Difference between revisions of "British units in World War I"

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See '''[[How you can help|how you can help]]''' to find out how you can help collect experiences of those in the First World War in their own words; you can also help by filling in the battalions for each regiment. A good source is the Long, Long Trail's page for [http://www.1914-1918.net/regiments.htm the British infantry of 1914-1918] and on [http://www.1914-1918.net/britdivs.htm The British Divisions of 1914-1918]. Chris Baker, the site's owner, has kindly given permission to use information from the site, so populating this page from those is a high priority task. Please feel free to get stuck in if you spot a gap!
+
See '''[[How you can help|how you can help]]''' to find out how you can help collect experiences of those in the First World War in their own words; you can also help by filling in the battalions for each regiment. A good source is the Long, Long Trail's page for [http://www.1914-1918.net/regiments.htm the British infantry of 1914-1918] and on [http://www.1914-1918.net/britdivs.htm The British Divisions of 1914-1918]. Chris Baker, the site's owner, has kindly given permission to use information from the site. We now have pages for most infantry battalions, but please feel free to get stuck in if you spot a gap!
  
 
Here's a list of [http://web.archive.org/web/20050404041821/http://regiments.org/regiments/uk/lists/ba1918.htm REGIMENTS and CORPS of the BRITISH ARMY in 1918] (via the Internet Archive as the site appears to have been down for some years).
 
Here's a list of [http://web.archive.org/web/20050404041821/http://regiments.org/regiments/uk/lists/ba1918.htm REGIMENTS and CORPS of the BRITISH ARMY in 1918] (via the Internet Archive as the site appears to have been down for some years).
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Type the name of the unit, add ", UK" to the end if it's a British unit, then make it into a wiki link by putting two square brackets around the name of the regiment or battalion, like this:
 
Type the name of the unit, add ", UK" to the end if it's a British unit, then make it into a wiki link by putting two square brackets around the name of the regiment or battalion, like this:
  
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<nowiki>[[Royal Army Medical Corps, UK]]</nowiki>
+
<nowiki>[[1st Battalion Example Regiment, UK]]</nowiki>
  
−
This makes it into a red link [[Royal Army Medical Corps, UK]]; you can click on any red-linked page name to create that page. You can also create a page by entering its name in the search box. If it doesn't already exist, you can click on the red link in the search results.
+
This makes it into a red link [[1st Battalion Example Regiment, UK]]; you can click on any red-linked page name to create that page. You can also create a page by entering its name in the search box. If it doesn't already exist, you can click on the red link in the search results.
  
  
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== Infantry ==
+
== British Army ==
  
−
=== Regiments ===
+
The British Army consisted of land forces raised in the United Kingdom apart from the Royal Marines and the Royal Naval Division. It had these branches:
 +
 
 +
* Regular Army
 +
* New Army
 +
* Territorial Force
 +
* Special Reserve
 +
 
 +
Most regiments and corps included a mixture of units from each branch.
 +
 
 +
Every British army unit that has a page on this site should be listed in [[:Category:All British Army units]].
 +
 
 +
See also [[British Army Hierarchies]] for more information about the structure of the Army.
 +
 
 +
=== Higher formations ===
 +
 
 +
These are tactical formations above division level:
 +
 
 +
* [[:Category:British army corps (tactical)]] has pages for every corps except [[Cavalry Corps, UK]], [[Desert Mounted Corps]] (which country did corps headquarters belong to?) and Tank Corps headquarters. These were the next level above divisions.
 +
* [[:Category:British armies]] has pages for all the armies on the Western Front and at Salonika and Gallipoli. These were the next level above corps.
 +
* [[:Category:British Empire GHQs]] contains expeditionary forces and other formations that had the general headquarters in a theatre of war. Some pages have been added but several theatres are still missing.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
=== Infantry ===
 +
 
 +
==== Infantry regiments ====
  
 
We now have a page for every infantry regiment of the British Army. The table below shows links to the pages and the regiments' full names. It can be sorted by names or order of precedence.
 
We now have a page for every infantry regiment of the British Army. The table below shows links to the pages and the regiments' full names. It can be sorted by names or order of precedence.
  
−
(WARNING: some of these pages are very big and might crash before edits have saved.)
+
(WARNING: some of these pages might crash before edits have saved.)
  
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
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|019
 
|019
 
|}
 
|}
 +
 +
Also administratively part of the infantry:
 +
 +
* [[Army Cyclist Corps, UK]]
 +
* [[Royal Defence Corps, UK]]
  
 
Regiment pages show each regiment's parent record office. Record offices also have their own pages, listed in [[:Category:British Army record offices]].
 
