27th Division (United Kingdom)
| 27th Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | October 1914 – 1919 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom |
| Branch |
 British Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Engagements | World War I |
The British 27th Division was a First World War regular army infantry division formed in late 1914 by combining various units that had been acting as garrisons about the British Empire. The division spent most of 1915 on the Western Front in France before moving to Salonika where it remained with the British Salonika Army for the duration of the war. In 1916 its commander Hurdis Ravenshaw was captured by an Austrian submarine whilst sailing to England. In 1918 in Salonika the division took part in the Battle of Doiran.
Units
- 80th Brigade
The infantry battalions did not all serve at once, but all were assigned to the brigade during the war.
- 2nd Battalion, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry
- 3rd Battalion, the King's Royal Rifle Corps
- 4th Battalion, the King's Royal Rifle Corps
- 4th Battalion, the Rifle Brigade
- Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry - Newly formed regiment in August 1914. No battalion number apparent from regimental sources. Served with the brigade from November 1914 until joining the Canadian 3rd Division in November 1915.
- 80th Machine Gun Company
- 80th Trench Mortar Battery
- 80th SAA Section Ammunition Column
- 81st Brigade
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Scots
- 2nd Battalion, the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
- 1st Battalion, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
- 2nd Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment (to 82nd Bde. November 1916)
- 13th (Scottish Horse Yeomanry) Battalion, the Black Watch (from October 1916)
The following battalions also served with the brigade for periods in 1915:
- 1/9th (Highlanders) Battalion, the Royal Scots
- 1/9th (The Dumbartonshire) Battalion, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
- 82nd Brigade
- 2nd Battalion, the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Irish Regiment (until November 1916)
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Irish Fusiliers (until November 1916)
- 1st Battalion, the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (until November 1916)
- 2nd Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment (from 81st Bde. November 1916)
- 10th (Service) Battalion, the Hampshire Regiment (from November 1916)
- 1/1st Battalion, the Cambridgeshire Regiment (from February 1915 to November 1915)
- 10th (Lovat's Scouts) Battalion TF, the Cameron Highlanders (from October 1916 to June 1918)
- 19th Brigade (31 May 1915 to 19 August 1915)
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Welch Fusiliers
- 1st Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
- 1/5th Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
- 1st Battalion, the Middlesex Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
The brigade joined the division in May 1915 from the 6th Division before joining the 2nd Division in August.
- Artillery (on formation)
- I Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
- XIX Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
- XX Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
When the Division embarked for France in December 1914, the Divisional Ammunition Column was manned by IV Home Counties (Howitzer) Brigade of the Territorial Force
Commanders
During its existence, 27th Division had the following commanders:[2]
- 19 November 1914 Major-General T.D'O. Snow
- 16 July 1915 Major-General G.F. Milne
- 13 January 1916 Brig.-General S.W. Hare (acting)
- 7 February 1916 Major-General W.R. Marshall
- 14 September 1916 Brig.-General H.D. White-Thomson (acting)
- 15 September 1916 Major-General H.S.L. Ravenshaw
- 30 November 1916 Brig.-General G.A. Weir (acting)
- 22 December 1916 Major-General G.T. Forestier-Walker (invalided, 9 March 1919)
- 10 Mach 1919 Major-General W.M. Thomson (temporary)
- 10 May 1919 Major-General G.N. Cory
See also
- List of British divisions in WWI
References
- ↑ "27th Division". The Long Long Trail. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
- ↑ Becke 1935, p. 97
Bibliography
- Becke, Major A.F. (1935). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 1. The Regular British Divisions. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 1-871167-09-4.
External links
- The British Army in the Great War, The 27th Division