The 1st Mounted Division was a
Yeomanry
Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army, British Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve, descended from volunteer British Cavalry, cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of ...
Division
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
of 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 ...
active during
World War I
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 ...
. It was formed in August 1914 for the home defence of the United Kingdom from four existing mounted brigades of the
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 ...
, each of three regiments of
Yeomanry
Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army, British Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve, descended from volunteer British Cavalry, cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of ...
.
The divisional order of battle changed often, as the 1st Line brigades left for service overseas and were replaced by 2nd Line formations. It was converted to the 1st Cyclist Division in July 1916, and was broken up in November 1916 without being involved in active service.
[ It remained in ]East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
throughout its existence.
An unrelated 1st Mounted Division was formed in July 1916, from the 3rd Mounted Division, lasting until September 1917. Another incarnation of 1st Mounted Division was created in April 1918 from the Yeomanry Mounted Division
The Yeomanry Mounted Division was a Territorial Force cavalry division formed at Khan Yunis in Palestine in June 1917 from three yeomanry mounted brigades. It served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War, mostly as part of ...
, lasting until July 1918.
History
1st Mounted Division
The Mounted Division was formed on 5 August 1914, immediately after the outbreak of World War I
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 four existing mounted brigades of the 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 ...
Eastern
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*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
, 1st South Midland, 2nd South Midland, and Notts. and Derby. It was assembled in East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
with Headquarters
Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...
at Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...
and the brigades at Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
, Diss and two at Bury. The division was to spend its entire existence in East Anglia.
Later in the month, a decision was made to concentrate mounted troops in the Churn
Churn may refer to:
* Churn drill, large-diameter drilling machine large holes appropriate for holes in the ground
Dairy-product terms
* Butter churn, device for churning butter
* Churning (butter), the process of creating butter out of mil ...
area of Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
and at the end of August 1914 these were formed into a new 2nd Mounted Division. The original division was designated as 1st Mounted Division and gained three more 1st Line mounted brigadesSouth Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
, Welsh Border
Welsh may refer to:
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* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
, and North Midlandto replace the 1st South Midland, 2nd South Midland, and Notts. and Derby brigades.[
As the 1st Line mounted brigades left for overseas service, they were replaced by 2nd Line formations. As with other 2nd Line divisionswhich the 1st Mounted Division was in all but namethe division experienced considerable problems with regard to equipment and personnel. Even as late as July 1915, some ]Royal Horse Artillery
The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link ...
batteries were without guns, wagons or harnesses, machine guns were lacking and few of the men had fired a recruits' course of musketry.[
By the beginning of March 1916, the last 1st Line brigades had left and the division was now composed entirely of 2nd Line formations.][ On 31 March 1916, the remaining mounted brigades were ordered to be numbered in a single sequence and the division now commanded the 1st, 2nd, ]3rd
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
and 4th Mounted Brigades.[
]
1st Cyclist Division
In July 1916 there was a major reorganization of 2nd Line yeomanry
Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army, British Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve, descended from volunteer British Cavalry, cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of ...
units in the United Kingdom. All but 12 regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
s were converted to cyclists
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of Bicycle, cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", ...
:[ the rest were dismounted, handed over their horses to the remount depots and were issued with bicycles. The 1st Mounted Division was reorganized as the 1st Cyclist Division, now commanding the 1st, 2nd, ]3rd
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
and 4th Cyclist Brigade
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
s.[ On reorganisation, 2nd Mounted Brigadewith 2/1st Royal 1st Devon, 2/1st Montgomeryshire and 2/1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanrywas posted to the new 1st Mounted Division ( 3rd Mounted Division redesignated) and remained mounted.] In exchange, the 12th Mounted Brigade (2/1st London) joined as the 4th Cyclist Brigade.
A further reorganization in November 1916 saw the 1st Cyclist Division broken up. The cyclist brigades were dispersed and the yeomanry regiments were amalgamated in pairs to form ''Yeomanry Cyclist Regiments'' in new cyclist brigades.[
]
Other formations
Two other divisions of 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 ...
were named ''1st Mounted Division'' during World War I.
When the original division was converted to a cyclist division in July 1916, the 3rd Mounted Division was renumbered as the 1st Mounted Division as it was the only remaining mounted division. It, too, was converted to cyclists as The Cyclist Division
The 3rd Mounted Division was a Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed on 6 March 1915 as the 2/2nd Mounted Division, a replacement/depot formation for the 2nd Mounted Division which was being sent abroad o ...
on 4 September 1917.
In March 1918, the 1st Indian Cavalry Division was broken up in France. The British units remained on the Western Front and the Indian elements were sent to Egypt. By an Egyptian Expeditionary Force
The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–15), at the beginning of ...
GHQ Order of 12 April 1918, the mounted troops of the EEF were reorganised when the Indian Army units arrived in theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
. On 24 April 1918, the Yeomanry Mounted Division
The Yeomanry Mounted Division was a Territorial Force cavalry division formed at Khan Yunis in Palestine in June 1917 from three yeomanry mounted brigades. It served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War, mostly as part of ...
was ''indianized'' and its title was changed to 1st Mounted Division. On 22 July 1918, it was renumbered as the 4th Cavalry Division.
Orders of battle
Commanders
The 1st Mounted Division / 1st Cyclist Division had the following commanders:
See also
* List of British divisions in World War I
List of military divisions — List of British divisions in the First World War
This page is a list of British divisions that existed in the First World War. Divisions were either infantry or cavalry. Divisions were categorised as bei ...
* British yeomanry during the First World War
* Second line yeomanry regiments of the British Army
Yeomanry are part of the reserve for the British Army. At the start of First World War there were fifty-four yeomanry regiments in the British Army. Soon after the declaration of war, it was decided to increase the number of these volunteer mounte ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{British Army Divisions
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Military units and formations established in 1914
Military units and formations disestablished in 1916
1914 establishments in the United Kingdom