72nd Division was a short-lived infantry division 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 ...

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 served in the Home Defence forces and never went overseas.

Home defence

On the outbreak of World War I 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 ...

(TF) immediately mobilised for home defence, but shortly afterwards (31 August 1914), its units were authorised to raise 2nd battalions formed from those men who had not volunteered for, or were not fit for, overseas service, together with new volunteers, while the 1st Line went overseas to supplement the Regulars. Early in 1915 the 2nd Line TF battalions were also raised to full strength to form new divisions, and began to form Reserve (3rd Line) units to supply drafts. The remaining Home Service men were separated out in May 1915 to form brigades of Coast Defence Battalions (termed Provisional Battalions from June 1915).

8th Provisional Brigade

8th Provisional Brigade was formed mainly from details of regiments from the English Midlands. Brigadier-General Willoughby Thuillier assumed command on 8 September 1915 and established his headquarters at

Westcliff-on-Sea Westcliff-on-Sea (often abbreviated to Westcliff) is an inner city area of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is on the north shore of the lower Thames Estuary, about 34 m ...

, later moving to

Southminster Southminster is a town and electoral ward on the Dengie Peninsula in the Maldon district of Essex in the East of England. It lies about north of Burnham-on-Crouch and south-east of Maldon; it is approximately east-north-east of London. To the ...

.8th Provisional Brigade War Diary, The National Archives, Kew file WO 95/5458. By July 1916 the brigade was under the control of Northern Army of Home Forces, with the following units billeted across

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

:Becke pp. 107–10. * Brigade Headquarters:

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the River Blackwater, Essex, Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea ...

* 8th Provisional Yeomanry Squadron * 8th Provisional Cyclist Company * 8th Provisional Battery

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 ...

at Southminster * 8th Provisional Brigade Ammunition Column RFA * 8th Provisional Field Company

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 ...

at Southminster * 8th Provisional Signal Section RE at Maldon * 28th Provisional Battalion (formed from details of the 2/4th and 2/5th Battalions of the

Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both W ...

, 2/4th and 2/5th Battalions of the

Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiments ...

, and 2/5th and 2/6th Battalions of the

South Staffordshire Regiment The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...

) at

Tillingham Tillingham is a small village and civil parish with 1,015 inhabitants in 2001, increasing to 1,058 at the 2011 Census, located from Burnham-on-Crouch and from Bradwell-on-Sea, in Maldon District and the ceremonial county of Essex in England. ...

* 70th Provisional Battalion at

Burnham-on-Crouch Burnham-on-Crouch is a town and civil parish in the Maldon District of Essex in the East of England. It lies on the north bank of the River Crouch. It is one of Britain's leading places for yachting. The civil parish extends east of the town t ...

* 81st Provisional Battalion at

Asheldham Asheldham is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located about southeast of Maldon and is east-southeast from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Maldon and the parliamentary constituency of Maldon & ...

, later Southminster * 83rd Provisional Battalion at

West Mersea West Mersea is a town and electoral ward in Essex, England. It is the larger (in terms of population) of two settlements on Mersea Island, south of Colchester. History Roman buildings and tesselated pavements close to the quayside have led to ...

* 8th Provisional Field Ambulance

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 ...

at Burnham * 8th Provisional Brigade Train Army Service Corps (from North Midland Divisional Train) at Southminster The following were also attached to 8th Provisional Bde: * 1/8th (Cyclist) Battalion,

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

(until October 1918) * 2/3rd Warwick Battery RFA (from October 1915)

72nd Division formed

Late in 1916 the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

decided to form three new home-service divisions and 72nd was the second of these, assembling in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

in November. The division was based on 8th Provisional Bde, which moved from Essex and provided four infantry battalions and many of the support units. (On 1 January 1917 these all received new designations and numbers.) In addition, 188th (2/1st Northumberland) Brigade, left over after the earlier disbandment of

63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division The 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division of the British Army was a second-line Territorial Force division, formed in 1914, which served on home defence duties during the First World War. The division was formed as a duplicate of the 50th (Northumbri ...

