The 118th Brigade was an infantry formation of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Originally raised in December 1914 as part of '

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the F ...

' it was later redesignated and the number was transferred to a new brigade formed in July 1915. This initially commanded '

Pals battalion The pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours an ...

s' under training; later it took over experienced

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 in ...

battalions that were already serving on the Western Front. It fought with 39th Division on the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

and the

Ancre The Ancre (; ) is a river of Picardy, France. Rising at Miraumont, a hamlet near the town of Albert, it flows into the Somme at Corbie. It is long. For most of its length it flows through the department of Somme. For a short stretch near Pu ...

, at

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

and in the

German spring offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

. After the appalling casualties in that campaign it was relegated to a training organisation preparing

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

units for active service. It was disbanded shortly after the

Armistice with Germany {{Short description, none This is a list of armistices signed by the German Empire (1871–1918) or Nazi Germany (1933–1945). An armistice is a temporary agreement to cease hostilities. The period of an armistice may be used to negotiate a peace t ...

Original 118th Brigade

On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war,

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular

. The newly-appointed

Secretary of State for War The secretary of state for war, commonly called the 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 Offic ...

, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. This group of six divisions with supporting arms became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'. The K2, K3 and K4 battalions, brigades and divisions followed soon afterwards. But the flood of volunteers overwhelmed the ability of the Army to absorb them, and the K5 units were largely raised by local initiative rather than at regimental depots, often from men from particular localities or backgrounds who wished to serve together: these were known as '

Pals battalions The pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours an ...

'. The 'Pals' phenomenon quickly spread across the country, as local recruiting committees offered complete units to the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

(WO). On 10 December 1914 the WO authorised the formation of another six divisions and their brigades to command these K5 units, including 118th Brigade in 39th Division. The original 118th Bde comprised four '

Public Schools Battalions The Public Schools Battalions were a group of Pals battalions of the British Army during World War I. They were raised in 1914 as part of Kitchener's Army and were originally recruited exclusively from former public schoolboys. When the battalions ...

':Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 31–9.33rd Division at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> *

18th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (1st Public Schools) 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. It is an even composite number. Mathematics 18 is a semiperfect number and an abundant number. It is a largely composite number, as it has 6 divisors and no smaller number has ...

19th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (2nd Public Schools) 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics Nineteen is the eighth prime number. Number theory 19 forms a twin prime with 17, a cousin prime with 23, and a sexy prime with 13. ...

20th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (3rd Public Schools) 20 (twenty) is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units is sometimes referred to as a score. In mathematics Twenty is a composite number. It is also the smallest primitive abundant number. The Happy Family o ...

21st (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (4th Public Schools) 21 (twenty-one) is the natural number following 20 and preceding 22. The current century is the 21st century AD, under the Gregorian calendar. Mathematics Twenty-one is the fifth distinct semiprime, and the second of the form 3 \times q whe ...

New 118th Brigade

However, on 10 April 1915 the WO decided to convert the K4 battalions into reserve units. The K4 divisions and brigades were broken up and the K5 formations took over their numbers, so that 118th Brigade in 39th Division became 98th Bde in 33rd Division.Becke, Appendix 2. Authorisation for three new infantry brigades – 116th, 117th and 118th – to constitute a new 39th Division was issued on 12 July 1915.Becke, pp. 91–100. The new 118th Brigade was formed in London under the command of Brigadier-General W. Bromilow, composed of the following Pals battalions:39th Division at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> * 10th (Service) Battalion,

Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

(Kent County) * 11th (Service) Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) (Lewisham) *

20th (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (Shoreditch) The 20th (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (Shoreditch) (20th Middlesex) was an infantry unit recruited as part of 'Kitchener's Army' in World War I. It was raised in the spring of 1915 by the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, Mayor and ...

21st (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (Islington) The 21st (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (Islington) (21st Middlesex) was an infantry unit recruited as part of 'Kitchener's Army' in World War I. It was raised in the spring of 1915 by the Mayor and Borough of Islington in North London ...

