Huyton, Lancashire. Detachments of gunners were sent out to man roadblocks and static guns. Part of 391 Bty was at Barford in the outer defences of Birmingham with Hotchkiss 6-pounders, the rest at Tarvin on airfield defence. 392 Battery was in detachments from Maryport to Speke with weapons ranging from obsolete 6-pounders to 1913-vintage 13-pounders. In December 1940 the regiment went to Portsmouth in Southern Command, where it joined V Corps. When field regiments were reorganised on a three-battery basis, 98th (S&SY) Fd Rgt formed 471 Bty in January 1941, armed with four French 75mm guns, while 391 and 392 Btys each had two of the new 25-pounders. By April 1941 the regiment was fully equipped with 24 x 25-pounders. It also gained an attached Royal Corps of Signals section and a Light Aid Detachment (LAD) of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. The regiment did a spell as depot regiment at the School of Artillery at Larkhill Camp and was later stationed at Sturminster Marshall, the Isle of Wight, and Wimborne Minster. At the beginning of May 1942 the regiment came under direct War Office control preparatory to proceeding overseas. North Africa 98th (S&SY) Field Regiment landed in Egypt where on 19 September 1942 it joined 10th Armoured Division in Eighth Army. It was equipped with 24 x 25-pounders with Stuart light tanks as observation posts (OPs). On the second night of the Second Battle of El Alamein (24/25 October), 10th Armoured Division advanced with strong artillery support from its own regiments and several others, but the tanks could not keep up with the barrage and struggled up to Miteirya Ridge. On 27/28 October the division's lorried infantry brigade attacked the 'Woodcock' and 'Snipe' objectives, but because of the confusion on the objectives the artillery plan had to be very simple, and communication between brigade HQ and the guns broke down. The infantry took serious casualties and dug in short of their objectives. 10th Armoured Division was withdrawn into reserve, but after the battle it took part in the pursuit to Mersa Matruh. After Matruh, 10th Armoured Division withdrew to the Nile Delta, and on 29 December 98th (S&SY) Fd Rgt came under Middle East Forces. In Egypt it re-equipped with M7 Priest 105mm self-propelled (SP) guns. Sicily and Italy 98th (S&SY) Field Regiment rejoined Eighth Army for the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) in July 1943. The