The 3rd 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 on 6 March 1915 as the 2/2nd Mounted Division, a replacement/depot formation for the

2nd Mounted Division The 2nd Mounted Division was a yeomanry ( Territorial Army cavalry) division that served in the First World War. At the outbreak of war it was assigned to defence of the Norfolk coast. In March 1915 it formed a 2nd Line duplicate of itself, the ...

which was being sent abroad on active service. In March 1916, it was renumbered as the 3rd Mounted Division and in July 1916 as the 1st Mounted Division. In September 1917, the division was reorganized as a

cyclist Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

formation and redesignated as The Cyclist Division. It remained in the United Kingdom throughout the war and was disbanded in June 1919.

History

2/2nd Mounted Division

In accordance with the

Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 The Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 ('' 7 Edw. 7, c.9'') was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the auxiliary forces of the British Army by transferring existing Volunteer and Yeomanry units into a new Territori ...

(''

7 Edw. 7 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

, c.9'') which brought 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 ...

into being, the TF was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country. However, on the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, many members volunteered for Imperial Service. Therefore, TF units were split into 1st Line (liable for overseas service) and 2nd Line (home service for those unable or unwilling to serve overseas) units. 2nd Line units performed the home defence role, although in fact most of these were also posted abroad in due course. Likewise, existing pre-war formations (

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

s and divisions) formed duplicate 2nd Lines with the same structure as their 1st Line parents. On 2 September 1914, the

was formed in and around 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 ...

with the 1st South Midland, 2nd South Midland, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and

London Mounted Brigade London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

s. In November 1914, the division moved to

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

on coastal defence duties and in March 1915 the division was put on warning for overseas service. Consequently, the 2/2nd Mounted Division was formed on 6 March 1915 to replace the 2nd Mounted Division and took over the home defence role of guarding the Norfolk coast against a possible invasion. It comprised the 2nd Line formations of all units in the 2nd Mounted Division so 2/1st South Midland, 2/2nd South Midland, 2/1st Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and 2/1st London Mounted Brigades. Each 2nd Line unit formed at their original depots and were scattered across London and the Midlands. They had to assemble on the East Coast to form the division. Once assembled, divisional

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 ...

was at

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

and the brigades at Narborough,

Hunstanton Hunstanton () is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash, making it one of the few places on the east coast of Great Britain where the sun sets over the sea. Hunstant ...

, King's Lynn, and Aylsham. Once assembled, it was assigned to the

First Army (Home Forces) First Army was a home service formation of the British Army during the First World War. First Army was formed on 5 August 1914 under the command of Central Force. It was based at Bedford and Sir Bruce Hamilton was the Army Commander. Units attac ...

and was responsible for the defence of the East Coast. In common with the other 2nd Line divisions, the division experienced considerable problems with regard to equipment. Although relatively strong in manpower (the

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 ...

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 had between 410 and 498 men, three of the

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 Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

averaged over 200, one only had 91), the division was short of horses (one regiment had just 5, another 99), rifles (the most that any regiment had was 206), and other equipment. At first, rather than growing in size, the division shrunk as men were drafted off to active units overseas. The division also suffered lack of equipment; the artillery batteries were issued with the older 15 pounder Breech Loading Converted rather than the 15 pounder Quick Firing gun that was the standard weapon of first line TF RHA units. There was also a lack of

Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's st ...

rifles, and some soldiers had Japanese-made

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighter ...

s instead.

3rd Mounted Division

On 20 March 1916, the 2/2nd Mounted Division was renumbered as the 3rd Mounted Division on the same date that the

4th Mounted Division The 4th Mounted Division was a short-lived Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed on 20 March 1916, converted to 2nd Cyclist Division in July 1916 and broken up on 16 November 1916. It remained in England ...

was formed. The brigades were numbered on 31 March; the division now commanded the

9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

10th 10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The rea ...

11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

, and 12th Mounted Brigades and the other support units (signals, medical, supply) were numbered accordingly.

