63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division
| 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1914–1916 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Service | World War I |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Andrew Cracroft Becher(1914–1916) George Forestier-Walker(1916) |
The63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Divisionof theBritish Armywas a second-lineTerritorial Forcedivision, formed in 1914, which served on home defence duties during theFirst World War.The division was formed as a duplicate of the50th (Northumbrian) Divisionin 1914, composed primarily of soldiers recruited in north-eastern England. It remained on home defence and training duties in the north-east and east of England until 1916, when it was disbanded. Several of its constituent units would later serve overseas, deployed for support and garrison duties in almost every theatre of the war.
History[edit]
The division was created as the "2nd Northumbrian Division", a second-line formation of theNorthumbrian Divisionat the end of August 1914. At this time, Territorial Force soldiers could not be deployed overseas without their consent and the Territorial units were split into a "first line", with men who had volunteered for overseas service and a "second line", which was intended for home service only. The second line units also served to absorb the large number of new recruits who had joined the Territorial Force following the outbreak of war. The division's units formed through late 1914 and assembled in the Sunderland–Newcastle area, where it was responsible for coastal defence.[1]
As with the original Northumbrian Division, the 2nd Northumbrian was organised into three infantry brigades. These were later numbered as the188th (2/1st Northumberland) Brigade,composed of the 2/4th, 2/5th, 2/6th, and 2/7thNorthumberland Fusiliers,the189th (2nd York and Durham) Brigade,composed of the 2/4thEast Yorkshire Regiment,the 2/4th and 2/5thYorkshire Regiment(Green Howards) and the 2/5thDurham Light Infantryand the190th (2nd Durham Light Infantry) Brigade,composed of the 2/6th, 2/7th, 2/8th and 2/9th Durham Light Infantry.[1]
The 188th Brigade recruited from Newcastle and Northumberland, the 189th from the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire and the 190th entirely from County Durham.[2][3][4][5]The division also raised second-line Territorial artillery, medical signal and engineer units from the same areas. While it did not contain any organic mounted units, it had two cavalry brigades attached at formation, the first-lineScottish Horse Mounted Brigadeand the second-line2/1st Welsh Border Mounted Brigade,as well as the first-line1/1st East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry.[1]The Officer Commanding wasAndrew Becher,who had commanded a brigade of the original Northumbrian Division before the war.[6]
Through the next two years, the 2nd Northumbrian, numbered as the 63rd Division in 1915, provided drafts of trained men for the 50th Division as well as carrying out home defence duties. On 20 May 1915, it was paraded at Newcastle to be inspected byKing George VandQueen Mary.[1]The following day, the East Yorkshire Yeomanry was moved south to join1st Mounted Division.[7]In July, the strength of its infantry battalions was set at a maximum of 600 men, with any more than this being transferred overseas, in August the Scottish Horse Brigade was shipped toGallipoli,where it served as dismounted infantry.[1][8]The division moved south to Nottinghamshire in November, where Major-GeneralGeorge Forestier-Walker,who had returned home after commanding a division on the Western Front, took command in February 1916.[9]The 63rd began to disband in May 1916, and ceased to exist in July, with some units remaining independent for several months before being broken up or transferred to new divisions.[1]Forestier-Walker formally remained in command until 8 September.[9]
Four battalions were posted to overseas garrison duties, the 2/7th Northumberland Fusiliers to Egypt, the 2/4th East Yorkshires to Bermuda and the 2/5th and 2/9th Durham Light Infantry to Salonika. The remaining infantry units were transferred to the new71st Division,72nd Divisionand73rd Divisions,all home-service units.[1]The 2/7th Durham Light Infantry later served with the Allied force in theNorth Russia Intervention.[5]The artillery was transferred to theRoyal Naval Divisionin France, the engineers to the15th Indian Divisionin Mesopotamia and the medical units to Salonika.[1]
The divisional number was almost immediately reused for the63rd (Royal Naval) Division,which was formed from the un-numberedRoyal Naval Divisionon 19 July 1916 and its brigades were renumbered as the 188th, 189th and 190th Brigades.[10]Prior to the Second World War, on the doubling of the Territorial Army, the second line duplicate of the50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Divisionwas numbered as the23rd Division,after theKitchener's armypredecessor (as were the attached brigade, the 69th and 70th), not the 63rd, that division number and subsidiary brigades were not reused in the War.[11]
Order of battle[edit]
The order of battle was as follows (organisation details are taken fromThe British Army in the Great Warunless otherwise noted):[1]
Organisation, early 1915[edit]Organisation in mid-1915, at the time of the King's inspection. | ||
188th (2/1st Northumberland) Brigade
|
189th (2nd York and Durham) Brigade
|
190th (2nd Durham Light Infantry) Brigade
|
| Scottish Horse Mounted Brigade | 2/1st Welsh Border Mounted Brigade | |
Royal Engineers
Royal Army Medical Corps
|
Royal Artillery
|
Divisional troops
|
General officer commanding[edit]
- Major GeneralAndrew BecherAugust 1914 – February 1916
- Major GeneralGeorge Forestier-WalkerFebruary 1916 – September 1916[12]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abcdefghiChris Baker,The British Army in the Great War: The 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division
- ^Chris Baker,The British Army in the Great War: The Northumberland Fusiliers
- ^Chris Baker,The British Army in the Great War: The East Yorkshire Regiment
- ^Chris Baker,The British Army in the Great War: The Gordon Northumbrianers
- ^abChris Baker,The British Army in the Great War: The Durham Light Infantry
- ^BECHER, Major-General Andrew Gracroft,inWho Was Who(2008)
- ^Chris Baker,The British Army in the Great War: The East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry
- ^Chris Baker,The British Army in the Great War: The Scottish Horse Yeomanry
- ^abQuarterly Army List for the quarter ending 30th June 1919.London: HMSO. 1919. pp.38.
- ^Chris Baker,The British Army in the Great War: The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division
- ^Nafziger, George (1992)."British Infantry Brigades, 1st thru 214th, 1939–1945"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 3 March 2016.Retrieved30 June2013.
- ^"Army List 1919".War Office.Retrieved27 June2020.