British 51st (Highland) Division (World War I)

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51st (Highland) Division

Active	World War I August 1908 - March 1919
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Territorial Force
Type	Infantry
Motto	"Harper's Duds" "Ladies from Hell" {Nicknames}

The British 51st (Highland) Division was a Territorial Force division that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War. The division's insignia was a stylised 'HD' inside a red circle. Early doubts about the division's performance earned it the nickname of "Harper's Duds" after the name of its commander Major General G.M. Harper.

See British 51st (Highland) Infantry Division (World War II) for the division's formation and history during the Second World War.

1 Unit history
2 Formation
3 Battles
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Unit history

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[edit] Formation

152nd (1st Highland) Brigade

1/5th (The Sutherland and Caithness) Bn, the Seaforth Highlanders
1/6th (Morayshire) Bn, the Seaforth Highlanders
1/8th (The Argyllshire) Bn, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (from 154th Bde. April 1915)
1/4th Bn, the Cameron Highlanders (until February 1915)
1/6th (Renfrewshire) Bn, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (from 154th Bde. April 1915 to June 1915)
1/6th (Banff and Donside) Bn, the Gordon Highlanders (from June 1916)

153rd (2nd Highland) Brigade

1/6th Bn, the Black Watch
1/7th Bn, the Black Watch
The Shetland Companies, the Gordon Highlanders
1/4th Bn, the Gordon Highlanders (until February 1915)
1/5th (Buchan and Formartin) Bn, the Gordon Highlanders (until February 1918)
1/7th (Deeside Highland) Bn, the Gordon Highlanders (until October 1918)

154th (3rd Highland) Brigade

The original brigade comprised the following battalions until April 1915 when some of the battalions moved to the 152nd Brigade:

1/7th Bn, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
1/6th (Renfrewshire) Bn, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
1/8th (The Argyllshire) Bn, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
1/9th (The Dunbartonshire) Bn, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders

Between April 18 1915 and January 1916, the brigade was replaced by the battalions of the 164th (North Lancashire) Brigade from the 55th (West Lancashire) Division.