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List of divisions of the British Territorial Force 1914–1918

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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[]

Number Name Second-line Recruitment Area Notes References
42nd East Lancashire Division 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division Cumberland, part of Lancashire and Westmorland [5][6]
43rd Wessex Division 45th (2nd Wessex) Division Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset, Wiltshire [7][8]
44th Home Counties Division 67th (2nd Home Counties) Division Middlesex, Kent, Surrey and Sussex Second-line division lost territorial association early 1918 [9][10]
46th North Midland Division 59th (2nd North Midland) Division Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland and Staffordshire [11][12]
47th 2nd London Division 60th (2/2nd London) Division County of London [13][14]
48th South Midland Division 61st (2nd South Midland) Division Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire [15][16]
49th West Riding Division 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division West Riding of Yorkshire [17][18]
50th Northumbrian Division 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division County Durham, Northumberland, East and North Ridings of Yorkshire Second-line division broken up in July 1916 [19][20]
51st Highland Division 64th (2nd Highland) Division Aberdeen 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 Lanarkshire Second-line division lost territorial association early 1918 [21][22]
52nd Lowland Division 65th (2nd Lowland) Division Edinburgh and Glasgow, Counties of Berwickshire, Dumfriesshire, Haddingtonshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, Linlithgowshire, Midlothian, Peeblesshire, Selkirkshire, Wigtownshire and part of Lanarkshire Second-line division broken up 18 March 1918 [23][24]
53rd Welsh Division 68th (2nd Welsh) Division Wales, Monmouthshire, Cheshire, Herefordshire and Shropshire Second-line division lost territorial association early 1918 [25][26]
54th East Anglian Division 69th (2nd East Anglian) Division Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Suffolk Second-line division lost territorial association early 1918 [27][28]
55th West Lancashire Division 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division Lancashire and Liverpool [29][30]
56th 1st London Division 58th (2/1st London) Division City of London and County of London [31][32]

Mounted units[]

The original mounted brigades were:[33]

A number of yeomanry divisions were also formed:

Name Formed Theatre Notes References
1st Mounted Division August 1914 Home defence Became the 1st Cyclist Division in July 1916. Disbanded November 1916. [34]
2nd Mounted Division September 1914 Gallipoli Campaign Fought dismounted at Gallipoli. Disbanded January 1916. [35]
3rd Mounted Division March 1915 Home defence Formed 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 Division March 1916 Home defence Renamed to 2nd Cyclist Division July 1916. Disbanded November 1916. [37]
Yeomanry Mounted Division July 1917 Sinai and Palestine Campaign Lost its yeomanry affiliation April 1918, becoming an Indian division and renamed to 1st Mounted Division. [38]
74th (Yeomanry) Division April 1917 Sinai 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:

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

Bibliography[]

  • Becke, Major A. F. (2007). Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2a & 2b: Territorial & Yeomanry Divisions. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 9781847347398. 
  • Beckett, Ian Frederick William (2004). A Nation in Arms. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 9781844680238. 
  • Beckett, Ian Frederick William (2008). Territorials: A Century of Service. Plymouth: DRA Publishing. ISBN 9780955781315. 
  • Beckett, Ian Frederick William (2011). Britain's Part-Time Soldiers: The Amateur Military Tradition: 1558–1945. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 9781848843950. 
  • Mitchinson, K. W. (2014). The Territorial Force at War, 1914–1916. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781137451590. 
  • Westlake, Ray (1991). British Territorial Units 1914–1918. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781855321687. 
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