Regiment pages show each regiment's parent record office. Record offices also have their own pages, listed in [[:Category:British Army record offices]].
  
−
=== Battalions ===
+
 
 +
==== Infantry battalions ====
  
 
'The battalion was the basic tactical unit of the infantry of the British Army in the Great War of 1914-1918. At full establishment it consisted of 1,007 men of whom 30 were officers. It comprised a Battalion Headquarters and four Companies.'[http://www.1914-1918.net/whatbatt.htm]
 
'The battalion was the basic tactical unit of the infantry of the British Army in the Great War of 1914-1918. At full establishment it consisted of 1,007 men of whom 30 were officers. It comprised a Battalion Headquarters and four Companies.'[http://www.1914-1918.net/whatbatt.htm]
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You can also use the search box to find battalions that already have pages. You don't always have to enter the name exactly as it appears in the page title: alternative names will often show up as redirects or part of the page text.
 
You can also use the search box to find battalions that already have pages. You don't always have to enter the name exactly as it appears in the page title: alternative names will often show up as redirects or part of the page text.
  
−
=== Divisions ===
+
==== Infantry brigades ====
  
−
We now have pages for every British infantry division. These pages are listed in [[:Category:British divisions]].
+
We now have a page for nearly every British infantry brigade that has war diaries. These pages are listed in [[:Category:British infantry brigades]].
 +
 
 +
Please feel free to add any missing brigades.
  
−
=== Brigades ===
+
==== Infantry divisions ====
  
−
We now have a page for nearly every British infantry brigade that has war diaries. These pages are listed in [[:Category:British infantry brigades]].
+
We now have pages for every British infantry division. These pages are listed in [[:Category:British divisions]].
  
−
== Cavalry ==
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=== Cavalry and mounted infantry ===
  
−
We do not yet have pages for cavalry or yeomanry.
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We don't yet have pages for cavalry or yeomanry.
  
 
Administrative hierarchy of the British cavalry:
 
Administrative hierarchy of the British cavalry:
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*{{RefTLLT|http://www.1914-1918.net/cavalry.htm|The British cavalry regiments of 1914-1918}} lists British regular and special reserve cavalry regiments, with further reading.
 
*{{RefTLLT|http://www.1914-1918.net/cavalry.htm|The British cavalry regiments of 1914-1918}} lists British regular and special reserve cavalry regiments, with further reading.
 
*{{RefTLLT|http://www.1914-1918.net/yeomanry.htm|The British Yeomanry of 1914-1918}} lists British yeomanry regiments (these were the Territorial branch of the cavalry).
 
*{{RefTLLT|http://www.1914-1918.net/yeomanry.htm|The British Yeomanry of 1914-1918}} lists British yeomanry regiments (these were the Territorial branch of the cavalry).
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*{{RefTLLT|http://www.1914-1918.net/TF_renumbering_yeomanry|Renumbering of the Territorial Force Yeomanry in 1917}} gives details of how yeomanry soldiers were given new service numbers, and also lists which administrative corps each regiment belonged to.
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*{{RefTLLT|http://www.1914-1918.net/TF_renumbering_yeomanry|Renumbering of the Territorial Force Yeomanry in 1917}} lists which administrative corps each regiment belonged to.
 +
 
 +
==== Imperial Camel Corps ====
 +
 
 +
* [[Imperial Camel Corps]]
 +
** [[2nd (British) Battalion, Imperial Camel Corps]]
  
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== Machine Gun Units ==
+
 
 +
=== Machine Gun Units ===
  
 
[[Machine Gun Corps, UK]] consisted of Machine Gun Companies attached to infantry brigades, and later Machine Gun Battalions attached to infantry divisions. Many Machine Gun Companies are listed on the pages of their parent brigades. See [[:Category:British infantry brigades]].
 
[[Machine Gun Corps, UK]] consisted of Machine Gun Companies attached to infantry brigades, and later Machine Gun Battalions attached to infantry divisions. Many Machine Gun Companies are listed on the pages of their parent brigades. See [[:Category:British infantry brigades]].
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== Artillery ==
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=== Artillery ===
  
 
[[Royal Artillery, UK]] was an arm of the British Army, divided into two corps:
 
[[Royal Artillery, UK]] was an arm of the British Army, divided into two corps:
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The basic unit of the Royal Field Artillery was the brigade, which was roughly equivalent to an infantry battalion.
 
The basic unit of the Royal Field Artillery was the brigade, which was roughly equivalent to an infantry battalion.
  
