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British 63rd (Royal Naval) Division
Encyclopedia
The British 63rd Division was a First World War
division
of the New Army
. The division had been formed (at the direction of Winston Churchill
, the First Lord of the Admiralty) at the outbreak of war as the Royal Naval Division. The division was composed largely of surplus reserves of the Royal Navy
who were not required at sea,, formed around a cadre of Royal Marines
.
The division participated in the defence of the Belgian
city of Antwerp in late 1914. From Antwerp, 1,500 sailors of the division fled to the neutral
Netherlands
, where they were intern
ed.. The division was shipped to Egypt
prior to serving in the Battle of Gallipoli
where it fought on both the Anzac
and Helles battlefields. By the end of the Dardanelles
campaign, casualties were such that the division no longer contained a significant number of naval servicemen and so in July 1916 it was redesignated as the 63rd Division when the original Territorial Force
63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division was disbanded. The division moved to the Western Front
in France
for the remainder of the war.
landings. Originally the division was only required to make a diversion at Bulair in support of the main landings at Anzac Cove
and Cape Helles
. This diversion was carried out by one man, Bernard Freyberg. Shortly afterwards, on 28 April, four battalions were sent to Anzac to reinforce the hard-pressed Australia
n and New Zealand
troops. Later the RND moved to Helles where it remained for the rest of the campaign on the peninsula.
, advancing along the River Ancre to capture Beaucourt.
Just prior to the fighting on the Ancre, the division received a new commanding officer after Major General
Archibald Paris
was wounded, Major General Cameron Shute
, appointed on 17 October 1916. General Shute had an intense dislike for the unconventional "nautical" traditions of the division and made numerous unpopular attempts to stamp them out. Following a particularly critical inspection of the trenches by General Shute, an officer of the division, Sub-Lieutenant A. P. Herbert
, later to become a famous humorous writer, legal satirist and Member of Parliament
, penned a popular poem that summed up the feelings of the men of the RND:
The division initially comprised eight naval battalions named after famous British naval commanders (Anson
, Benbow
, Collingwood
, Drake
, Hawke, Hood
, Howe
, Nelson
), plus the Royal Marine Brigade of four battalions from the Royal Marine dépôts at the ports of Deal
, Chatham, Portsmouth
and Plymouth
.
Due to the changing nature of the unit, it was made up of a number of brigade
s during the war.
1st Royal Naval Brigade : Also known as 1st (Royal Naval) Brigade, 1st Brigade (1914 - July 1916). Replaced by the 190th Brigade (July 1916).
2nd Royal Naval Brigade : Also known as 2nd (Royal Naval) Brigade, 2nd Brigade, 189th Brigade.
Royal Marine Brigade : Also known as 3rd (Royal Marine) Brigade, 188th Brigade.
As the naval character of the division diminished, more regular infantry
battalions were included. Other battalions that served with the division include:
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...
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...
of the New Army
Kitchener's Army
The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, Kitchener's Mob, was an all-volunteer army formed in the United Kingdom following the outbreak of hostilities in the First World War...
. The division had been formed (at the direction of Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, the First Lord of the Admiralty) at the outbreak of war as the Royal Naval Division. The division was composed largely of surplus reserves of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
who were not required at sea,, formed around a cadre of Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
.
The division participated in the defence of the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
city of Antwerp in late 1914. From Antwerp, 1,500 sailors of the division fled to the neutral
Neutrality (international relations)
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, where they were intern
Intern
Internship is a system of onthejob training for white-collar jobs, similar to an apprenticeship. Interns are usually college or university students, but they can also be high school students or post graduate adults seeking skills for a new career. They may also be as young as middle school or in...
ed.. The division was shipped to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
prior to serving in the Battle of Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
where it fought on both the Anzac
Anzac Cove
Anzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZAC on April 25, 1915. The cove is a mere long, bounded by the headlands of Ari Burnu to the north and Little Ari Burnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south...
and Helles battlefields. By the end of the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
campaign, casualties were such that the division no longer contained a significant number of naval servicemen and so in July 1916 it was redesignated as the 63rd Division when the original 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:...
