page_title: Cheshire Artillery Volunteers
section_title: Phoney War
hierarchical_section_title: Cheshire Artillery Volunteers / World War II / Phoney War
context_page_description: The Cheshire Artillery Volunteers was a brigade of Volunteer artillery units raised in the county of Cheshire in the mid-19th Century. Their successors served as field artillery in Palestine during World War I and as anti-aircraft gunners in the Middle East in World War II. They continued in the air defence role in the Territorial Army until 1955.
context_section_description: 81st AA Regiment came under the command of 44th Anti-Aircraft Brigade based at Manchester and forming part of 4th Anti-Aircraft Division. The regiment initially manned two heavy AA battery sites equipped with 3-inch guns (253 AA Bty at Site J with two, 254 AA Bty at Site L with four) and also deployed 15 Lewis guns as light AA cover for the Metropolitan-Vickers factory at Trafford Park.
  By early November, 254 AA Bty was manning 32 Lewis guns at Metropolitan-Vickers, 253 AA Bty was at the Armoury at Stockport, and 255 AA Bty was detached to 34 (South Midland) AA Bde at Coventry. Despite alarms and occasional overflights by presumed enemy aircraft, there was no action during this Phoney War period.
caption: 4 AA Division's insignia.