The 16th Airborne Division was an

airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

infantry division of the British Territorial Army. It was first commanded by

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Roy Urquhart Major General Robert Elliot "Roy" Urquhart, (28 November 1901 – 13 December 1988) was a British Army officer who saw service during the Second World War and Malayan Emergency. He became prominent for his role as General Officer Commanding th ...

, and had its divisional headquarters in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

. It was raised in 1947, to compensate for the loss of the 1st Airborne Division, which had been disbanded in 1945 and the

6th Airborne Division The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Army during the Second World War. Despite its name, the 6th was actually the second of two airborne divisions raised by the British Army during the war, the other being ...

which was to be disbanded in 1948. The number "16" was used in recognition of the two wartime airborne divisions. The division had three parachute brigades, the 4th,

5th 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 tha ...

and the

6th 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second ...

, each with three Territorial battalions of the Parachute Regiment. The brigades were renumbered the 44th, 45th and 46th in 1950. Then in December 1955, the British

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

in an announcement on the future of the Territorial Army, proposed cutting the Territorial Battalion, The Parachute Regiments by five. The reduction in strength led to the disbandment of the division in 1956, leaving the 44th Independent Parachute Group as the only British reserve parachute formation. 299 Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers

Units pre-1950

* 16th Airborne Divisional Signal Regiment (Middlesex Yeomanry),

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield commun ...

*16th Airborne Division Field Security Section, Intelligence Corps *

North Somerset Yeomanry The North Somerset Yeomanry was a part-time cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1798 to 1967. It maintained order in Somerset in the days before organised police forces, and supplied volunteers to fight in the Second Boer War. It served on ...

(

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...

) *16th Airborne Divisional (Lincoln) Independent Company * 21st Special Air Service Regiment *16th Airborne Division Ordnance Field Park,

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

*16th Airborne Division Provost Company,

Royal Military Police The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operations ...

* 4th Parachute Brigade ** 10th (County of London) Battalion, The Parachute Regiment ** 11th (Middlesex) Battalion, The Parachute Regiment ** 14th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment * 5th Parachute Brigade ** 12th (Yorkshire) Battalion, The Parachute Regiment ** 17th (Durham Light Infantry) Battalion, The Parachute Regiment ** 18th (Warwickshire) Battalion, The Parachute Regiment * 6th Parachute Brigade ** 13th (Lancashire) Battalion, Parachute Regiment ** 15th (Scottish) Battalion, Parachute Regiment ** 16th (Welsh) Battalion, Parachute Regiment *16th Airborne Division

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

**880 Forward Observation Battery, Royal Artillery ** 285th (Essex) Airborne Light Regiment, Royal Artillery ** 291st (4th London) Airborne Field Regiment, Royal Artillery ** 292nd (5th London) Airborne Field Regiment, Royal Artillery ** 629th (Cambridgeshire Regiment) Airborne Light Regiment, Royal Artillery ** 446th (Royal Welch) Airborne Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery *16th Airborne Division

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 head ...

** 131st Airborne Engineer Regiment *16th Airborne Division

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 ...

**4th Parachute Field Ambulance (44th Parachute Field Ambulance from 1950) **5th Parachute Field Ambulance (45th Parachute Field Ambulance from 1950) **6th Parachute Field Ambulance (46th Parachute Field Ambulance from 1950) **1 x Reserve Medical Section *16th Airborne Divisional Column

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...

**1560 Company RASC **1561 Company RASC **1562 Company RASC *16th Airborne Division

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...

**4th Airborne Workshop REME (44th Airborne Workshop REME from 1950) **5th Airborne Workshop REME (45th Airborne Workshop REME from 1950) **6th Airborne Workshop REME (46th Airborne Workshop REME from 1950)

Commanders

*January 1947

*December 1948 Major-General Gerald Lathbury *October 1951 Major-General Geoffrey Bourne *1953 Major-General Francis Rome

References

Bibliography

* {{British Army Divisions Military units and formations established in 1947 Military units and formations disestablished in 1956 16 1947 establishments in the United Kingdom 1956 disestablishments in the United Kingdom