations.

[107][108] For the attack on the Gothic Line (Operation Olive, 8th Indian Division crossed the River Arno on 21 August, and then advanced into the roadless mountains before opening the routes into the Lamone Valley.

[111] In the Allies' spring 1945 offensive, Operation Grapeshot, 8th Indian Division was given the task of an assault crossing of the River Senio, with massive artillery support added to its own guns, and ample ammunition stocks built up during the winter.

Several proposed operations were vetoed by the Yugoslav commanders but 212 Fd Bty made its way to towards Podgorica along a track that had to be repaired by British engineers and working parties of Partisan men and women.

[10][134] Simultaneously, other personnel from 253 Rgt converted to infantry as D Company (The Bolton Artillery) in 4th (Territorial) Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, in TAVR III.

The first, ‘History of the Bolton Artillery 1860 - 1928’ was written by Lt Col B. Palin Dobson a former Commanding Officer of the Brigade with war service and committee member for many years.

Little original written material has been preserved in the archive of the Bolton Artillery covering the pre Great War period to enable further research, making the content of the book all the more important.

Further chapters provide context and include the reformation of Territorial Army, drill halls, guns and vehicles, insignia and uniforms, biographies and appreciations of all Commanding Officers and Honorary Colonels and others associated.

It was established in 1886 to support the welfare and financial needs of the Corps and Regiments of the Bolton Artillery and while not a military organisation it was run by its former and serving officers by committee and continues to do so today.