39th Division began to assemble around

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

early in August 1915, but it was not until after it had moved to

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

at the end of September that 118th Bde joined it from London. However, on arrival at Aldershot 118th Bde was reorganised, the 10th and 11th Royal West Kent battalions moving to 41st Division on 16 October, being replaced by: *

13th (Service) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment (Wandsworth) The 13th (Service) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment (Wandsworth) (13th East Surreys or 13th ESR) was an infantry unit recruited as part of 'Kitchener's Army' in World War I. It was raised in the summer of 1915 by the Metropolitan Borough of Wands ...

– ''transferred from 41st Division'' * 14th (Service) Battalion,

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) is a light infantry company (military unit), company (designated as Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland) and was a line infantry regiment of the British Army tha ...

In November the division moved to

Witley Camp Witley Military Camp, often simplified to Camp Witley, was a temporary army camp set up on Witley Common, Surrey, England during both the First and Second World Wars. The camp was about southwest of London. Camp Witley was one of three facilit ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, where it continued its training. Mobilisation orders were received during February 1916 and advance parties left for France. However, the Pals battalions of 118th Bde had not completed their training, so it was decided to leave them behind to join 40th Division. On 23rd February Brig-Gen Bromilow and his staff left Witley, disembarked at

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

next day, and on 29 February took over five different battalions at

Renescure Renescure (; ) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Philippe de Commines (1447–1511) was a writer and diplomat in the courts of Burgundy and France. He was born in Renescure which was then in the county of Flanders. It is ...

to reconstitute 118th Bde. These were all experienced

units that had been sent as reinforcements to various formations on the Western Front earlier in the war: * 1/6th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment – ''transferred from 7th Division''James, p. 65. * 1/4th (City of Dundee) Battalion,

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

– ''transferred from

51st (Highland) Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France during the World War I, First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was ra ...

''James, p. 84. * 1/5th (Angus & Dundee) Battalion, Black Watch – ''transferred from 51st (H) Division'' * 1/1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment – ''transferred from training battalion, Third Army School''James, p. 112. * 1/1st Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment – ''transferred from 2nd Division; to 116th Bde 8 February 1918''James, p. 117.Sainsbury, pp. 57–8. The reconstituted brigade moved to the divisional concentration area at Blaringhem in First Army's area. The two weak Black Watch battalions were amalgamated on 16 March as the 4th/5th Battalion, bringing the brigade to the standard four-battalion establishment that was retained until February 1918. The brigade was completed by forming its auxiliary units:39th Division at Long, Long Trail.
/ref> * 118th Brigade Machine Gun Company,

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...

– ''formed at Wallon-Cappel on 21 March from MG sections of the infantry battalions; transferred to 39th Divisional MG Battalion by 14 March 1918'' * 118th Trench Mortar Battery – ''formed within the brigade as 118/1 and 118/2 by 7 April 1916, became 118th TM Bty between 16 June and 1 July; personnel seconded from the infantry battalions; equipped with 3-inch

Stokes mortar The Stokes mortar was a British trench mortar designed by Sir Wilfred Stokes KBE that was issued to the British and U.S. armies, as well as the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps, during the latter half of the First World War. The 3-inch trench m ...

s''

Service

The brigade took part in the following actions: The brigade took part in the following actions: 1916 *

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

: ** Fighting on the

3 September: 118th Bde in divisional reserve; 4th/5th BW assisted 116th Bde **

Battle of Thiepval Ridge The Ba ...

26–28 September **

Battle of the Ancre Heights The Battle of the Ancre Heights (1 October – 11 November 1916), is the name given to the continuation of British attacks after the Battle of Thiepval Ridge from during the Battle of the Somme. The battle was conducted by the Reserve Army ( ...

5 October–11 November ***

Capture of Schwaben Redoubt Capture may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Capture", a song by Simon Townshend * Capture (band), an Australian electronicore band previously known as Capture the Crown * ''Capture'' (TV series), a reality show Television episodes * "Chapter ...

14 October: 118th Bde completed its capture **

Battle of the Ancre The Battle of the Ancre was fought by the British Fifth Army (Lieutenant-General Hubert Gough), against the German 1st Army (General Fritz von Below). The Reserve Army had been renamed the Fifth Army on 30 October. The battle was the las ...

