List of divisions of the British Territorial Force 1914–1918 explained

See also: List of units of the British Army Territorial Force 1908.

The Territorial Force was established on 1 April 1908 as a volunteer auxiliary to the British Army. It was formed by the amalgamation of the former auxiliary institutions of the Volunteer Force and the yeomanry. Designed primarily as a home defence force, its members could not be compelled to serve overseas unless they volunteered to do so. On the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, many did. The first units were deployed piecemeal in support of the regular army as it defended against the opening German offensive in Belgium and France in 1914. The first territorial divisions to be deployed were used to free up imperial garrisons overseas, but in 1915 they began to be deployed to the front lines on the Western Front and at Gallipoli. The pre-war territorial divisions were numbered in May 1915 in order of their deployment. As they were deployed, second-line divisions were raised to replace them at home, and in 1916 these began to be deployed to combat zones. By the end of the war in 1918, the Territorial Force had provided 28 divisions and 14 mounted brigades.[1] [2] [3] [4]

Infantry divisions

NumberNameSecond-lineRecruitment AreaNotesReferences
42ndEast Lancashire Division66th (2nd East Lancashire) DivisionCumberland, part of Lancashire and Westmorland[5] [6]
43rdWessex Division45th (2nd Wessex) DivisionCornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset, Wiltshire[7] [8]
44thHome Counties Division67th (2nd Home Counties) DivisionMiddlesex, Kent, Surrey and SussexSecond-line division lost territorial association early 1918[9] [10]
46thNorth Midland Division59th (2nd North Midland) DivisionDerbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland and Staffordshire[11] [12]
47th2nd London Division60th (2/2nd London) DivisionCounty of London[13] [14]
48thSouth Midland Division61st (2nd South Midland) DivisionBerkshire, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire[15] [16]
49thWest Riding Division62nd (2nd West Riding) DivisionWest Riding of Yorkshire[17] [18]
50thNorthumbrian Division63rd (2nd Northumbrian) DivisionCounty Durham, Northumberland, East and North Ridings of YorkshireSecond-line division broken up in July 1916[19] [20]
51stHighland Division64th (2nd Highland) DivisionAberdeen and Dundee, the counties of Aberdeenshire, Argyllshire, Banffshire, Buteshire, Caithness, Clackmannanshire, Dunbartonshire, Elginshire, Fife, Forfarshire, Inverness-shire, Kinross-shire, Nairnshire, Renfrewshire, Shetland, Stirlingshire, Sutherland and part of LanarkshireSecond-line division lost territorial association early 1918[21] [22]
52ndLowland Division65th (2nd Lowland) DivisionEdinburgh and Glasgow, Counties of Berwickshire, Dumfriesshire, Haddingtonshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, Linlithgowshire, Midlothian, Peeblesshire, Selkirkshire, Wigtownshire and part of LanarkshireSecond-line division broken up 18 March 1918[23] [24]
53rdWelsh Division68th (2nd Welsh) DivisionWales, Monmouthshire, Cheshire, Herefordshire and ShropshireSecond-line division lost territorial association early 1918[25] [26]
54thEast Anglian Division69th (2nd East Anglian) DivisionBedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and SuffolkSecond-line division lost territorial association early 1918[27] [28]
55thWest Lancashire Division57th (2nd West Lancashire) DivisionLancashire and Liverpool[29] [30]
56th1st London Division58th (2/1st London) DivisionCity of London and County of London[31] [32]

Mounted units

The original mounted brigades were:[33]

A number of yeomanry divisions were also formed:

NameFormedTheatreNotesReferences
1st Mounted DivisionAugust 1914Home defenceBecame the 1st Cyclist Division in July 1916. Disbanded November 1916.[34]
2nd Mounted DivisionSeptember 1914Gallipoli CampaignFought dismounted at Gallipoli. Disbanded January 1916.[35]
3rd Mounted DivisionMarch 1915Home defenceFormed as the second-line 2/2nd Mounted Division. Renamed to 3rd Mounted Division March 1916. Renamed to 1st Mounted Division July 1916. Renamed to Cyclist Division September 1917. Disbanded June 1919.[36]
4th Mounted DivisionMarch 1916Home defenceRenamed to 2nd Cyclist Division July 1916. Disbanded November 1916.[37]
Yeomanry Mounted DivisionJuly 1917Sinai and Palestine CampaignLost its yeomanry affiliation April 1918, becoming an Indian division and renamed to 1st Mounted Division.[38]
74th (Yeomanry) DivisionApril 1917Sinai and Palestine Campaign
Western Front		Formed from dismounted yeomanry. Transferred to France May 1918. Disbanded July 1919.[39]

Other divisions

Also considered divisions of the Territorial Force were:

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Beckett 2011 pp. 213–217 & 230
  2. Becket 2008 pp. 54, 57 & 79
  3. Mitchinson pp. 59, 62 & 204
  4. Beckett 2004 p. 132
  5. Becke 2A pp. 35–41
  6. Becke 2B pp. 67–74
  7. Becke 2A pp. 43–48
  8. Becke 2A pp. 55–60
  9. Becke 2A pp. 49–54
  10. Becke 2B pp. 75–82
  11. Becke 2A pp. 61–67
  12. Becke 2B pp. 17–23
  13. Becke 2A pp. 69–75
  14. Becke 2B pp. 25–32
  15. Becke 2A pp. 77–834
  16. Becke 2B pp. 33–39
  17. Becke 2A pp. 85–91
  18. Becke 2B pp. 41–48
  19. Becke 2A pp. 93–100
  20. Becke 2B pp. 49–54
  21. Becke 2A pp. 101–107
  22. Becke 2B pp. 55–59
  23. Becke 2A pp. 109–115
  24. Becke 2B pp. 61–65
  25. Becke 2A pp. 117–123
  26. Becke 2B pp. 83–90
  27. Becke 2A pp. 125–131
  28. Becke 2B pp. 91–98
  29. Becke 2A pp. 133–139
  30. Becke 2B pp. 1–7
  31. Becke 2A pp. 141–147
  32. Becke 2B pp. 9–15
  33. Westlake pp. 14–15
  34. Becke 2A p. 7
  35. Becke 2A pp. 16–17
  36. Becke 2A pp. 25–26
  37. Becke 2A p. 30
  38. Becke 2A p. 34
  39. Becke 2A pp. 121–122
  40. Becke 2B pp. 101–105
  41. Becke 2B pp. 129–130

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