Royal Artillery Association (RAA)

The Royal Artillery Association was started on 26 May 1920 by the RA War Commemoration Fund to create a ‘Gunner Friend’ network organisation in every part of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth; in essence to create and foster a bond of comradeship irrespective of rank, between all who are serving or who have ever served as artillerymen and to maintain and promote the proud traditions of ‘Ubique’. It was also designed to help those in need or distress and maintain contact with old comrades. His Majesty The King is the Patron.   

There are a network of branches throughout the country, promoting comradeship and the opportunity for Gunners to meet up and have some fun. The Association also has the needs of Gunners and their families, to those who have fallen on hard times and the Association works alongside with the Royal Artillery Charitable Fund, it is at the very heart of the Gunner family.  So please do consider joining a Branch in your area.

What We Do

The aims, quite simply, are the promotion of Gunner welfare and comradeship; aims which are as important today as they were back in 1920.  Comradeship is fostered in local branches throughout the UK and abroad, and by affiliation to other Gunner organisations.  Also the regular contact, meetings and social gatherings.  There are a number of national events that the RAA support and organise.  Please see the events section for more information. The Association provides a ready made network of Gunner friends and useful contacts.  

How does the Association Work

The core of the Association is its Branches.  They are supported by District Representatives who, in turn, are supported by Regional Representatives who make up the National Executive Committee, which reports to a Royal Artillery Board of Management.  The Association is served by a small permanent staff team at Artillery House, Larkhill.

What does it provide

For a serving Gunner, Association Branches can provide support during the difficult transition period into civilian life and thereafter with a network of comrades who may prove useful when settling in an area, together with the friendship of a caring group of people who understand your problems.  For Members, Branches provide a focus for social activities, fun, comradeship and practical assistance and support if it is needed.  It also allows ready access to the Gunners’ charitable funds to assist those in need. 

What about Welfare

The Association provides all its members with the opportunities to help others less fortunate than themselves and to receive help if there is a need.  The branch does this primarily through the work of the Branch Welfare Officer who, if extra assistance is required, can contact the Welfare Officer at Artillery House.  

If you would like to renew old friendships and make new ones within the Royal Artillery Association and the Gunner Family then please consider joining your local branch of the Association.  The benefits include:

  • Comdradeship
  • Support
  • Social Activities
  • National Events run by The Royal Artillery Association

These include :

  • Sandown Gold Cup
  • The Royal Artillery Assembly – held in Blackpool over an entire weekend with over 300 veterans and serving soldiers in attendance.  
  • Gunner Sunday – held at The Royal Hospital Chelsea
  • Royal Artillery Service of Remembrance – held at the National Memorial Arboretum
  • The Royal Artillery Service of Remembrance – held at Hyde Park at the Royal Artillery Memorial
  • St Barbara’s Day – held at Larkhill

Please see out events page for more information.

Join the RAA

Automatic membership of the Royal Artillery Association is given to those who are retired or serving members of the Royal Regiment and for their spouse/partner.  Please complete the forms and we will put you in touch with your local branch.  Branch membership is open to all of the above and also available for those who have not served in the Royal Regiment and are not a member of the RAA.   

On completion of the form, we will use the information to contact you about the Charity and Regimental events, process requests for Benevolence and other related Regimental activity.  For those serving we will use the information to administer your Days Pay Giving and adventurous training grant.  The Charities comprises of the Royal Artillery Institution (RAI), Royal Artillery Charitable Fund (RACF) and The Royal Artillery Association (RAA), and so data is shared between these related organisations in order to conduct its business. The Charities are legally bound by the Data Protection Act to ensure that any data it holds on individuals is relevant, accurate and not excessive. Additionally it must be fairly and lawfully processed, held for defined purposes, be accurate and up to date, not kept for longer than necessary, processed in line with your rights and must be secure.  We will ensure that all data held on our database is treated in accordance with these principles.  Please be rest assured that we will not be selling or misusing any personal data and we do not intend to contact you too often; we merely need your formal agreement for us to use your data to establish routine correspondence. You can withdraw your consent at any time by writing or emailing raa-asstsec@artycen.ra.mod.uk 

Formation of a RAA Branch

There are also many events that the Association are allocated tickets too and as a branch member you are able to bid for these over the year.  These include Founders Day at Chelsea Hospital, The Cenotaph and many others.

We currently have over 70 branches throughout the United Kingdom and beyond.  We are always looking to start new branches in any area that has Gunners within its community.  If our regional branch network does not support you, the Association has recently also embraced National Branches, either based on support interest Groups or linking in with Old Comrades and Past and Present Member Associations.

We encourage anyone that is interested to get in touch with us about forming a new Branch.  You can do this by phone, email or letter.  

Forming Branches is about comradeship and meeting new and old friends and getting together for a catch up. Comradeship is often the thing that veterans miss and as we like to say ‘Once a Gunner, Always a Gunner’.  

As you can imagine starting a Branch does need someone at the helm to steer it in the right direction and there is some basic information that we need to capture.  Please follow the link to the General Administrative Instructions about Branch Administration together with the information which covers Forming Branches.  It may seem like a lot of information to process, so please do get in touch and we can give you a simpler breakdown.  

We are also available, so please do contact us.  Please get in touch with the Association Team – richard.davies557@mod.gov.uk or Cas.thoburn603@mod.gov.uk

Looking for more information on a family member who previously served – check out the Royal Artillery Museum Section here to find out how to get more information.