At times of national crisis volunteers were regularly called upon to defend the vulnerable harbours on the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire.

When the peace broke down in 1803, the Bridlington Volunteer Artillery reformed, but the guns at Hull were manned by the Sea Fencibles and by Regulars.

One battery was formed by employees of Messrs Rose, Downs & Thompson (a manufacturer of oilseed crushing machinery), and another from members of the Hull Gymnastic Society.

This was particularly difficult for the divisional artillery, which had to gather requisitioned horses and mules and fit them with harness, and collect ammunition from Ordnance stores.

[22][26][29] On the outbreak of war, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service and the large majority of the Northumbrian Division accepted.

On 15 August the War Office (WO) issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units.

[19][20][30][31][32][33] The Northumbrian Division trained hard while manning the Tyne Defences, and orders to proceed to France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) arrived on 16 April 1915.

Casualties among the infantry were heavy during the fighting to stabilise the British line (Battle of St Julien 24–28 April), but the divisional artillery did not take part.

[22][39] In December 1915 the division returned to the Ypres Salient, in the Hill 60 sector, with the divisional artillery distributed around Zillebeke Lake, in appalling conditions.

CCLI Brigade, with one battery of CCL Bde attached, fired the inner right-hand portion of the divisional barrage, supporting the advance of 7th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers.

A vital ridge was lost, and although the attack ceased at nightfall, the division pulled back towards the Somme Canal, covered by the darkness and next morning's mist.

[59][60][61][62][63] At 05.30 on 23 March, CCLI Bde moved south to cover the retreat of 24th Division, and put down a protective barrage, communication being maintained by officer patrols.

The batteries came into action again between Marchélepot and Licourt for the rest of the day, firing on roads crowded with enemy troops, guns and transport, while being attacked by low-flying German aircraft.

[66][67] The division was thoroughly split up and fought piecemeal during the Battle of Rosieres on 26 and 27 March, but the stubborn fighting during the retreat had slowed the German advance, which came to a halt by the end of the month.

That morning the Northumbrian infantry had to advance from reserve and were committed piecemeal to relieve the Portuguese Expeditionary Force that had been driven from its positions.

Unfortunately, the location chosen, the Chemin des Dames ridge in the French sector, was the target of the third phase of the German offensive (the Third Battle of the Aisne), which opened on 27 May.

The division got word of the impending German attack, and at 20.00 on 26 May CCLI Bde was ordered to put down a bombardment on roads and approaches behind the enemy front line from 21.00 to midnight.

Soon the enemy infantry were approaching the gunpits, where the gunners – fighting in respirators because of gas shelling – suffered heavy casualties from shellfire.

[10][19][20][92][93] As international tensions increased, the TA's AA strength grew rapidly, much of this expansion being achieved by splitting existing units.

[103] Shortly after the outbreak of war, a number of the regiment's TA officers volunteered to transfer to the Regular 4th AA Rgt, which was deploying to France with the British Expeditionary Force.

[19][20][92][97][98] After the Fall of France, German day and night air raids and mine laying began along the East Coast of England, intensifying through June 1940.

On the first night, fires started in the city acted as a beacon for subsequent waves of bombers, and the telephone lines to the GOR were cut.

By November it had attached to it the ancillary sub-units to make it fully mobile to take part in Operation Torch:[116][117][118] The regiment landed in North Africa with 62 AA Bde and had joined Allied Force Headquarters by 18 December 1942.

[99][119][120] Further arrivals allowed 62 AA Bde to extend its area eastwards, and by mid-March 62nd HAA Rgt had 4-gun troops at Algiers, at Blida and Maison Blanche airfields, and 1 1(1⁄2) batteries (12 guns) at Bougie harbour.

Algiers and Bougie were defined as Vulnerable Areas (VAs) and were designated as Inner Artillery Zones (IAZs) where the guns were permitted to fire at any aircraft within 12,000 yards (11,000 m) unless they returned Identification friend or foe (IFF) signals.

[121] In the final phase of the campaign, Operation Vulcan in mid-May, the regiment was deployed with two batteries at Bougie and one at Djidjelli airfield, now under 25 AA Bde.

[122] Until April 1944 the regiment remained in North Africa with 52 AA Bde, protecting the ports of Bizerta, Bône and Philippeville from which the invasions of Sicily and Italy were launched and supplied.

[92] When the TA was reconstituted on 1 January 1947 the regiment reformed at Hull as 462 (Northumbrian) HAA Rgt, and on 14 July the following year it became a 'Mixed' unit, indicating that members of the Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC) were integrated into it.

The merged regiment was equipped with electrically operated L/70 Bofors guns to deal with low-flying aircraft, and training was handled by the men of the former 529 LAA Rgt.

[19][127] The following served as Honorary Colonel of the unit:[10] A memorial plaque was placed in Holy Trinity Church, Hull, in 1960 to mark the centenary of the East Yorkshire Artillery Volunteers.