13–14 November: 118th Bde formed up outside the Schwaben Reboubt, unseen by the enemy. Keeping close to the

Creeping barrage In military usage, a barrage is massed sustained artillery fire (shelling) aimed at a series of points along a line. In addition to attacking any enemy in the kill zone, a barrage intends to suppress enemy movements and deny access across tha ...

, 1/1st Herts on the right advanced north and took the 'Hansa Line' and part of 'Mill Trench' without difficulty about 07.30, capturing 150 prisoners. Next to it, two companies of 1/1st Cambridge lost direction and had to reorganise, but took the rest of Mill Trench and then the station crossing and Beaucourt Mill by 10.00. 1/6th Cheshire, aiming for the 'Strasbourg Line' and St Pierre-Divion, and 4/5th BW tasked with taking the German front and support trenches form the village to the river, were both handicapped by the morning fog and experienced difficulties in keeping up with the barrage among the maze of shattered trenches. Confused fighting continued for some time in the Strasburg Line, where some German machine gunners and snipers held out 4th/5th BW lost many officers in slowly clearing the front trenches. A subsidiary attack up the Ancre valley by 117th Bde took the Germans by surprise and St Pierre Divion was finally captured by a mixed group of Cheshires, Black Watch, and 117th Bde, taking so many prisoners that they outnumbered the attackers, who were reinforced by 116th and 117th Bdes to complete the consolidation.Miles, ''1916'', Vol II, pp. 481–4. 1917 *

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front, from July to November 1917, f ...

: **

Battle of Pilckem Ridge The Battle of Pilckem Ridge (31 July – 2 August 1917) was the opening attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The British Fifth Army (United Kingdom), Fifth Army, supported by the Second Army (United Kingdom), Second Army o ...

31 July–2 August: 118th Bde came up from divisional reserve to connect the main attack with the defensive flank along the Steenbeek valley, but was pushed back by a counter-attack, losing about 70 per cent of its frontline strength.Sainsbury, p. 59. ** Battle of Langemarck 16–18 August **

Battle of the Menin Road Ridge The Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, sometimes called "Battle of the Menin Road", was the third British general attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle took place from 20 to 25 September 1917, in the Ypres Salient ...

20–25 September: 118th Bde suffered heavy casualties while holding newly-won positions **

Battle of Polygon Wood The Battle of Polygon Wood (26 September to 3 October 1917) was fought during the second part of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The battle was fought near Ypres in Belgium, from the Menin road to Polygon Wood and thence north, ...

26 September: 118th was held up by deep mud but was able to enter the 'Quadrilateral' before being poushed out again. **

Second Battle of Passchendaele The Second Battle of Passchendaele was the culminating attack during the Third Battle of Ypres of the First World War. The battle took place in the Ypres Salient area of the Western Front, in and around the Belgian village of Passchendaele, be ...

29 October–10 November 1918 *

: ** Battle of St Quentin 22–23 March: When the offensive began on 21 March 39th Division was in GHQ Reserve. Having moved up and dug in, 118th Bde was heavily attacked but was able to disengage and retire across the Somme on 23 March ** Actions at the Somme Crossings 24–25 March: 1/1st Cambridge had to fight a sharp rearguard action to extricate itself **

Battle of Rosières A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

26–27 March: 39th Division continued withdrawing, the brigades 'leapfrogging' each other; 118th Bde's commander, Brig-Gen Bellingham, and his

Brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

were captured on 28 March while commanding the rearguard of 39th Division Each brigade was now hardly stronger than a single battalion, and the infantry of 39th Division was reorganised as '39th Composite Brigade', under the new commander of 118th Bde, Brig-Gen Hubback. No 4 Battalion and part of D Company, No 5 Battalion, were provided by 118th Bde, and 118th Bde TMB supported the composite brigade. The composite brigade then fought in the following actions with XXII Corps:Edmonds, ''1918'', Vol II, p. 246.Sainsbury, p. 61. * Battle of the Lys: ** Fighting on Wytschaete Ridge 16 April ** First Battle of Kemmel Ridge 17–19 April) ** Second Battle of Kemmel Ridge 25–26 April: formed a defensive flank ** Battle of the Scherpenberg 29 April: in corps reserve

Reorganisation

While the composite brigade was still in action, 39th Divisional HQ moved to

Éperlecques Éperlecques (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography It is a farming commune comprising eight hamlets, all found within the regional natur ...

