By . Mark Duell . It is the British Army’s oldest regiment - with actors, artists and Olympians all members during the First World War, and a dog and a tortoise for mascots. Now, fascinating previously-unseen records on the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) covering a period from 1848 to 1922 are being released. The HAC dates back to a charter granted by Henry VIII in 1537, with captain generals including James II, William III, George V and Queen Elizabeth II. British Army's oldest company: The Honourable Artillery Company's second battalion pictured at the Tower of London in circa April 1915 . Downtime: Members of HAC's first battalion relaxing behind the front line (left), and Teddy the terrier dog (right), the mascot of A and B Batteries in Egypt in 1915 . Going abroad: Mena Camp including HAC's A Battery tents and a view of the Pyramids at Giza in Egypt. The HAC sailed for the country in April 1915 . Working: A photograph dated circa August to September 1914 of members of the company's A Battery cleaning harnesses at Churn Down camp in Oxfordshire . Now a reserve company, its solders are . trained as surveillance and target acquisition specialists with skills . in covert intelligence gathering, communications and logistics. Two HAC infantry battalions and five batteries fought in the Great War in France, Belgium, Italy and the Middle East. Around . 1,650 men lost their lives serving with one of these seven HAC units . or, having been commissioned as officers, with many other units of the . armed forces. The newly-released . records reveal some of the men who joined the HAC, including actor John . Laurie, best known for his role as Private James Frazer in the popular . sitcom Dad's Army. Camp: The HAC mobilising in the Artillery Garden in London in September 1914. Two HAC infantry battalions and five batteries fought in the Great War . Harrowing: An April 1917 war sketch by Adrian Hill of the first battalion advancing at Gavrelle, France. The artist created trench sketches of the Western Front . Remembered: A photograph dated April 22, 1915 of a field grave. Around 1,650 men lost their lives serving with one of the seven HAC units involved or, having been commissioned as officers, with many other units of the armed forces . Service: Among the men who joined the HAC is actor John Laurie (fourth left), best known for his role as Private James Frazer in the popular sitcom Dad's Army . Adrian Hill, an official war artist, created his harrowing trench sketches of the Western Front while serving in the Scouting and Sniping Section of the HAC. The new records reveal details about some of the regimental mascots. For example, a tortoise was tied to a battery gun for safe keeping during the Battle of Gaza in April 1917. But it was badly wounded and died as a result of enemy shelling which killed six men. The files also describe how map publisher Edward Fraser Stanford was responsible for the safe keeping of young terrier dog Teddy (right). The animal became the mascot of A and B Batteries, going with them when they sailed for Egypt in April 1915. Despite going missing twice - the second time for over two months in the Jordan Valley during the summer of 1918 - Teddy was eventually reunited with his comrades. It came after a chance sighting with an Indian Cavalry column on the other side of Palestine, and returned safely to England with Mr Stanford when the war ended. And artist and Olympian Edward Amoore won both a gold and bronze medal for rifle shooting in the 1908 Olympics, then went on to serve in the war, becoming adjutant. He was mentioned in despatches in April 1917 before being severely wounded the following month, then later went on to serve on the Home Front in the Second World War. Fellow Olympian Kenneth Powell, who competed in both tennis and hurdles in the 1908 and 1912 Olympics, was a private in the HAC and was killed in action at Ypres in February 1915. Another member of the HAC's B Battery serving in the Middle East was Edgar George Roberts, who was commissioned into the Royal Flying Corps in 1916 and flew with a similar terrier dog in his plane. His HAC record card, apparently filled in by Mr Roberts himself and posted back to the HAC in 1919, says that he crash-landed in France in 1917. The records to be unveiled online include full HAC admission and regimental records from 1848-1922 and a small collection of photographs and letters from the next-of-kin of members who died in the First World War. The records, selected from the HAC's archives, are being made available online by family history website Findmypast. Paul Nixon, military historian at Findmypast, said: ‘It is brilliant to have such an extensive set of military records online - particularly exciting are those relating to World War One. ‘With so many record sets destroyed in the Second World War, it is extremely rare to have a complete set of World War One regimental records. ‘They will be hugely helpful to anyone wanting to discover more about this important organisation and the role their ancestors played in it.’ HAC chief executive Sean Crane said: ‘These records provide an insight into the ordinary men from an extraordinary range of backgrounds who chose to fight for their country amidst the great rush of volunteers flocking to the HAC's Armoury House during the summer of 1914. ‘This tradition is continued by another generation of men and women today as they step forward to serve their country in Afghanistan.’
Previously unseen records on Honourable Artillery Company dating from 1848 to 1922 are being released .
HAC dates back to a charter granted by Henry VIII in 1537, with captain generals including Queen Elizabeth II .
Two HAC infantry battalions and five batteries fought in the Great War in France, Belgium, Italy and Middle East .
Records reveal details about some of the regimental mascots - including tortoise taken to Battle of Gaza in 1917 .
Now a reserve company, the regiment's solders are trained as surveillance and target acquisition specialists .
