During the Second Boer War (1899–1902) the British government realised its field artillery was being overtaken by the more modern "quick firing" guns and howitzers of other major powers.

The usefulness of field howitzers and the need for them to form part of an infantry division's artillery were reinforced by reports from the Russo-Japanese War in 1904.

In 1900, the British Cabinet ordered Field Marshal Lord Roberts, the commander-in-chief in South Africa, to send home artillery brigade and battery commanders "selected for their eminence and experience" to form an equipment committee.

The committee was chaired by General Sir George Marshall, who had been artillery commander in South Africa.

[2] It formed in January 1901 with wide-ranging terms of reference concerning artillery equipment from guns and howitzers to harness design and instruments.

During the Second World War they served with the British Expeditionary Force in France and although many were lost they were the most widely available artillery piece until QF 25-pounder gun-howitzer production developed.

Apart from extensive experimentation with shell and rifling designs, two problems slowed development; both were howitzer-specific issues.

The first was solved by use of a "cut-off gear" that allowed 40 in (1.0 m) of recoil when the barrel was horizontal but only 20 in (0.51 m) when it was at 45 degrees of elevation.

Other suppliers of complete equipments were Bethlehem Steel in the US and, before the outbreak of war, a small number from Vickers.

At the beginning of the First World War a brigade of three six-gun howitzer batteries was part of each British infantry division.

Following experience gained in the Battle of the Somme in the summer of 1916, its role on the Western Front was defined in January 1917 as "neutralising guns with gas shell, for bombarding weaker defences, enfilading communications trenches, for barrage work, especially at night, and for wire cutting in such places which the field guns could not reach".

[10] The 4.5-inch howitzers were also used by British batteries in the campaigns in Gallipoli, the Balkans, Palestine, Italy and Mesopotamia.

A section (two guns) of D Battery, 276 Brigade RFA held off a German counter-attack at Little Priel Farm, southeast of Epéhy, during the Battle of Cambrai on 30 November 1917.

Sergeant Cyril Gourley MM was awarded the Victoria Cross for "most conspicuous bravery when in command of a section of howitzers" and saving the guns from the enemy.

[11][12] Several batteries of 4.5-inch howitzers arrived in North Russia shortly before the armistice on the Western Front and remained there through much of 1919.

Ninety-six were lost, leaving 403 in worldwide service (only 82 outside UK) with the British Army, plus those held by Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.

[17] Two guns that had decorated the main gate at Habbaniya aerodrome in Iraq were refurbished by the RAF and used by Habforce in the Anglo-Iraqi War in May 1941.

The 4.5s of the 155th (Lanarkshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment were instrumental in holding back Japanese attacks at the Battle of Kampar, in late December 1941.

[21] The 4.5-inch howitzer entered Irish service in 1925 to equip the newly formed 3rd Field Battery.

[22] The Portuguese Army used the QF 4.5 in combat in the Western Front, during the First World War.

In Portugal, the QF 4.5 was officially designated Obus 11,4 cm TR m/1917 and received the nickname "bonifácio".

They were put into service by the Romanian Army, equipping the howitzer regiments of the infantry divisions from 1918-1934.