, north-west of

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; ; Picard: ''Saint-Onmé'') is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Sa ...

. No 5 Battalion returned to the division on 30 April and its components returned to their brigades; the rest of 39th Composite Bde was broken up and rejoined the division on 6 May. Following their crippling losses during the German spring offensive, the infantry brigades of 39th Division were withdrawn from active service. Their battalions were reduced to training cadres (TCs) and the TMBs broken up, the surplus personnel being drafted as reinforcements to other units. All three of 118th Bde's TCs left by the end of May to be reconstituted in other formations, and it became a holding formation for a number of TCs from other divisions: * 9th (Service) Battalion, Black Watch – from 46th Bde,

15th (Scottish) Division The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served in the First World War. The 15th (Scottish) Division was formed from men volunteering for Kitchener's Army, and served from 1915 to 1918 on the Wes ...

, 21 May; to

16th (Irish) Division The 16th (Irish) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised for service during World War I. The division was a voluntary 'Service' formation of Lord Kitchener's New Armies, created in Ireland from the 'National Volunteers', ...

17 June * 6th (Service) Battalion,

Bedfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the World War ...

– from 112th Bde, 37th Division, 31 May (used to reconstitute 1/1st Herts) * 8th/10th Battalion,

Gordon Highlanders The Gordon Highlanders was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years, from 1881 until 1994, when it was amalgamated with The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Go ...

– from 44th Bde, 15th (S) Division, 9 June; to II Corps' Reinforcement Camp 30 July * 7th (Service) Battalion, Cameron Highlanders – from 44th Bde, 15th (S) Division, 11 June; to XIX Corps' Reinforcement Camp 30 July * 11th (Service) Battalion, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders – from 46th Bde, 15th (S) Division, 11 June; to

X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

' Reinforcement Camp 30 July * 11th (Service) Battalion,

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foo ...

(1st South Down) – from 116th Bde 17 June; to 25th Division 30 June * 13th (Service) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment (3rd South Down) – from 116th Bde 17 June; disbanded 14 August * 4th Battalion,

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 regim ...

(TF) – from 117th Bde 27 July; to 116th Bde 16 November * 18th (Service) 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 and ...

– from 116th Bde 29 July; to 66th Division 15 August * 4th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (TF) – from 149th (Northumberland) Bde,

50th (Northumbrian) Division The Northumbrian Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army, formed in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force with units drawn from the north-east of England, notably Northumberland, County Durham, Durham and the ...

, 16 August; demobilised 10 November * 5th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (TF) – from 149th (N) Bde, 50th (N) Division, 16 August; demobilised 10 November * 6th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (TF) – from 149th (N) Bde, 50th (N) Division, 16 August; demobilised 9 November * 4th Battalion,

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59t ...

(TF) – from 198th (East Lancashire) Bde,

66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division The 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force, which saw service in the Trench warfare, trenches of the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, duri ...

, 16 August; to 116th Bde 16 November The 77th US Division had arrived at Éperlecques, and it began training under the guidance of the 39th Division TCs on 7 May. On 7 June 39th Divisional HQ moved to Wolphus, also near Saint-Omer, and over the next two months its TCs trained the 30th, 78th and 80th US Divisions in turn. In mid-August 39th Division moved to the French coast with 118th Bde at Le Havre. On 1 November the division was ordered to demobilise its remaining TCs, and 118th Bde completed this before hostilities ended with the

on 11 November. 118th Brigade was disbanded on 4 December. 118th Brigade was not reactivated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Commanders

