List of commanders of the British 2nd Division explained

Unit Name:	2nd Division 2nd Infantry Division 2nd Armoured Division
Dates:	Raised and disbanded numerous times between 1809 and 2012
Country:	United Kingdom
Branch:	British Army
Battles:	Napoleonic Wars Crimean War Second Boer War First World War Second World War

The 2nd Division was an infantry division of the British Army, which was first formed in 1809 and finally disbanded in 2012. The division was commanded by a general officer commanding (GOC). In this role, he would receive orders from a level above him in the chain of command, and then use the forces within the division to undertake the mission assigned. In addition to directing the tactical battle the division was involved in, the GOC oversaw a staff and the administrative, logistical, medical, training, and discipline of the division. The division had 65 different permanent GOCs over its history that spanned 203 years.

Prior to 1809, the British Army did not use divisional formations. As the British military grew in size during the Napoleonic Wars, the need arose for such an implementation in order to better organise forces for administrative, logistical, and tactical reasons. The 2nd Division was formed on 18 June 1809 by Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley, and served in the Peninsular War (part of the Napoleonic Wars). After the Peninsular War ended in 1814, the division was disbanded only to be re-raised the following year when the War of the Seventh Coalition broke out. The division fought at the Battle of Waterloo, and played a pivotal role in the defeat of the final French attack of the day. The division's light infantry brigade flanked and attacked the French Imperial Guard, causing them to falter, and then retreat. The brigade then spearheaded the British general advance after the retreating French forces. In December 1818, the division was disbanded once again.

During the mid to late 19th century, several formations bore the name "2nd Division". The ones that fought in the Crimean War and the Second Boer War were considered to be part of the same lineage as the two that fought in the Napoleonic Wars by Everard Wyrall, who compiled the 2nd Division's First World War official history. Reformed in 1854, the division fought in the Crimean War against the Russian Empire. It served throughout the siege of Sevastopol, had a critical role in the Battle of Inkerman, and was stood down at the end of the war in 1856. A new 2nd Division was mobilised in 1899, for action in the Second Boer War. It took part in all the battles that comprised the Relief of Ladysmith, and was broken-up at the end of 1900 when conventional warfare ended. This allowed the division's personnel to be reassigned to mobile columns or to garrison towns, in an effort to combat the guerrilla tactics that the Boers employed.

In 1902, the division was reformed as a permanent formation. It was based at Aldershot, in southern England, prior to the First World War and during the inter-war period.^[1] In 1914, the division deployed to France shortly after the war started as part of the British Expeditionary Force. It served on the Western Front between 1914 and 1918. During the Second World War, the division was again deployed to France in the opening stages of the war. In the subsequent Battle of France, the division was forced to evacuate back to England. In 1942, the formation was transported to India, and subsequently fought in Burma in 1944 and 1945. In the post-war years, it formed part of the British Army of the Rhine in Germany. In 1976, the infantry division was transformed into an armoured formation based in Germany, but was disbanded at the end of 1982. The 2nd Division was then reformed in York, England, in 1983.^[2] Following the end of the Cold War, the division was once again disbanded. It was re-raised in 1994 as a training formation and maintained this role until 2012, when it was disbanded for the final time.

General officer commanding

See also: General officer commanding.

No.!width="15%" scope="col"

