The 12th (Eastern) Division was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

division raised by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

from men volunteering for Kitchener's New Armies. The division saw service in the trenches of the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

from June 1915 to the end of the war.

Formation and First World War

The 12th (Eastern) Division, was one of the first

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the Fi ...

divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener. It was formed within Eastern Command as a result of Army Order No. 324 of 21 August 1914, as part of the K1 wave of divisions. It fought on the

for the duration of the First World War. One of its most notable actions was the Battle of Épehy where there is a memorial cross to the 12th Division. In the First World War, the division's insignia was the Ace of Spades, which has since been adopted by the present

12th Armoured Infantry Brigade The 12th Armoured Brigade Combat team, formerly the 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade, is a regular brigade of the British Army which has been in almost continuous existence since 1899 and now forms part of 3rd Division (United Kingdom), 3rd (United ...

Order of Battle

35th Brigade * 7th (Service) Battalion, Norfolk Regiment * 7th (Service) Battalion,

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bein ...

''(left May 1918)'' * 9th (Service) Battalion, Essex Regiment * 5th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) ''(transferred to 36th Brigade February 1918)'' * 1/1st

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

(T.F.) Battalion,

Cambridgeshire Regiment The Cambridgeshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, and was part of the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. Originating in units of Volunteer Force (Great Britain), rifle volunteers formed in 1860, the regiment ...

''(joined May 1918)'' * 35th Machine Gun Company,

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tank ...

''(formed 1 February 1916, moved to 12th Battalion,

(M.G.C.) 1 March 1918)'' * 35th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 25 June 1916)'' 36th Brigade * 8th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) ''(disbanded February 1918)'' * 9th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) * 7th (Service) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment * 11th (Service) Battalion,

Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Ref ...

''(disbanded February 1918)'' * 5th (Service) Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) ''(transferred from 35th Brigade February 1918)'' * 36th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps ''(formed 1 February 1916, moved to 12th Battalion, M.G.C. 1 March 1918)'' * 36th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 15 June 1916)'' 37th Brigade * 6th (Service) Battalion,

Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Arm ...

* 6th (Service) Battalion,

Buffs (East Kent Regiment) The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and ...

* 7th (Service) Battalion,

East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ...

''(disbanded February 1918)'' * 6th (Service) Battalion,

Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

* 37th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps ''(formed 4 February 1916, moved to 12th Battalion, M.G.C. 1 March 1918)'' * 37th Trench Mortar Battery ''(formed 15 June 1916)'' Divisional Troops * 5th (Service) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment ''(division pioneers)'' * 9 Motor Machine Gun Battery ''(joined early 1915, left 20 June 1915)'' * 235th Machine Gun Company ''(joined 16 July 1917, left to move into 12th Battalion M.G. C. 1 March 1918)'' * 12th Battalion Machine Gun Corps ''(formed 1 March 1918, absorbing the brigade MG companies)'' * Divisional Mounted Troops ** A Squadron, King Edward's Horse ''(joined April 1915, left June 1916)'' ** 12th Divisional Cyclist Company, Army Cyclist Corps ''(left 15 June 1916)'' * 12th Divisional Train Army Service Corps ** 116th, 117th, 118th and 119th Companies * 23rd Mobile Veterinary Section

Army Veterinary Corps The Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC), known as the Army Veterinary Corps (AVC) until it gained the royal prefix on 27 November 1918, is an administrative and operational branch of the British Army responsible for the provision, training and ca ...

* 214th Divisional Employment Company ''(joined 16 June 1917)''

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

* LXII Brigade,

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

(R.F.A.) * LXIII Brigade, R.F.A. * LXIV Brigade, R.F.A. ''(left 6 January 1917)'' * LXV (Howitzer) Brigade, R.F.A. ''(broken up 30 August 1916)'' * 12th Divisional Ammunition Column R.F.A. * 12th Heavy Battery,

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

''(left 8 June 1915)'' * V.12 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery R.F.A. ''(joined 31 July 1916, disbanded 12 February 1918)'' * X.12, Y.12 and Z.12 Medium Mortar Batteries R.F.A. ''(formed 1 July 1916; on 16 February 1918, Z broken up distributed among X and Y batteries)''

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

Watson & Rinaldi, p. 29. * 69th Field Company * 70th Field Company * 87th Field Company ''(joined January 1915)'' * 12th Divisional Signals Company

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

* 36th Field Ambulance * 37th Field Ambulance * 38th Field Ambulance * 23rd Sanitary Section ''(left 1 April 1917)''

General Officer Commanding

* Major-General James Spens 24 August 1914 – 15 March 1915 * Major-General Frederick D.V. Wing 15 March – 2 October 1915 * Brigadier-General W. K. McLeod 2–3 October 1915 (''acting'') * Major-General Arthur B. Scott 3 October 1915 – 26 April 1918 * Major-General H. W. Higginson 26 April 1918 –

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * Ian F.W. Beckett, 'Territorials: A Century of Service,' First Published April 2008 by DRA Printing of 14 Mary Seacole Road, The Millfields, Plymouth PL1 3JY on behalf of TA 100, . * Cliff Lord & Graham Watson, ''Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920–2001) and its Antecedents'', Solihull: Helion, 2003, . * Col L.F. Morling, ''Sussex Sappers: A History of the Sussex Volunteer and Territorial Army Royal Engineer Units from 1890 to 1967'', Seaford: 208th Field Co, RE/Christians–W.J. Offord, 1972. * Graham E. Watson & Richard A. Rinaldi, ''The Corps of Royal Engineers: Organization and Units 1889–2018'', Tiger Lily Books, 2018, .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:12 Infantry Division Infantry divisions of the British Army in World War I Kitchener's Army divisions Military units and formations established in 1914 1914 establishments in the United Kingdom