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British 55th (West Lancashire) Division
Encyclopedia
The 55th Infantry Division was a British
Territorial Force
division
which served on the Western Front
during the First World War
.
s were detached as reinforcements with other divisions already in France
. The 55th Division was reformed in January 1916.
The first Victoria Cross
won by the reformed division occurred near Arras on the 17 April 1916 when 2nd Lt.E.F.Baxter
won the award while on a raid by the 1/8th (Irish) Bn, The King's (Liverpool Regiment). The division moved to the Somme
on the 25 July to take part in that battle . The division took part in the Battle of Guillemont
and the Battle of Ginchy
followed by a short rest period before being thrown back into the Battle of Morval
. The 55th Infantry were then moved to the Ypres
salient where they remained for up to a year.
In 1917 the division took part in the Battles of Ypres and Cambrai. At Cambrai they lost many men taken prisoner
apparently due to a collapse during a German
attack.
After a rest and period of retraining the division took part in the Battle of Estaires in 1918 where the Division successfully fought the "First Defence of Givenchy" under the leadership of Major-General Hugh Jeudwine
. It was to become the single most famous action that the Division fought. "It was afterwards publicly stated by an officer of the German General Staff that the stand made by the Division on April 9 and the days which followed marked the final ruination of the supreme German effort of 1918", says the Divisional history. Givenchy
was eventually selected as the location of a fine memorial to the Division. By the Armistice
the division had reached the Tournai
area having advanced fifty miles in eighty days.
Royal Engineers
419 Field Company
422 Field Company
423 Field Company
55th Divisional Signal Company
The 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade joined the 51st (Highland) Division
in April 1915 (as the 154th Brigade) and returned to the 55th Division in January 1916.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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:...
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...
which served on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
First World War
Between November 1914 and April 1915 the division's brigadeBrigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s were detached as reinforcements with other divisions already in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The 55th Division was reformed in January 1916.
The first Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
won by the reformed division occurred near Arras on the 17 April 1916 when 2nd Lt.E.F.Baxter
Edward Felix Baxter
Edward Felix Baxter VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
won the award while on a raid by the 1/8th (Irish) Bn, The King's (Liverpool Regiment). The division moved to the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
on the 25 July to take part in that battle . The division took part in the Battle of Guillemont
Battle of Guillemont
The Battle of Guillemont was a British assault on the German-held village of Guillemont during the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Guillemont lay on the right flank of the British sector where it linked with French forces and by holding it, the Germans prevented the Allied armies from operating in...
and the Battle of Ginchy
Battle of Ginchy
The Battle of Ginchy took place on 9 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme when the United Kingdom 16th Division captured the German-held village of Ginchy. However the Irish Royal Munster Fusiliers suffered heavy casualties in the process...
followed by a short rest period before being thrown back into the Battle of Morval
Battle of Morval
The Battle of Morval, which began on 25 September 1916, was an attack by the British Fourth Army on the German-held villages of Morval, Gueudecourt and Lesboeufs during the Battle of the Somme. These villages were originally objectives of the major British offensive of 15 September, the Battle of...
. The 55th Infantry were then moved to the Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
salient where they remained for up to a year.
In 1917 the division took part in the Battles of Ypres and Cambrai. At Cambrai they lost many men taken prisoner
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
apparently due to a collapse during a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
attack.
Hugh Jeudwine
Lieutenant General Sir Hugh Sandham Jeudwine KCB KBE was a British Army officer who became Director General of the Territorial Army.-Military career:...
. It was to become the single most famous action that the Division fought. "It was afterwards publicly stated by an officer of the German General Staff that the stand made by the Division on April 9 and the days which followed marked the final ruination of the supreme German effort of 1918", says the Divisional history. Givenchy
Givenchy-en-Gohelle
Givenchy-en-Gohelle is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Givenchy-en-Gohelle is a large farming village situated north of Arras, at the junction of the D51 and the D55 roads...
was eventually selected as the location of a fine memorial to the Division. By the Armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
the division had reached the Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
area having advanced fifty miles in eighty days.
Second World War
During the Second World War the division was a 1st Line Territorial Army formation, but did not see active service outside Britain.Order of battle
From January 1916, the division comprised the following units:- 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade
- 1/4th The King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)
- 1/4th The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
- 1/8th (Irish) Battalion, The King's (Liverpool Regiment) (until January 1918)
- 2/5th Lancashire FusiliersLancashire FusiliersThe 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:...
- 165th (Liverpool) Brigade
- 1/5th The King's (Liverpool Regiment)
- 1/6thThe Liverpool RiflesThe Liverpool Rifles was a unit of the British Territorial Army, formed as a 'volunteer rifle corps' in 1859 before becoming a battalion of the King's Regiment in 1881.-History:...
The King's (Liverpool Regiment) - 1/7th40th (The King's) Royal Tank RegimentThe 40th Royal Tank Regiment was an armoured regiment of the British Army from 1938 until 1956. It was part of the Royal Tank Regiment, itself part of the Royal Armoured Corps....
The King's (Liverpool Regiment) - 1/9th Battalion, The King's (Liverpool Regiment) (until February 1918)
- 166th (South Lancashire) Brigade
- 1/5th The King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)
- 1/10th (Scottish) BattalionThe Liverpool ScottishThe Liverpool Scottish, known diminutively as "the Scottish", is a unit of the British Territorial Army, raised in 1900 as an infantry battalion of the King's . The Liverpool Scottish became affiliated to the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders in the 1920s and formally transferred to the regiment in...
The King's (Liverpool Regiment) - 1/5th The Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment)
- 1/5th The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (until June 1918)
- Pioneers
- 1/4th The Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment)
Royal Engineers
419 Field Company
422 Field Company
423 Field Company
55th Divisional Signal Company
The 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade joined the 51st (Highland) Division
British 51st (Highland) Division (World War I)
The 51st Division was a British Territorial Force division that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War. The division's insignia was a stylised 'HD' inside a red circle. Early doubts about the division's performance earned it the nickname of "Harper's Duds" after the...
in April 1915 (as the 154th Brigade) and returned to the 55th Division in January 1916.
Battles
- Battle of the Somme (1916)Battle of the Somme (1916)The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...
- Battle of GuillemontBattle of GuillemontThe Battle of Guillemont was a British assault on the German-held village of Guillemont during the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Guillemont lay on the right flank of the British sector where it linked with French forces and by holding it, the Germans prevented the Allied armies from operating in...
- Battle of GinchyBattle of GinchyThe Battle of Ginchy took place on 9 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme when the United Kingdom 16th Division captured the German-held village of Ginchy. However the Irish Royal Munster Fusiliers suffered heavy casualties in the process...
- Battle of MorvalBattle of MorvalThe Battle of Morval, which began on 25 September 1916, was an attack by the British Fourth Army on the German-held villages of Morval, Gueudecourt and Lesboeufs during the Battle of the Somme. These villages were originally objectives of the major British offensive of 15 September, the Battle of...
- Battle of Guillemont
- Third Battle of Ypres
- Battle of Cambrai (1917)
- Battle of Estaires
Commanders
- 1925 - 1926 Major-General Hugo De PreeHugo De PreeMajor-General Hugo Douglas De Pree CB CMG DSO was a British Army officer who became Commandant of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.-Military career:...
- 1930 - 1932 Major-General James HarrisonJames Harrison (British Army officer)Major-General James Murray Robert Harrison CB DSO was a British Army officer who became Lieutenant Governor of Jersey.-Military career:Harrison was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1900 and served in World War I...
- 1932 - 1933 Major-General George WeirGeorge Alexander WeirGeneral Sir George Alexander Weir KCB, CMG, DSO was a British Army officer who served in the Second Boer War and World War I.-Early life:...
- 1934 - 1935 Major-General James Cooke-CollisJames Cooke-CollisMajor-General Sir James Norman Cooke-Collis KBE CB CMG DSO was General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland District.-Military career:...
- 1935 - 1938 Major-General Ernest LewinErnest LewinMajor-General Ernest Ord Lewin CB CMG DSO was General Officer Commanding Malaya Command.-Military career:Ernest Lewin was educated at Winchester College, for whom he played cricket, and King's College, Cambridge. Lewin was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1900...
- 1938 - 1941 Major-General Vivian MajendieVivian MajendieMajor-General Vivian Henry Bruce Majendie CB DSO was an English cricketer and British Army General.-Military career:Majendie was commissioned into the Somerset Light Infantry in 1905...
- 1941 Major-General William MorganWilliam Duthie MorganGeneral Sir William Duthie Morgan GCB DSO MC was a British Army General during World War II.-Military career:Morgan was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1913. He served in World War I winning the DSO at the Battle of Le Cateau in 1914 and later the MC and was mentioned in despatches four...
- 1941 - 1942 Major-General Frederick MorganFrederick E. MorganLieutenant General Sir Frederick Edgeworth Morgan KCB was a British Army officer who fought in the First World War and the Second World War...
- 1942 - 1943 Major-General Walter ClutterbuckWalter ClutterbuckMajor-General Walter Edmond Clutterbuck DSO MC was a British Army officer who commanded 1st Infantry Division during World War II.-Military career:...
See also
- List of British divisions in WWI
- British Divisions in World War IIBritish Divisions in World War IIThis page is a list of British Army divisions that fought in World War II.-Armoured:*Guards Armoured Division*1st Armoured Division*2nd Armoured Division - Formed 15 December 1939 in the UK. Served in Egypt from January 1941 until March 1941 and from April 1941 until May 1941, and in Libya from...
- British Army Order of Battle - September 1939