41st Division (United Kingdom)
| 41st Division | |
|---|---|
Divisional patch
|
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| Active | 1915–1919 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Engagements | World War I |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Sydney Turing Barlow Lawford |
The 41st Division of the British Army was a New Army division, which saw service on the Western Front and in Italy during the First World War.
Contents
Unit history
The division was formed as part of the fifth wave (K5) of divisions in the New Army; it did not have a regional title, but was composed primarily of recruits from the south of England. Several of its battalions had been raised by local communities and were named for their towns or industries. After training and home service, it deployed to the Western Front in the first week of May 1916; its first major combat came in September of that year, at the Battle of Flers–Courcelette.[1] After fighting in 1917 at the Battle of Messines and Third Battle of Ypres it was transferred to the Italian Expeditionary Force on the Italian Front. It remained here for three months through the winter of 1917–18 before returning to the Western Front, where it arrived just before the German Spring Offensive. It participated in the Allied "Hundred Days Offensive" and ended the war in Flanders, from where it moved to join the Army of Occupation in Germany, following the Armistice. It was commanded by Major-General Sydney Lawford throughout its existence. The division was demobilised in March 1919, with some units transferred to the London Division, British Army of the Rhine. The division was not reformed after the war and did not serve in the Second World War.
Order of battle
- 12th (Service) Battalion (Bermondsey), East Surrey Regiment
- 15th (Service) Battalion (2nd Portsmouth), Hampshire Regiment
- 11th (Service) Battalion (Lewisham), Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) (disbanded March 1918)
- 18th (Service) Battalion (Arts and Crafts), King's Royal Rifle Corps
- 11th (Service) Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
- 10th (Service) Battalion (Kent County), Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)
- 23rd (Service) Battalion (2nd Football), Middlesex Regiment
- 20th (Service) Battalion (Wearside), Durham Light Infantry (to 124th Brigade March 1918)
- 10th (Service) Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
- 26th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
- 32nd (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (disbanded March 1918)
- 21st (Service) Battalion (Yeomen Rifles), King's Royal Rifle Corps (disbanded March 1918)
- 20th (Service) Battalion (Wearside), Durham Light Infantry (from 123rd Brigade March 1918)
- Pioneers
- 19th (Service) Battalion (2nd Public Works Pioneers), Middlesex Regiment
Battles
Notable people associated with the division
- Walter Tull
- Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, Prime Minister 1955-7
- Robert Cyril Morton Jenkins British Senior Police Officer
See also
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References
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