The following officers commanded the brigade: * Brig-Gen R.G. Gordon-Gilmour, appointed (to original 118th Bde) 22 September 1914 * Brig-Gen W. Bromilow, appointed (to new 118th Bde) 8 July 1915 * Brig-Gen T.P. Barrington, appointed 15 April 1916, sick 7 July 1916 * Lt-Col G.A.McL. Sceales (4th/5th BW), acting 7–12 July 1916, 13 November 1916 and 4 December 1916–2 February 1917 * Brig-Gen E.H. Finch-Hatton, appointed 13 July 1916, sick 13 November and 4 December 1916 * Brig-Gen E.H.C.P. Bellingham, appointed 3 February 1917, captured 28 March 1918 * Lt-Col E.T. Saint, acting 28 March–2 April 1918 * Brig-Gen A.B. Hubback, appointed 3 April 1918 * Lt-Col H.R. Brown acting 20–21 October 1918 and 6 November 1918 to disbandment * Brig-Gen M.L. Hornby, appointed 22 October 1918

Insignia

39th Division's formation badge was a white square with three light blue vertical stripes. This was worn on the upper arm. Within 118th Bde, the battalions wore the following identification signs on both sleeves:Hibberd, p. 44. * 1/6th Cheshire: red diamond with black diamond in the centre * 4th/5th Black Watch: none worn * 1/1st Cambridgeshire: pale blue horizontal rectangle bisected by a vertical black stripe * 1/1st Hertfordshire: maroon heart shape

Notes

References

* Maj A.F. Becke,''History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 3b: New Army Divisions (30–41) and 63rd (R.N.) Division'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1939/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-41-X. * Brig-Gen Sir James E. Edmonds, ''History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium 1917'', Vol II, ''Messines and Third Ypres (Passchendaele)'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1948/Uckfield: Imperial War Museum and Naval and Military Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-845747-23-7. * Brig-Gen Sir James E. Edmonds, ''History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium 1918'', Vol I, ''The German March Offensive and its Preliminaries'', London: Macmillan, 1935/Imperial War Museum and Battery Press, 1995, ISBN 0-89839-219-5/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84574-725-1. * Brig-Gen Sir James E. Edmonds, ''History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium 1918'', Vol II, ''March–April: Continuation of the German Offensives'', London: Macmillan, 1937/Imperial War Museum and Battery Press, 1995, ISBN 1-87042394-1/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-84574-726-8. * Clive Elderton & Gary Gibbs, ''World War One British Army Corps and Divisional Signs'', Wokingham: Military History Society, 2018. * Gen Sir

Martin Farndale General Sir Martin Baker Farndale, (6 January 1929 – 10 May 2000) was a British Army officer who reached high office in the 1980s. Military career Educated at Yorebridge Grammar School, Askrigg, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Farn ...

, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: Western Front 1914–18'', Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1986, ISBN 1-870114-00-0. * Mike Hibberd, ''Infantry Divisions, Identification Schemes 1917'', Wokingham: Military History Society, 2016. * Brig E.A. James, ''British Regiments 1914–18'', London: Samson Books, 1978, ISBN 0-906304-03-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84342-197-9. * Lt-Col H.F. Joslen, ''Orders of Battle, United Kingdom and Colonial Formations and Units in the Second World War, 1939–1945'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1960/London: London Stamp Exchange, 1990, ISBN 0-948130-03-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 1-843424-74-6. * Capt Wilfred Miles, ''History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium 1916'', Vol II, ''2nd July 1916 to the End of the Battles of the Somme'', London: Macmillan, 1938/Imperial War Museum & Battery Press, 1992, ISBN 0-89839-169-5/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2005, ISBN 978-1-84574-721-3. * Lt-Col J.D. Sainsbury, ''The Hertfordshire Regiment: An Illustrated History'', Ware: Castlemead Publications, 1988, ISBN 0-948555-16-5. * ''Instructions Issued by The War Office During August, 1914'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1916

External sources

Chris Baker, ''The Long, Long Trail''
{{refend Infantry brigades of the British Army Infantry brigades of the British Army in World War I Military units and formations established in 1915 Military units and formations disestablished in 1918