63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division was disbanded. The division moved to 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...
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...
for the remainder of the war.
France and Antwerp 1914
On 20 September it arrived at Dunkirk with orders to assist in the defence of Antwerp. The two other Brigades moved to Dunkirk for the same purpose on 5 October 1914. In the haste to organise and move the units to Belgium, 80% went to war without even basic equipment such as packs, mess tins or water bottles. No khaki uniform was issued. The two Naval Brigades were armed with ancient charger-loading rifles, just three days before embarking. The Division was originally titled the Royal Naval Division, and was formed in England in September 1914. At this stage, it had no artillery, Field Ambulances or other ancillary units. RND units that managed to successfully withdraw from Antwerp returned to England, arriving 11 October 1914.Gallipoli
The RND was one of two British divisions (the other being the Regular Army 29th Division) at the GallipoliBattle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
landings. Originally the division was only required to make a diversion at Bulair in support of the main landings at Anzac Cove
Anzac Cove
Anzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZAC on April 25, 1915. The cove is a mere long, bounded by the headlands of Ari Burnu to the north and Little Ari Burnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south...
and Cape Helles
Cape Helles
Cape Helles is the rocky headland at the south-westernmost tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey. It was the scene of heavy fighting between Turkish and British troops during the landing at Cape Helles at the beginning of the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915....
. This diversion was carried out by one man, Bernard Freyberg. Shortly afterwards, on 28 April, four battalions were sent to Anzac to reinforce the hard-pressed Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
troops. Later the RND moved to Helles where it remained for the rest of the campaign on the peninsula.
Western Front
After the evacuation of Gallipoli, the RND moved to France where it participated in the final phase of the Battle of the SommeBattle 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...
, advancing along the River Ancre to capture Beaucourt.
Just prior to the fighting on the Ancre, the division received a new commanding officer after Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Archibald Paris
Archibald Paris
Brigadier Archibald Charles Melvill Paris DSO MC was a British Army officer.He was the son of Major-General Archibald Paris, KCB a Royal Marine officer who commanded the 63rd Division during the First World War, and of Lady Paris...
was wounded, Major General Cameron Shute
Cameron Shute
General Sir Cameron Deane Shute KCB KCMG was a British Army General during World War I.-Military career:Shute was commissioned into the Welsh Regiment in 1885. He transferred to the Rifle Brigade in 1895 and participated in the Nile Expedition and the Siege of Khartoum in 1898...
, appointed on 17 October 1916. General Shute had an intense dislike for the unconventional "nautical" traditions of the division and made numerous unpopular attempts to stamp them out. Following a particularly critical inspection of the trenches by General Shute, an officer of the division, Sub-Lieutenant A. P. Herbert
A. P. Herbert
Sir Alan Patrick Herbert, CH was an English humorist, novelist, playwright and law reform activist...
, later to become a famous humorous writer, legal satirist and Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, penned a popular poem that summed up the feelings of the men of the RND:
Order of battle
George Anson, 1st Baron Anson
Admiral of the Fleet George Anson, 1st Baron Anson PC, FRS, RN was a British admiral and a wealthy aristocrat, noted for his circumnavigation of the globe and his role overseeing the Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War...
, Benbow
John Benbow
John Benbow was an English officer in the Royal Navy. He joined the navy aged 25 years, seeing action against Algerian pirates before leaving and joining the merchant navy where he traded until the Glorious Revolution of 1688, whereupon he returned to the Royal Navy and was commissioned.Benbow...
, Collingwood
Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood
Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently as Nelson's successor in commands.-Early years:Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne...
, Drake
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
, Hawke, Hood
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood was a British Admiral known particularly for his service in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars...
, Howe
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe
Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe KG was a British naval officer, notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was the brother of William Howe and George Howe.Howe joined the navy at the age of thirteen and served...
, Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
), plus the Royal Marine Brigade of four battalions from the Royal Marine dépôts at the ports of Deal
Deal, Kent
Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...
, Chatham, Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
and Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
.