By . Mark Duell . It is the British Army’s oldest regiment - with actors, artists and Olympians all members during the First World War, and a dog and a tortoise for mascots. Now, fascinating previously-unseen records on the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) covering a period from 1848 to 1922 are being released. The HAC dates back to a charter granted by Henry VIII in 1537, with captain generals including James II, William III, George V and Queen Elizabeth II. British Army's oldest company: The Honourable Artillery Company's second battalion pictured at the Tower of London in circa April 1915 . Downtime: Members of HAC's first battalion relaxing behind the front line (left), and Teddy the terrier dog (right), the mascot of A and B Batteries in Egypt in 1915 . Going abroad: Mena Camp including HAC's A Battery tents and a view of the Pyramids at Giza in Egypt. The HAC sailed for the country in April 1915 . Working: A photograph dated circa August to September 1914 of members of the company's A Battery cleaning harnesses at Churn Down camp in Oxfordshire . Now a reserve company, its solders are . trained as surveillance and target acquisition specialists with skills . in covert intelligence gathering, communications and logistics. Two HAC infantry battalions and five batteries fought in the Great War in France, Belgium, Italy and the Middle East. Around . 1,650 men lost their lives serving with one of these seven HAC units . or, having been commissioned as officers, with many other units of the . armed forces. The newly-released . records reveal some of the men who joined the HAC, including actor John . Laurie, best known for his role as Private James Frazer in the popular . sitcom Dad's Army. Camp: The HAC mobilising in the Artillery Garden in London in September 1914. Two HAC infantry battalions and five batteries fought in the Great War . Harrowing: An April 1917 war sketch by Adrian Hill of the first battalion advancing at Gavrelle, France. The artist created trench sketches of the Western Front . Remembered: A photograph dated April 22, 1915 of a field grave. Around 1,650 men lost their lives serving with one of the seven HAC units involved or, having been commissioned as officers, with many other units of the armed forces . Service: Among the men who joined the HAC is actor John Laurie (fourth left), best known for his role as Private James Frazer in the popular sitcom Dad's Army . Adrian Hill, an official war artist, created his harrowing trench sketches of the Western Front while serving in the Scouting and Sniping Section of the HAC. The new records reveal details about some of the regimental mascots. For example, a tortoise was tied to a battery gun for safe keeping during the Battle of Gaza in April 1917. But it was badly wounded and died as a result of enemy shelling which killed six men. The files also describe how map publisher Edward Fraser Stanford was responsible for the safe keeping of young terrier dog Teddy (right). The animal became the mascot of A and B Batteries, going with them when they sailed for Egypt in April 1915. Despite going missing twice - the second time for over two months in the Jordan Valley during the summer of 1918 - Teddy was eventually reunited with his comrades. It came after a chance sighting with an Indian Cavalry column on the other side of Palestine, and returned safely to England with Mr Stanford when the war ended. And artist and Olympian Edward Amoore won both a gold and bronze medal for rifle shooting in the 1908 Olympics, then went on to serve in the war, becoming adjutant. He was mentioned in despatches in April 1917 before being severely wounded the following month, then later went on to serve on the Home Front in the Second World War. Fellow Olympian Kenneth Powell, who competed in both tennis and hurdles in the 1908 and 1912 Olympics, was a private in the HAC and was killed in action at Ypres in February 1915. Another member of the HAC's B Battery serving in the Middle East was Edgar George Roberts, who was commissioned into the Royal Flying Corps in 1916 and flew with a similar terrier dog in his plane. His HAC record card, apparently filled in by Mr Roberts himself and posted back to the HAC in 1919, says that he crash-landed in France in 1917. The records to be unveiled online include full HAC admission and regimental records from 1848-1922 and a small collection of photographs and letters from the next-of-kin of members who died in the First World War. The records, selected from the HAC's archives, are being made available online by family history website Findmypast. Paul Nixon, military historian at Findmypast, said: ‘It is brilliant to have such an extensive set of military records online - particularly exciting are those relating to World War One. ‘With so many record sets destroyed in the Second World War, it is extremely rare to have a complete set of World War One regimental records. ‘They will be hugely helpful to anyone wanting to discover more about this important organisation and the role their ancestors played in it.’ HAC chief executive Sean Crane said: ‘These records provide an insight into the ordinary men from an extraordinary range of backgrounds who chose to fight for their country amidst the great rush of volunteers flocking to the HAC's Armoury House during the summer of 1914. ‘This tradition is continued by another generation of men and women today as they step forward to serve their country in Afghanistan.’
previously-unseen records on the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) covering a period from 1848 to 1922 are being released. The HAC dates back to a charter granted by Henry VIII in 1537, with captain generals including James II, William Down camp in Oxfordshire . Now a reserve company, its solders are . trained as surveillance and target acquisition specialists with skills . in logistics. Two HAC infantry battalions and five batteries fought in the Great War in France, Belgium, Italy and the Middle East. Around . five batteries fought in the Great War . of the HAC. The new records reveal details about some of the regimental mascots. For example, a keeping during the Battle of Gaza in April 1917.