Appointment date	width=10% scope="col"	Rank	width=15% scope="col"	General officer commanding	class=unsortable width=45% scope="col"	Notes	class=unsortable width=5% scope="col"	Source(s)
1		Major-General	scope=align="center"		The division was formed for the first time, during the Peninsular War, from troops based in Portugal.
N/A		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Leith was scheduled to take command of the division on this date, but never did. Instead, he was given command of the 5th Division.
		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Stewart became acting commander of the division, due to Hill being stricken with fever.
2		Major-General	scope=align="center"		On this date, Stewart formally became the commander.
		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Once Hill recovered from his period of sickness, he returned and retook command of the division.
		Lieutenant-General	scope=align="center"		Held the local rank of lieutenant-general. Alternatively known as Christopher Tilson and Christopher Chowne.
2	1812/1813	Major-General	scope=align="center"		Stewart returned to the peninsula in late 1812. At the division's next battle, the Battle of Maya in July 1813, Stewart was again in command. He was wounded in this battle.
		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Took temporary command of the division following William Stewart's injury during the Battle of Maya in July 1813.
		Major-General	scope=align="center"
		Major-General	scope=align="center"
3		Major-General	scope=align="center"		At the conclusion of the Peninsular War, the division was disbanded in France. The final troops departed in June.
4		Lieutenant-General	scope=align="center"		The division was reformed on this date from troops based in the Southern Netherlands. Clinton led the division from its inception through the Battle of Waterloo, and as part of the Army of Occupation that was based in France after the war. He held command until the division was disbanded in France, during December 1818.
5		Lieutenant-General	scope=align="center"		The division was formed in Varna, Ottoman Bulgaria, from British troops who had been assembled, and had prepared to move to the Crimean peninsular during the Crimean War.
		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Pennefather was acting commander of the division, after de Lacy Evans had been injured following a fall from his horse. He commanded the division at the Battle of Inkerman on 5 November 1854.
6		Lieutenant-General	scope=align="center"		In early 1855, Pennefather went on sick leave and an unknown officer took command. Pennefather returned to command by March 1855.	^[3]
7		Lieutenant-General	scope=align="center"		In 1856, after the end of the war, the division was disbanded in Crimea.
8		Lieutenant-General	scope=align="center"		A new 2nd Division was formed in England, and then moved to southern Africa to fight in the Second Boer War. Clery was a major-general when the division was mobilised, but given the temporary rank of lieutenant-general once in Africa. The division was broken up at the end of 1900, while still in southern Africa.	^[4]
9		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Temporary commander, while Clery was ill	^[5]
10		Major-General	scope=align="center"		This marked the first time the 2nd Division was formed as a permanent formation, and not as raised on an ad hoc basis for a particular war. Douglas left his position on 12 February 1904.	^[6]
11		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Hamilton was also the commander of the 3rd Brigade, until 2 May 1904. On 12 February 1907, Hamilton ended his tenure as the divisional commander.	^[7]
12		Major-General	scope=align="center"
13		Major-General	scope=align="center"
14		Major-General	scope=align="center"			^[8]
15		Major-General	scope=align="center"		The division was dispatched to France on the outbreak of the First World War.
		Brigadier-General	scope=align="center"
16		Major-General	scope=align="center"
17		Major-General	scope=align="center"
18		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Pereira held command for the duration of the war. In 1919, the division entered Germany. It was then renamed, and ceased to exist on 17 February 1919.
19		Major-General	scope=align="center"		The 2nd Division was reformed in England on this date	^[9] ^[10]
20		Major-General	scope=align="center"			^[11]
21		Major-General	scope=align="center"
22		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Cubitt was promoted to lieutenant-general during his tenure as division commander.	^[12]
23		Major-General	scope=align="center"			^[13]
24		Major-General	scope=align="center"
25		Major-General	scope=align="center"			^[14]
26		Major-General	scope=align="center"		The division was now known as the 2nd Infantry Division. On the outbreak of the Second World War, the division was dispatched to France.
		Brigadier	scope=align="center"
27		Major-General	scope=align="center"		During Irwin's tenure, the division was evacuated from France and returned to England.
		Brigadier	scope=align="center"
		Brigadier	scope=align="center"
28		Major-General	scope=align="center"
29		Major-General	scope=align="center"		In April 1942, the division was dispatched to British India.
30		Major-General	scope=align="center"
		Brigadier	scope=align="center"
		Major-General	scope=align="center"
		Brigadier	scope=align="center"
		Major-General	scope=align="center"
		Brigadier	scope=align="center"
	align=“center”		align=“center”	Major-General	scope=align="center"		The division took part in the Burma campaign of 1944–45, and fought at the battles of Kohima and Mandalay.
		Brigadier	scope=align="center"
		Major-General	scope=align="center"
31		Major-General	scope=align="center"
32		Major-General	scope=align="center"		After the conclusion of hostilities, the division absorbed the 36th Infantry Division. The division then moved to Malaya, and was disbanded in 1946.	^[15]
33		Major-General	scope=align="center"		The division was reformed in Germany, by the re-designation of the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division. Balfour, who had been the GOC of the 53rd, retained his position.	^[16] ^[17]
34		Major-General	scope=align="center"			^[18]
35		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Callander ended his appointment on 26 April 1951	^[19]
36		Major-General	scope=align="center"			^[20]
37		Major-General	scope=align="center"
38		Major-General	scope=align="center"
39		Major-General	scope=align="center"		The formation was now known as the 2nd Division.
40		Major-General	scope=align="center"
41		Major-General	scope=align="center"
42		Major-General	scope=align="center"
43		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Sharp ended his tenure in command on 1 December 1967	^[21]
44		Major-General	scope=align="center"
45		Major-General	scope=align="center"
46		Major-General	scope=align="center"
47		Major-General	scope=align="center"
48		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Kitson took command of the division prior to and led it during its reorganisation into the 2nd Armoured Division.
49		Major-General	scope=align="center"
50		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Final commander of the 2nd Armoured Division. The division was disbanded in Germany at the end of 1983.	^[22] ^[23]
51		Major-General	scope=align="center"		The 2nd Infantry Division was reformed in England on this date. Palmer was made GOC North East District, in conjunction with commanding the division.
52		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Also the GOC North East District
53		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Also the GOC North East District
54		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Also the GOC North East District
55		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Also the GOC North East District	^[24]
56		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Also the GOC North East District. Walker was the final GOC of the 2nd Infantry Division, before it was disbanded in early 1992 as part of the 1990s Options for Change.	^[25]
57		Major-General	scope=align="center"		Cordingley became GOC Eastern District on 23 November 1992. The 2nd Division was refounded in 1994.	^[26] ^[27]
58		Major-General	scope=align="center"
59		Major General	scope=align="center"		This marks the first occasion of the hyphen being dropped from major-general in The London Gazette.
60		Major General	scope=align="center"
61		Major General	scope=align="center"
62		Major General	scope=align="center"
63		Major General	scope=align="center"		Resigned from position in protest to the then ongoing operations in Afghanistan
64		Major General	scope=align="center"
65		Major General	scope=align="center"		The division was disbanded in April 2012, as part of an army restructure.

