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) |
The 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division of the
History
The division was created as the "2nd Northumbrian Division", a second-line formation of the Northumbrian Division at 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 the
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.
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 by
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 new
The divisional number was almost immediately reused for the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division, which was formed from the un-numbered Royal Naval Division on 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 the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division was numbered as the 23rd Division, after the Kitchener's army predecessor (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
The order of battle was as follows (organisation details are taken from The British Army in the Great War unless otherwise noted):[1]
Organisation, early 1915Organisation 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
- Major General Andrew Becher August 1914 – February 1916
- Major General George Forestier-Walker February 1916 – September 1916[12]
See also
- List of British divisions in World War I
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Chris 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
- ^ a b Chris Baker, The British Army in the Great War: The Durham Light Infantry
- ^ BECHER, Major-General Andrew Gracroft, in Who 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
- ^ a b Quarterly 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 from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ^ "Army List 1919". War Office. Retrieved 27 June 2020.