, provided three battalions which joined 72nd Division.

65th (2nd Lowland) Division The 65th (2nd Lowland) Division of the British Army was a second-line Territorial Force division, formed in 1914, which served on home defence duties during the First World War. The division was formed as a duplicate of the 52nd (Lowland) Divisi ...

67th (2nd Home Counties) Division The 2nd Home Counties Division was a 2nd Line Territorial Force division of the British Army in World War I. The division was formed as a duplicate of the 44th (Home Counties) Division in November 1914. As the name suggests, the division recrui ...

and 68th (2nd Welsh) Division provided the personnel for five artillery batteries, while Northern Command and Northern and Southern Armies each loaned a section of guns each until equipment could be issued to the new units. The division had the following composition:

Staff

* General Officer Commanding: Major-General F.S. Inglefield (3 November 1916 – 6 September 1917)
Maj-Gen G.J. Cuthbert (6 September 1917 – 31 January 1918) * General Staff Officer Grade 1: Lieutenant-Colonel T.E.L. Hill-Whitson * Assistant-Adjutant and Quartermaster-General: Lt-Col A.W.B. Wallace * HQ: Bath

215th Brigade

215 Brigade was drawn from 8th Provisional Bde: * GOC: Brigadier-General P.W. Hendry * HQ: Bath * 28th Provisional Battalion: became 13th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment; left July 1917 and disbanded October 1917 * 70th Provisional Battalion: became 15th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment; disbanded March 1918 * 81st Provisional Battalion: became 18th Battalion,

Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...

; left December 1917 and disbanded January 1918 * 258th Battalion, Training Reserve: joined by 23 July 1917; became 51st (Graduated) Battalion,

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

* 259th Battalion, Training Reserve: joined by 24 September 1917; became 51st (Graduated) Battalion,

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

216th Brigade

216 Brigade was newly formed: * GOC: Brigadier-General C.V. Humphrys (2 November 1916 – 5 February 1917)
Brig-Gen G.M. Gloster (5 February 1917 – 10 March 1918) * HQ:

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...

* 83rd Provisional Battalion: became 10th Battalion,

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

; left by July 1917 and disbanded January 1918 * 10th (Home Service) Battalion,

Somerset Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Some ...

: newly raised at Weston; left July 1917 and disbanded November 1917 * 14th (Home Service) Battalion,

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...

: formerly 3rd (Home Service) Garrison Battalion, KOYLI; went to 69th Division. * 261st Battalion, Training Reserve: joined by 23 July 1917; became 51st (Graduated) Battalion, Leicester Regiment; went to 69th Division * 262nd Battalion, Training Reserve: joined by 9 July 1917; became 51st (Graduated) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire; went to 68th Division

217th Brigade

217th Brigade was formed from battalions of the disbanding 188th (2/1st Northumberland) Brigade: * GOC: Brigadier-General A.L. Macfie (1 November 1916 – 16 June 1917)
Brig-Gen Douglas Campbell (16 June 1917 – 2 February 1918) * HQ:

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 i ...

* 2/4th Battalion,

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution an ...

; disbanded April or May 1918 * 2/5th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers; left by July 1917, disbanded January 1918 * 2/6th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers; left December 1917 * 264th Battalion, Training Reserve: joined by 9 July 1917; became 51st (Graduated) Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry; went to 69th Division * 265th Battalion, Training Reserve: joined by 24 September 1917; became 52nd (Graduated) Battalion,

; went to 68th Division

Divisional mounted troops

* 8th Provisional Cyclist Company: became 72nd Divisional Cyclist Company

Army Cyclist Corps The Army Cyclist Corps was a corps of the British Army active during the First World War, and controlling the Army's bicycle infantry. History Formation Volunteer cyclist units had been formed as early as the 1880s, with the first complete bicy ...