1st Mounted Division

In July 1916 there was a major reorganization of 2nd Line yeomanry units in the United Kingdom. All but 12 regiments 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 The 1st Mounted Division was a Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed in August 1914 for the home defence of the United Kingdom from four existing mounted brigades of the Territorial Force, each of three ...

was converted to

1st Cyclist Division The 1st Mounted Division was a Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed in August 1914 for the home defence of the United Kingdom from four existing mounted brigades of the Territorial Force, each of three ...

and the 4th Mounted Division to

2nd Cyclist Division The 4th Mounted Division was a short-lived Yeomanry Division of the British Army active during World War I. It was formed on 20 March 1916, converted to 2nd Cyclist Division in July 1916 and broken up on 16 November 1916. It remained in England ...

. At the same time, the 3rd Mounted Division was renumbered as the 1st Mounted Division as it was the only remaining mounted division: the other mounted division, 2nd Mounted Division, had been broken up in Egypt on 21 January 1916. At this time the division was reorganized. It now consisted of three mounted brigades ( 1st,

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

, and

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 a cyclist brigade (

) and once again the support units were renumbered. At this time, the division was assigned to

General Reserve A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...

, Home Defence Troops. The headquarters was at

Brentwood, Essex Brentwood is a town in the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the East of England. It is in the London commuter belt, situated 20 miles (30 km) east-north-east of Charing Cross and close by the M25 motorway. In 2017, the popula ...

along with two of the mounted brigades; the third was near

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

, and the cyclist brigade at

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

Bishopsbourne Bishopsbourne is a mostly rural and wooded village and civil parish in Kent, England. It has two short developed sections of streets at the foot of the Nailbourne valley south-east of Canterbury and centred from Dover. The settlement of P ...

, and

Bekesbourne Bekesbourne is a village near Canterbury in Kent, South East England. The village is centred ESE of the city's cathedral and its centre stretches less than 1 km from its railway station to the A2 road to the south. Amenities The parish ch ...

(all in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

). In October, the brigade at Maidstone moved to

West Malling West Malling ( , historically Town Malling) is a market town in the Tonbridge and Malling district of Kent, England. It has a population of 2,590. Landmarks West Malling contains several historic buildings, including St Leonard's Tower, a Norma ...

and the cyclists were concentrated at Bridge. In November, the cyclist brigade was renumbered as the

5th Cyclist Brigade Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...

. In May 1917, divisional headquarters moved to

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lon ...

and the brigades were at Brentwood, West Malling, Sevenoaks and Bridge (the cyclist brigade).

The Cyclist Division

In mid August 1917, the division was issued with bicycles; from now on it would be the training and draft-finding formation for overseas cyclist units and the Army Cyclist Corps. All trained cavalrymen were transferred to the Reserve Cavalry Regiments. On 4 September 1917 the division was renamed again, this time as The Cyclist Division and the mounted brigades redesignated as the

12th 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...

and

13th Cyclist Brigade In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave ...

s. The 5th Cyclist brigade became independent, but rejoined the division in December when the 13th Cyclist Brigade was broken up. In March 1918, the headquarters and two of the brigades were at

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

and the other at

Littlebourne Littlebourne is a village and civil parish east of Canterbury in Kent, South East England. History The significant Howletts Anglo-Saxon cemetery is in the parish. It is regarded as " Jutish"; finds are in the British Museum and elsewhere, and i ...

Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

, and Wingham as part of the Independent Force, Home Defence Troops. By the end of the war in November 1918, the division was concentrated at Canterbury. Disbandment of the division started in March 1919 and was complete by June. Throughout its existence, from March 1915, the division remained in the England on Home Defence duties.

Orders of battle

Commanders

The 2/2nd Mounted Division / 3rd Mounted Division / 1st Mounted Division / The Cyclist Division had the following commanders:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * Graham E. Watson & Richard A. Rinaldi, ''The Corps of Royal Engineers: Organization and Units 1889–2018'', Tiger Lily Books, 2018, . {{British Army Divisions 3 3 Military units and formations established in 1915 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1915 establishments in England