See also

• List of orders of battle for the British 2nd Division
• List of Victoria Cross recipients from the British 2nd Division

References

• Book: Barthorp, Michael. The Armies of Britain, 1485–1980. National Army Museum. London. 1980. 252418281.
• Book: Becke, Archibald Frank. 1935. 2007. Order of Battle of Divisions Part 1: The Regular British Divisions. The Naval & Military Press. Uckfield. 978-1-84734-738-1.
• Book: Bowden, Mark. Pitt Rivers: The Life and Archaeological Work of Lieutenant-General Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt River DCL, FRS, FSA. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. 1991. 978-0-52140-077-0.
• Book: Conan Doyle, Arthur. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Great Boer War. 5th. George Bell & Sons. London. 1901. 26467440.
• Book: Creswicke, Louis. South Africa and the Transvaal War. II. Edinburgh. T. C. & E. C. Jack. 1900. 154231374.
• Book: Creswicke, Louis. South Africa and the Transvaal War. VI. Edinburgh. T. C. & E. C. Jack. 1901. 154231374.
• Book: Demchak, Chris C.. Wars of Disruption and Resilience: Cybered Conflict, Power, and National Security. The University of Georgia Press. Athens, Georgia. 2011. 978-0-82034-137-8.
• Book: Dunlop, John K.. The Development of the British Army 1899–1914. Methuen. London. 1938. 59826361.
• Book: Ffrench Blake, R.L.V.. The Crimean War. Barnsley. Pen & Sword Military. 2006. 1971. 978-1-844-15449-4.
• Book: Glover, Gareth. Waterloo: Myth and Reality. Barnsley. Pen & Sword Books. 2014. 978-1-78159-356-1.
• Book: Glover, Gareth. Waterloo: The Defeat of Napoleon's Imperial Guard: Henry Clinton, the 2nd Division and the End of a 200-year-old Controversy. Barnsley. Pen & Sword Books. 2015. 978-1-84832-744-3.
• Book: Heyman, Charles. The British Army: A Pocket Guide, 2002–2003. Barnsley. Pen & Sword Books. 2002. 978-0-850-52867-1.
• Book: Haythornthwaite, Philip. Picton's Division at Waterloo. Barnsley. Pen & Sword Books. 2016. 978-1-78159-102-4.
• Book: Isby, David C.. Jeffrey. Simon. NATO-Warsaw Pact Force Mobilization. National Defense University Press. Washington. 1988. 317–352. Developments in the Front-Line States: The United Kingdom. 18522267.
  • Book: Kneen. J. M.. D. J.. Sutton. Craftsmen of the Army: The Story of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 1969–1992. II. Leo Cooper. London. 1996. 978-0-850-52549-6.
• Book: Lord. Cliff. Graham. Watson. 2003. The Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920–2001) and its Antecedents. West Midlands. Helion. 978-1-874622-07-9.
• Book: Luto, James. Fighting with the Fourteenth Army in Burma: Original War Summaries of the Battle Against Japan 1943–1945. Pen and Sword. Havertown, PA. 2013. 978-1-783-03031-6.
• Book: Ron. McGuigan. Robert. Burnham. The British Army Against Napoleon: Facts, Lists, and Trivia, 1805-1815. Barnsley. Frontline Books. 2010. 978-1-30680-432-5.
• Book: Ron. McGuigan. Robert. Burnham. Wellington's Brigade Commanders: Peninsula & Waterloo. Barnsley. Pen & Sword Books. 2017. 978-1-47385-079-8.
• Book: Messenger, Charles. 1994. A History of British Infantry. For Love of Regiment 1915–1994. II. London. Pen & Sword. 978-0-85052-422-2.
• Book: Oman, Charles. Charles Oman. A History of the Peninsular War. IV Dec. 1810 – Dec. 1811. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1911. 699709225.
• Book: Oman, Charles. A History of the Peninsular War. V Oct. 1811 – Aug. 31, 1812. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1914. 185228609.
• Book: Oman, Charles. A History of the Peninsular War. VI September 1, 1812 – August 5, 1813. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1922. 185228609.
• Book: Oman, Charles. A History of the Peninsular War. VII August 1813 – April 14, 1814. Oxford. Oxford University Press. 1930. 185228609.
• Book: Ponting, Clive. The Crimean War: The Truth Behind the Myth. Pimlico. Sydney. 2006. 978-0-71263-653-7.
• Book: Raugh, Harold E.. The Victorians at War, 1815-1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History. ABC-Clio. Santa Barbara, California. 2004. 978-1-57607-925-6.
• Book: Reid, Stuart. Wellington's Army in the Peninsula 1809–14. Oxford. Osprey Publishing. 2004. 978-1-84176-517-4.
• Book: Richards, Donald. Conflict in the Crimea: British Redcoats on Russian Soil. Barnsley. Pen & Sword Military. 2006. 978-1-84415-343-5.
• Book: Siborne, William. The Waterloo Campaign. 5th. Westminster. Archibald Constable and Co.. 1900. 672639901.
• Book: Tanner, James. The British Army since 2000. Oxford. Osprey Publishing. 2014. 978-1-78200-593-3.
• Web site: Taylor. Claire. 2011. Defence Basing Review (SN06038). House of Commons Library: International Affairs and Defence Section. 20 October 2020.
• Vox Militaris. 1995. Land Command In: UKLF Out. The Army Quarterly and Defence Journal. West of England Press. 125. 2338035.
• Book: Warner, Philip. The Crimean War: A Reappraisal. Ware, Hertfordshire. Wordsworth Editions Limited. 2001. 1972. 978-1-84022-247-0.
• Encyclopedia: . . Who's Who. 1968. A & C Black. London. 866511400.
• Book: Wyrall, Everard. The History of the Second Division, 1914–1918. I. 1921a. Thomas Nelson and Sons. London. 31 July 2014. 1167884897.
• Book: Wyrall, Everard. The History of the Second Division, 1914–1918. II. 1921b. Thomas Nelson and Sons. London. 31 July 2014. 1167884897.