- 1st (Drake) Battalion
- 2nd (Hawke) Battalion
- 3rd (Benbow) Battalion
- 4th (Collingwood) Battalion
- 5th (Nelson) Battalion
- 6th (Howe) Battalion
- 7th (Hood) Battalion
- 8th (Anson) Battalion
- 9th (Chatham) Battalion RMLIHistory of the Royal MarinesThe Corps of Royal Marines, the infantry land fighting element of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, was formed as part of the Naval Service in 1755. However, it can trace its origins back as far as 1664, when English soldiers first went to sea to fight the Dutch....
- 10th (Portsmouth) Battalion RMLIHistory of the Royal MarinesThe Corps of Royal Marines, the infantry land fighting element of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, was formed as part of the Naval Service in 1755. However, it can trace its origins back as far as 1664, when English soldiers first went to sea to fight the Dutch....
- 11th (Plymouth) Battalion RMLIHistory of the Royal MarinesThe Corps of Royal Marines, the infantry land fighting element of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, was formed as part of the Naval Service in 1755. However, it can trace its origins back as far as 1664, when English soldiers first went to sea to fight the Dutch....
- 12th (Deal) Battalion RMLIHistory of the Royal MarinesThe Corps of Royal Marines, the infantry land fighting element of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, was formed as part of the Naval Service in 1755. However, it can trace its origins back as far as 1664, when English soldiers first went to sea to fight the Dutch....
Due to the changing nature of the unit, it was made up of a number of brigade
Brigade
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 during the war.
1st Royal Naval Brigade : Also known as 1st (Royal Naval) Brigade, 1st Brigade (1914 - July 1916). Replaced by the 190th Brigade (July 1916).
2nd Royal Naval Brigade : Also known as 2nd (Royal Naval) Brigade, 2nd Brigade, 189th Brigade.
Royal Marine Brigade : Also known as 3rd (Royal Marine) Brigade, 188th Brigade.
As the naval character of the division diminished, more regular infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
battalions were included. Other battalions that served with the division include:
- 1st Royal MarinesRoyal MarinesThe Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
- 2nd Royal Marines
- 2nd Battalion, The Royal Irish RegimentRoyal Irish Regiment (1684-1922)The Royal Irish Regiment, until 1881 the 18th Regiment of Foot, was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, first raised in 1684. Also known as the 18th Regiment of Foot and the 18th Regiment of Foot, it was one of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, its home depot in...
- 7th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers
- 4th Battalion, The Bedfordshire Regiment
- 1/4th Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry
- 10th Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers
- 1/1st Battalion, Honourable Artillery CompanyHonourable Artillery CompanyThe Honourable Artillery Company was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII. Today it is a Registered Charity whose purpose is to attend to the “better defence of the realm"...
- 2/2nd (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment
- 2/4th (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment
- 1/28th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Artists' Rifles)
Battles
- Battle of GallipoliBattle of GallipoliThe Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
- Landing at Anzac CoveLanding at Anzac CoveThe landing at Anzac Cove was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Australian and New Zealand forces on 25 April 1915. The landing, north of Gaba Tepe on the Aegean coast of the Peninsula, was made by soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and was the first...
(4 battalions) - Landing at Cape HellesLanding at Cape HellesThe landing at Cape Helles was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula by British and French forces on April 25, 1915 during the First World War. Helles, at the foot of the peninsula, was the main landing area. With the support of the guns of the Royal Navy, a British division...
(2 battalions) - Second Battle of KrithiaSecond Battle of KrithiaThe Second Battle of Krithia continued the Allies' attempts to advance on the Helles battlefield during the Battle of Gallipoli of the First World War. The village of Krithia and neighbouring hill of Achi Baba had to be captured in order for the British to advance up the Gallipoli peninsula to the...
- Third Battle of KrithiaThird Battle of KrithiaThe Third Battle of Krithia , fought on the Gallipoli peninsula during World War I, was the final in a series of Allied attacks against the Ottoman defences aimed at capturing the original objectives of 25 April 1915...
- Landing at Anzac Cove