(Home Service)

Royal Artillery

* Brigadier-General Royal Artillery: F.B. Johnstone * HQ:

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

* CCCLII Field Brigade RFA: ** A Battery (later 1210 Field Battery): formerly 8th Provisional Battery 6 x 18-pounder QF guns ** B Battery: 6 x18-pdr ** C (Howitzer) Battery: 4 x

QF 4.5-inch howitzer The Ordnance QF 4.5-inch howitzer was the standard British Empire field (or ‘light’) howitzer of the First World War era. It replaced the BL 5-inch howitzer and equipped some 25% of the field artillery. It entered service in 1910 and remai ...

* CCCLIII Field Brigade RFA: ** A Battery: 6 x 18-pdr ** B Battery: 6 x 18-pdr ** C (Howitzer) Battery: 4 x 4.5 Howitzer * 72nd Divisional Ammunition Column: formerly 8th Provisional Brigade Ammunition Column

Royal Engineers

* Commanding Royal Engineers: Lieutenant-Colonel A.O. Evans * 3/1st Glamorgan Field Company, RE: became 550th Field Company * 2/2nd Glamorgan Field Company, RE: became 551st Field Company * 647th (South Midland) Field Company, RE: formerly 8th Provisional Field Company * 72nd Divisional Signal Company: formerly 8th Provisional Signal Section

Medical services

* 8th Provisional Field Ambulance RAMC: ** A Section: became 304th (South Midland) Field Ambulance ** B Section: became 305th (South Midland) Field Ambulance ** C Section: became 306th (South Midland) Field Ambulance * 105th Sanitary Section * 57th 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 ...

Transport

* 72nd Divisional Train: ** 8th Provisional Brigade Company ASC: became 825th Horse Transport Company ASC ** 826th, 827th and 828th HT Companies ASC: newly formed

Service

After assembling in Somerset, the new division moved in January 1917 to

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

and

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

to replace

62nd (2nd West Riding) Division The 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that saw active service on the Western Front during the First World War. History During the First World War the division fought on the Western Front at Bullec ...

, which had gone to the Western Front. In May 1917 the 72nd moved again, to

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 its HQ 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 ...

, the division formed part of Southern Army of Home Forces, and was responsible for the coastal defences from the

River Deben The River Deben is a river in Suffolk rising to the west of Debenham, though a second, higher source runs south from the parish of Bedingfield. The river passes through Woodbridge, turning into a tidal estuary before entering the North Sea at Fe ...

Orford Ness Orford Ness is a cuspate foreland shingle spit on the Suffolk coast in Great Britain, linked to the mainland at Aldeburgh and stretching along the coast to Orford and down to North Weir Point, opposite Shingle Street. It is divided from the m ...

. The division remained here for the remainder of its service. The

Military Service Act 1916 The Military Service Act 1916 was an Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom during the First World War to impose conscription in Great Britain, but not in Ireland or any other country around the world. The Act The Bill which became ...

swept away the Home/Foreign service distinction, and all TF soldiers became liable for overseas service, if medically fit. Henceforth part of the role of the Home Service divisions was physical conditioning to render men fit for drafting overseas, alongside units of the Training Reserve. 'Graduated Battalions' of the Training Reserve were organised in four companies according to age, from 18 to 19 years. Recruits progressed from one to another company every three months, so that every three months there was a company of trained 19-year-old men available for drafting overseas. In July 1917 it was decided that the Graduated Battalions could serve in a Home Defence role while completing their training.Becke, Pt 2b, Appendix 2. Between July and September 1917, six Graduated Battalions replaced other units in 72nd Division, and in October these were affiliated to line regiments and adopted territorial designations.

Disbandment

During October 1917 the War Office decided to break up the three home service divisions. A number of battalions of 72nd Division were disbanded, and on 21 December the War Office ordered the Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces, to break up the remainder of the division without delay. The Graduated Battalions transferred to other divisions and between January and April 1918 the remainder of the headquarters and supporting units were broken up. The 72nd Division title has never been reactivated.

References

Bibliography

* Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (72nd–74th) and 74th and 75th Divisions'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, .

External links

The Long, Long Trail

David Porter's work on Provisional Brigades at Great War Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:72 Infantry Division Infantry divisions of the British Army in World War I Military units and formations established in 1916 Military units and formations disestablished in 1918