Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

47th (1/2nd London) Division

Infantry division of the British Army during World War I From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

47th (1/2nd London) Division
Remove ads

The 47th (1/2nd London) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force.

Quick Facts 2nd London Division47th (1/2nd London) Division, Active ...
Remove ads

Formation

The Territorial Force (TF) was formed on 1 April 1908 following the enactment of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 (7 Edw.7, c.9) which combined and re-organised the old Volunteer Force, the Honourable Artillery Company and the Yeomanry. On formation, the TF contained 14 infantry divisions and 14 mounted yeomanry brigades.[1] One of the divisions was the 2nd London Division.[2] In peacetime, the divisional headquarters was, from 1912, in the Duke of York's Headquarters.[2][3]

Remove ads

First World War

Summarize
Perspective
Thumb
Drivers from CCXXXV Brigade RFA water their horses near Flesquières 24 November 1917 during the Battle of Cambrai.

The 2nd London Division was designated the 47th Division in 1915, during the Great War, and referred to as the "1/2nd London Division" after the raising of the second-line 60th (2/2nd London) Division. After undergoing a period of training, the division was sent to France in March 1915, the second complete Territorial division (after the 46th (North Midland) Division) to enter the fighting, to do so, and served on the Western Front for the duration of the war.[4]

Thumb
Daylight patrol of the 18th Battalion, London Regiment (London Irish Rifles) entering Albert, France, 6 August 1918. Of the patrol of seven, one was killed and three were wounded.

In early 1916 the division was part of Lieutenant General Sir Henry Wilson's IV Corps. Wilson was not impressed by Charles Barter, the 47th's general officer commanding (GOC), and at the end of March 1916 he and his superior, General Sir Charles Monro (GOC First Army and a former GOC of the 2nd London Division), discussed getting rid of him, but could not come up with a reason for doing so; Barter survived until he was relieved during the Battle of the Somme later in the year and replaced by Major General G. F. Gorringe.[5]

Thumb
The march past of the 47th Division in the Grande Place, 28 October 1918.

The 47th Division conducted effective mining operations against Vimy Ridge on 3 and 15 May 1916, but a German attack on the evening of Sunday 21 May moved forward 800 yards, capturing 1,000 yards of the British front line, and the division performed badly during a counterattack on 23 May. The 47th Division conducted a carefully planned single battalion raid on the night of 27–8 June, claiming to have killed 300–600 Germans for only 13 British casualties.[6]

In the final stages of the war the division's GSO1 (effectively chief of staff) was the thirty-year old Lieutenant Colonel Bernard Montgomery.[7]

The division fought in the Battle of Aubers Ridge, the Battle of Festubert, the Battle of Loos, the 1 July 1916 Battle of the Somme, including the Battle of Flers-Courcelette and the capture of High Wood. After mid-1916 battles included the Battle of Le Transloy, the Battle of Messines, and the Battle of Cambrai.[8]

Remove ads

Order of battle

Summarize
Perspective

The composition of the division was as follows:[9][8][4]

140th (4th London) Brigade

Pre-war the brigade comprised the following battalions:

After it landed in France it had the following composition:

From February 1918, the brigade comprised the following battalions:

141st (5th London) Brigade
142nd (6th London) Brigade
Pioneers
Machine Guns
  • 239th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (from 17 July until 1 October 1917)
  • 255th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps (from 19 November 1917 until 1 March 1918)
  • No. 47 Battalion, Machine Gun Corps (from 1 March 1918)
    • 140th, 141st, 142nd, 255th Machine Gun Companies
Mounted Troops
  • C Squadron 1st King Edward's Horse (from 25 April 1915 until 1 June 1916)
  • 2nd London Divisional Cyclist Company (until 1 June 1916)
Royal Artillery[10]

(1st London Divisional Artillery also served with the division in January and February 1916)

47th (1/2nd London) Divisional Engineers[12][13]
Medical
  • 4th London Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps
  • 5th London Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps
  • 6th London Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps
  • 2nd London Sanitary Section (until 18 April 1917)
  • 2nd London Divisional Ambulance Workshop (to Divisional Train 3 April 1916)
  • 2nd London Mobile Veterinary Section, Army Veterinary Corps
Transport[15]
  • 2nd London Divisional Transport and Supply Column, Army Service Corps
    • 2nd London Divisional Company (HQ) (became 455 Company, ASC, 23 April 1915)
    • 4th London Brigade Company (became 456 Company, ASC, 23 April 1915)
    • 5th London Brigade Company (became 457 Company, ASC, 23 April 1915)
    • 6th London Brigade Company (became 458 Company, ASC, 23 April 1915)
Labour
  • 241st Divisional Employment Company (from May 1917)
Remove ads

Postwar

The division was reformed in 1920.[16] By 1935 the increasing need for anti-aircraft (AA) defence, particularly for London, was addressed by converting the 47th Division into the 1st Anti-Aircraft Division.[17]

Second World War

During the Second World War, the division was once again raised, this time as a duplicate of the 1st London Division, initially as the 2nd London Division, but was redesignated in November 1940 as the 47th (London) Infantry Division.[18]

Commanders

The following officers commanded 47th Division throughout its existence:[8]

More information Appointed, General officer commanding (GOC) ...
Remove ads

Memorial

Thumb
The two wooden memorial crosses were originally erected at High Wood and Eaucourt l'Abbaye by 47 Divisional Engineers in 1916.

Two wooden memorial crosses erected at High Wood and Eaucourt l'Abbaye by 47 Divisional Engineers in 1916[19] were falling into disrepair by 1925, when they were replaced in stone. The restored wooden crosses were preserved at the Duke of York's Headquarters in London (the former divisional HQ) until that building was sold in 2003, and are now at Connaught House, the HQ of the London Irish Rifles on the site of the former First Surrey Rifles drill hall at Flodden Road, Camberwell.[20][21]

Remove ads

See also

References

Bibliography

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads