The Ordnance BL 9.2-inch howitzer was a heavy siege howitzer that formed the principal counter-battery equipment of British forces in France in World War I. It equipped a substantial number of siege batteries of the Royal Garrison Artillery. During World War II a limited number were used in the Battle of France, with the remainder being kept in the United Kingdom.
Australian Battery of 9.2 inch Mark I howitzers in action at Fricourt during the Battle of the Somme, August 1916.
Two Mk I howitzers supporting Australian troops near Corbie, May 1918, showing the earth box.
Australian gunners of the 55th Siege Artillery Battery loading a 9.2-inch howitzer, Western Front, July 1916.
Gunners of 56th Heavy Regiment with Mk II, May 1940
The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA). The RGA were the 'technical' branch of the Royal Artillery who were responsible for much of the professionalisation of technical gunnery that was to occur during the First World War. It was originally established to man the guns of the British Empire's forts and fortresses, including coastal artillery batteries, the heavy gun batteries attached to each infantry division and the guns of the siege artillery. The RGA was amalgamated with the RFA in 1924, from which time the only two arms within the Royal Regiment of Artillery have been the Royal Artillery and the Royal Horse Artillery.
Royal Garrison Artillery
The defunct St. David's Battery, St. David's, Bermuda in 2011, historically manned by the RGA and the part-time reserve Bermuda Militia Artillery.
Royal Garrison Artillery training on various types of Coast Artillery equipment at the Royal Citadel, Plymouth, c1905
St. David's Battery, Bermuda, completed in 1910, with two 9.2" and two 6" guns