British 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

was formed on 1 April 1908 as the West Riding Division in the Territorial Force

Territorial Force

The Territorial Force was the volunteer reserve component of the British Army from 1908 to 1920, when it became the Territorial Army.-Origins:...

of the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

First World War

In 1915, it was designated the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division and given the White Rose of York

White Rose of York

The White Rose of York , a white heraldic rose, is the symbol of the House of York and has since been adopted as a symbol of Yorkshire as a whole.-History:...

as its insignia. The division fought during the First World War in France and Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

and in the Second World War.

After the Second World War it remained with the Northern Command

Northern Command (United Kingdom)

-Nineteenth century:The District Commands of the British Army in Great Britain and Ireland first appear in print in 1840, at which time Northern Command was held by Maj-Gen Charles James Napier, appointed in 1838. During his time the troops stationed within Northern Command were frequently deployed...

, containing the 146th, 147th, and 148th Brigades (1st, 2nd, and 3rd West Riding Brigades, respectively).

Formation 1914 - 1918

146th (West Riding) Brigade :

1/5th Battalion, The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment)
1/6th Battalion, The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment)
1/7th Battalion, The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment)
1/8th Battalion, The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) (until January 1918)

147th (2nd West Riding) Brigade :

1/4th Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)
1/5th Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (until January 1918)
1/6th Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)
1/7th Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment)

148th (3rd West Riding) Brigade :

1/4th Battalion, The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
1/5th Battalion, The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (until February 1918)
1/4th (Hallamshire) Battalion
Hallamshire Battalion
The Hallamshire Battalion was part of the York and Lancaster Regiment of the British Army .- History :Formed in 1859 as The Hallamshire Volunteer Rifle Corps with its H.Q. at Sheffield . The title Hallamshire came from the ancient lordship of West Riding comprising the parishes of Sheffield and...

, The York and Lancaster Regiment
1/5th Battalion, The York and Lancaster Regiment

Pioneers :

19th (Service) Battalion (3rd Salford), Lancashire Fusiliers
Lancashire Fusiliers
The Lancashire Fusiliers was a British infantry regiment that was amalgamated with other Fusilier regiments in 1968 to form the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.- Formation and early history:...

(from August 1916)

Second World War

During the Second World war, the division first saw action beginning on 15–17 April 1940 when two of its brigades took part in the short and ill-fated landings in Norway that were intended to retake the ports of Trondheim and Narvik from the Germans. The division withdrew from Norway in May 1940.

The division's 146th Infantry Brigade and 147th Infantry Brigade were thereafter stationed in Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

. As a result, a new divisional insignia, featuring a Polar Bear

Polar Bear

The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...

standing on an ice floe, was adopted. In 1942, the division was transferred back to the United Kingdom.

Just after D-Day

Operation Overlord

Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...

, in June 1944, it moved to Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

as part of XXX Corps. During the fierce fighting in Normandy, the Nazi propaganda broadcaster Lord Haw-Haw

Lord Haw-Haw

Lord Haw-Haw was the nickname of several announcers on the English-language propaganda radio programme Germany Calling, broadcast by Nazi German radio to audiences in Great Britain on the medium wave station Reichssender Hamburg and by shortwave to the United States...

referred to the division as "the Polar Bear Butchers". During the rest of the war, the division was variously under the command of the I Corps, the II Canadian Corps

II Canadian Corps

II Canadian Corps was a corps-level formation that, along with I Corps and I Canadian Corps , comprised the First Canadian Army in Northwest Europe during World War II.Authorization for the formation of the Corps headquarters became effective in England on...

, and the I Canadian Corps

I Canadian Corps

I Canadian Corps was one of the two corps fielded by the Canadian Army during World War II. From December 24, 1940 until the formation of the First Canadian Army in April 1942, there was a single unnumbered Canadian Corps...

. Its last major contribution to the war was the Liberation of Arnhem

Liberation of Arnhem

Operation Anger , was a military operation to seize the city of Arnhem in April 1945, during the closing stages of the Second World War. It is occasionally referred to as the Second Battle of Arnhem or the Liberation of Arnhem...

and the fierce battles that led to it.

Order of Battle 1939 - 1945

49 Reconnaissance Regiment, RAC
228, 229, 230, 294, 756, 757 Field Company, RE
231 & 289 Field Park Company, RE
23 Bridging Platoon, RE
49 Divisional Signals, RSC
69, 70, 71, 74, 79, 80, 143, 178, 185 Field Regiment, RA
55, 58, 88 Anti-Tank Regiment, RA
89, 118 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA
2nd Battalion, The Kensington Regiment (M.G.)
49 Royal army Service Corps ( R.A.S.C )

146th Infantry Brigade

(1939–1945)

- 4th Battalion The Lincolnshire Regiment
- 1/4th Battalion Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
- The Hallamshire Battalion The York and Lancaster Regiment

147th Infantry Brigade

(1939–1945)

