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 In
1537 Henry VIII formed the company by Letters Patent from
an already existing Guild of St. George charging it to attend
to the Better Defense of the Realm and encouraging it to exercise
in handling bows and handguns. The Company trained in the
fields of Finsbury and built the centre part of Armoury House
in 1735, adding the wings in 1828. From the 16th to the 18th
Century the Company trained all the officers of the Trained
Bands of the City and the Company's other principal-was maintaining
law and order on the streets on behalf of the Corporation,
before the formation of a police force.
The word
"Artillery" in its title is misleading since in
the early days the word meant no more than a projectile weapon
and the Company was solely infantry for its first 250 years.
After distinguished service in the Gordon Riots in 1780 the
Corporation presented the Company with two brass cannons,
the barrels of which still stand on the stairs in Armoury
House, as a reward for their good service. From this time
until 1973 the Company had the unique distinction of providing
Infantry and Artillery units wearing the same cap badge.
Although members of the Company fought in various wars as
individuals, and indeed one,
Robert Keayne, an early emigrant to the United States,
founded the Ancient
and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts in 1638,
the HAC's first formed body deployed on operations was in
1900 in the South African War as part of the City Imperial
Volunteers. When the Territorial Army was formed at the beginning
of this Century, the HAC's Military Unit became part of it
but the HAC's traditional rights and privileges were preserved
by an Act of Parliament in 1908 guaranteeing its independence.
In both World Wars the HAC provided not only its own Infantry
and Artillery Units in the frontline but also on each occasion
4,000 officers for other units of the British Army. Today,
the Company has 2,400 members of whom 400 are serving in the
Military Unit. All the rest have military experience as an
essential qualification for membership. The Military Unit
has a challenging role as part of NATO's Rapid Reaction Corps
with the task of providing small patrols in the forward battle
area to acquire intelligence and control long range weapons.
The Military Unit also provides Guards of Honour in the
City and fires the Salutes at the Tower of London. The Company
of Pikemen and Musketeers, who provide the Lord Mayor's Bodyguard,
contribute greatly to the ceremonial life of the City and
the HAC also has a Light Cavalry Unit which keeps alive the
skills of military equitation and takes part in ceremonial
functions.
The old tradition of policing the streets of London is maintained
by the HAC's own Detachment of Special Constables in the Metropolitan
Police. With its historic House and unique area of playing
fields, the HAC plays a special part in the life of the City
and sponsors many unusual and diverse activities. Cricket
has been played here since 1725 and the first ever balloon
flight in the United Kingdom was that of Mr. Vincent Lunardi
who took off from our Grounds in 1784. convening of the new
government on March 4, 1789.
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