Notes and References

1. Web site: War Office, Monthly Army List, December 1920. 1920. 62. War Office. 3 January 2021.
2. Web site: Blaker. Peter. 1981. 1(BR) Corps, Written Answers (Commons), HC Deb 20 July 1981 vol 9 cc57-8W. House of Commons Library: Historic Hansard. October 28, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191111062804/https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/jul/20/1br-corps. 11 November 2019. live.
3. and
4. and
5. and
6. ,, and
7. , and
8. and
9. Web site: War Office, Monthly Army List, May 1921. 1921. 30. War Office. 27 August 2020.
10. and
11. Web site: War Office, Monthly Army List, January 1926. 1926. 20. War Office. 21 October 2020.
12. , and
13. and
14. and
15. 1946. Army Notes. Royal United Services Institution. 91. 564. 609. 10.1080/03071844609433982.
16. 1946. Army Notes. Royal United Services Institution. 92. 565. 143. 10.1080/03071844709423998.
17. Web site: Balfour, Philip . https://web.archive.org/web/20120919154952/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/BALFOURS.shtml . dead . 19 September 2012 . Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. 9 June 2020.
18. News: 15 July 1947. 50813. 2. Military Appointments. The Times.
19. Web site: Colin Callander . Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives . 7 June 2020 . https://archive.today/20121223110800/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/CALLENDER.shtml . 23 December 2012 . dead.
20. and
21. ,, and
22. and
23. Web site: Blaker. Peter. 1981. 1(BR) Corps, Written Answers (Commons), HC Deb 20 July 1981 vol 9 cc57-8W. House of Commons Library: Historic Hansard. 28 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191111062804/https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1981/jul/20/1br-corps. 11 November 2019. live.
24. and
25. and
26. Web site: Cordingley, Patrick Anthony John (Oral History). Imperial War Museum. 21 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201026084917/https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30071821. 26 October 2020. bot: unknown.
27. Web site: Kohima Museum. The 2nd Division. Kohima Museum. 16 January 2021.