The British Army's 8th Infantry Division was active in both the First World War and the Second World War.

History

The British 8th Division was a Regular Army division that was formed by combining battalions returning from outposts in the British Empire at the outbreak of the First World War. Major-General Francis Davies took command on 19 September 1914. The division moved to France in November, 1914, following the First Battle of Ypres. The division fought on the Western Front for the duration of the war, taking part in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, the Battle of Aubers Ridge, the Battle of the Somme (1916) and the Third Battle of Ypres.

Brigadier-General R. Oxley took acting command of the Division on 27 July 1915, being succeeded by Major-General Havelock Hudson on 1 August 1915. Major-General W. Heneker took over on 10 December 1916.

Major-General Sir Bernard Montgomery commanded the 8th Infantry Division from 1938 to July 1939, followed by Major-General Reade Godwin-Austen.

The 8th Infantry Division was never a complete formation during the Second World War. In 1939 it was based in Palestine and consisted of two infantry brigades (14th and 16th Brigades). Due to the needs of defence against German and Italian forces these units were sent to places of need and reformed as different formations. Although it had infantry it had no divisional troops due to the shortage of artillery and engineers in the Middle-East.

First World War Composition

23rd Brigade

• 2nd Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment
• 1st Battalion, The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment)
• 2nd Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (until February 1918)
• 1/6th Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (from March 1915 until June 1915)
• 2nd Battalion, The Middlesex Regiment
• 1/7th Battalion, the Middlesex Regiment (from March 1915 until February 1916)

24th Brigade

• 1st Battalion, The Worcestershire Regiment
• 1st Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters
• 2nd Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment
• 1/5th Battalion, the Black Watch (until October 1915)
• 2nd Battalion, The East Lancashire Regiment (to 25th Bde. February 1918)
• 1/4th Battalion, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders (from February 1915 until April 1915)

Between October 1915 and July 1916, the brigade swapped with the 70th Brigade from the 23rd Division.

25th Brigade

• 2nd Battalion, The Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment)
• 2nd Battalion, The Rifle Brigade
• 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles (until February 1918)
• 2nd Battalion, The Lincolnshire Regiment (until February 1918)
• 2nd Battalion, the East Lancashire Regiment (from 24th Bde. February 1918)
• 1/8th Battalion, the Middlesex Regiment (from August 1915 until October 1915)
• 13th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (until May 1915)
• 1/1st (City of London) Battalion, the London Regiment (from May 1915 until February 1916)

70th Brigade

The brigade was from the 23rd Division and was attached to the 7th Division between October 18, 1915 and July 15, 1916, swapping with the 24th Brigade.

Structure in 1939

Order of battle in 1939:^[1]

• 14th Infantry Brigade
• Brigadier G. Dawes
  • 2nd Battalion, Queen's Own Regiment
  • 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
  • 2nd Battalion, The Rifle Brigade
• 16th Infantry Brigade
  • Brigadier C.E.N. Lomax
  • 2nd Battalion, The Leicestershire Regiment
  • 1st Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment
  • 1st Battalion, The Welch Regiment
  • 1st Battalion, Sherwood Foresters
• 12 Field Company RE
• a divisional reconnaissance regiment of the Royal Armoured Corps

General Officers Commanding

Commanders included:^[2]

• 1902-1903 Major-General Sir Hugh McCalmont
• 1903-1905 Major-General Sir Reginald Pole-Carew
• 1905-1906 Major-General Sir William Knox
• 1906-1907 Major-General Lawrence Parsons

• 1914-1915 Major-General Francis Davies
• 1915-1916 Major-General Havelock Hudson
• 1916-1919 Major-General William Heneker

• 1938-1939 Major-General Bernard Montgomery
• 1939-1940 Major-General Reade Godwin-Austen

See also

• British Divisions in World War II
• British Army Order of Battle - September 1939

Notes and references

External links

• The British Army in the Great War: The 8th Division