- 1/5th Battalion The West Yorkshire Regiment
- 1/6th Battalion The Duke of Wellington's Regiment
  Duke of Wellington's Regiment
  The Duke of Wellington's Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division.In 1702 Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he did in and around the city of Gloucester. As was the custom in those days...
- 1/7th Battalion The Duke of Wellington's Regiment
  Duke of Wellington's Regiment
  The Duke of Wellington's Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division.In 1702 Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he did in and around the city of Gloucester. As was the custom in those days...
- 11th Battalion The Royal Scots Fusiliers
  Royal Scots Fusiliers
  -The Earl of Mar's Regiment of Foot :The regiment was raised in Scotland in 1678 by Stuart loyalist Charles Erskine, de jure 5th Earl of Mar for service against the rebel covenanting forces during the Second Whig Revolt . They were used to keep the peace and put down brigands, mercenaries, and...
- 1st Battalion The Leicestershire Regiment

148th Infantry Brigade

(1939-Apr 1940)

- 1/5th Battalion The Leicestershire Regiment
- 1/5th Battalion The Sherwood Foresters
- 8th Battalion Sherwood Foresters
  Sherwood Foresters
  The Sherwood Foresters was formed during the Childers Reforms in 1881 from the amalgamation of the 45th Regiment of Foot and the 95th Regiment of Foot...
- 2nd Battalion The South Wales Borderers
  The South Wales Borderers
  The South Wales Borderers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It first came into existence, as the 24th Regiment of Foot, in 1689, but was not called the South Wales Borderers until 1881. The regiment served in a great many conflicts, including the American Revolutionary War, various...

70th Infantry Brigade

(May 1942-Aug 1944)

10th Bn. Durham Light Infantry
Durham Light Infantry
The Durham Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1968. It was formed by the amalgamation of the 68th Regiment of Foot and the 106th Regiment of Foot along with the militia and rifle volunteers of County Durham...
11th Bn. Durham Light Infantry
1st Bn. The Tyneside Scottish

56th Infantry Brigade

(Aug 1944-1945)

2nd Battalion, The Essex Regiment
2nd Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment
The Gloucestershire Regiment
The Gloucestershire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Nicknamed "The Glorious Glosters", the regiment carried more battle honours on their regimental colours than any other British Army line regiment.-Origins and early history:...
2nd Battalion, The South Wales Borderers
The South Wales Borderers
The South Wales Borderers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It first came into existence, as the 24th Regiment of Foot, in 1689, but was not called the South Wales Borderers until 1881. The regiment served in a great many conflicts, including the American Revolutionary War, various...

Commanders

Dates in British form (dd.mm.yyyy) indicating the date they entered the command (or resumed command when there are multiple dates).

Maj. Gen. Pierse J. Mackesy - 03.09.1939
Maj. Gen. Harry O. Curtis - 10.06.1940
Brig. Neville P. Procter - 12.04.1943 (Acting)
Maj. Gen. Sir Evelyn W. Barker
Evelyn Barker
General Sir Evelyn Hugh Barker KCB KBE DSO MC was a British Army general in World War II, and commander of British forces in the Mandate Palestine from 1946 to 1947...

- 12.04.1943
Maj. Gen. Sir Gordon H.A. MacMillan
Gordon Holmes MacMillan
General Sir Gordon Holmes Alexander MacMillan, Lord MacMillan of MacMillan of Knap, KCB, KCVO, CBE, DSO and MC with two bars was a British General who commanded several British Army divisions during World War II and who was decorated for bravery in World War I...

- 30.11.1944, 06.02.1945
Brig. R.H. Senior - 27.01.1945 & 24.03.1945 (Acting)
Maj. Gen. Stuart B. Rawlins - 28.03.1945, 27.04.1945
Brig. Edward N. Crosse - 18.04.1945 (Acting)
Brig. H. Wood - 23.08.1945 (Acting)

Post 1945

The division was disbanded in Germany in 1946, but reformed in the Territorial Army in 1947, having been renamed the 49th (West Riding) Armoured Division. It was based in Nottingham

Nottingham

Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

, consisting of (on 1 April 1947):

8 (Yorkshire) Armoured Brigade
British 8th Armoured Brigade
The 8 Armoured Brigade was a British Army brigade, formed in August 1941 during the Second World War and active until 1956. The brigade was formed by the re-designation of 6th Cavalry Brigade when the 1st Cavalry Division based in Palestine , converted from a motorised formation to an armoured...
146 (West Riding) Infantry Brigade
147 (Midland) Lorried Infantry Brigade
Artillery included 269 and 270 Field Regiments
West Riding Artillery
In 1860, as the British government feared invasion from the continent, the Secretary at War recommended the formation of Volunteer Artillery Corps to bolster Britain's coastal defences. The 1st Yorkshire Artillery Volunteer Corps were raised at Leeds on 2 August and the 2nd Yorkshire Artillery...

Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...

In 1956, it was renamed the 49th (West Riding and Midland) Infantry Division, its base moved to Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, and the 8th Armoured Brigade was removed from its order of battle. Finally, it underwent its last major change in 1961, when it was renamed to the 49th (West Riding and North Midland) Division/District, and the 147th Infantry Brigade was removed from its composition. The unit finally disbanded in 1967.

The polar bear flash is now worn by 49 Brigade.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.