−
== Other regiments, corps and departments ==
+
=== Other regiments, corps and departments ===
  
 
This is a list of other regiments, corps and departments of the British Army.
 
This is a list of other regiments, corps and departments of the British Army.
 +
 
* [[Army Chaplains Department, UK]]
 
* [[Army Chaplains Department, UK]]
−
* [[Army Cyclist Corps, UK]] (administratively part of the infantry)
 
 
* [[Army Ordnance Corps, UK]]
 
* [[Army Ordnance Corps, UK]]
 
* [[Army Pay Corps, UK]]
 
* [[Army Pay Corps, UK]]
 +
* [[Army Pay Department, UK]]
 
* [[Army Service Corps, UK]]
 
* [[Army Service Corps, UK]]
 
* [[Army Veterinary Corps, UK]]
 
* [[Army Veterinary Corps, UK]]
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* [[Non-Combatant Corps, UK]]
 
* [[Non-Combatant Corps, UK]]
 
* [[Royal Army Medical Corps, UK]]
 
* [[Royal Army Medical Corps, UK]]
−
* [[Royal Defence Corps, UK]] (administratively part of the infantry)
 
 
* [[Royal Engineers, UK]]
 
* [[Royal Engineers, UK]]
 
* [[Tank Corps, UK]]
 
* [[Tank Corps, UK]]
  
−
=== Officer Cadet Battalions ===
+
 
 +
==== Officer Cadet Battalions ====
  
 
These battalions were set up to train new officers. They all have pages, listed in [[:Category:British officer cadet battalions]].
 
These battalions were set up to train new officers. They all have pages, listed in [[:Category:British officer cadet battalions]].
  
−
== Higher Formations ==
 
  
−
These are tactical formations above division level:
 
  
−
* [[:Category:British army corps (tactical)]] has pages for every corps except [[Cavalry Corps, UK]], [[Desert Mounted Corps]] (which country did corps headquarters belong to?) and Tank Corps headquarters. These were the next level above divisions.
+
== Volunteer Training Corps ==
−
* [[:Category:British armies]] has pages for all the armies on the Western Front and at Salonika. These were the next level above corps.
+
 
−
* [[:Category:British Empire GHQs]] contains expeditionary forces and other formations that had the general headquarters in a theatre of war. Some pages have been added but several theatres are still missing.
+
Renamed Volunteer Force later in the war, but not to be confused with the old Volunteer Force that became the Territorial Force in 1908. Similar to Home Guard in WW2. Probably unofficial at first but later brought into the British Army.
 +
 
 +
We need more information on the VTC's legal status, and a list of units.
 +
 
  
 
== Colonial units ==
 
== Colonial units ==
  
−
These are units which were legally classed as colonial units, not part of the British Army, or whose status is currently uncertain.
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These were either colonial forces raised by the governments of individual colonies of the British Empire, or imperial forces raised directly by the British Crown outside the United Kingdom.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
=== Colonial infantry ===
 +
 
 +
Please add any missing battalions or regiments by creating red links.
  
−
* [[British West Indies Regiment]]: more information needed.
+
* [[Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps]]
 +
* [[Ceylon Light Infantry]]
 +
* [[Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps]]
 +
* [[Composite Battalion (Gold Coast And Sierra Leone Field Force)]]
 +
* [[Gambia Regiment]]
 +
** [[Gambia Company]]
 
* [[Gold Coast Regiment]]
 
* [[Gold Coast Regiment]]
−
* [[King's African Rifles]]: more information needed.
+
** [[1st Battalion Gold Coast Regiment]]
−
* [[Macedonian Mule Corps]]
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** [[Mounted Infantry Company, Gold Coast Regiment]]
 +
* [[King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[1st Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[1/1st Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[3/1st Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[1/2nd Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[2/2nd Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[3/2nd Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[3rd Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[1/3rd Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[2/3rd Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[3/3rd Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[1/4th Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[2/4th Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[3/4th Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[4/4th Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[5/4th Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[2/6th Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 +
** [[1/7th Battalion King's African Rifles]]
 
* [[Nigeria Regiment]]
 
* [[Nigeria Regiment]]
−
* [[Royal Militia of Jersey]] and [[Royal Guernsey Light Infantry]]: Channel Islands militia usually treated as colonial by the Army Act, but some units taken over by British War Office during First World War.
+
** [[1st Battalion Nigeria Regiment]]
−
* [[Royal Newfoundland Regiment]]: not part of Canadian Expeditionary Force because Newfoundland not part of Canada until 1940s.
+
** [[2nd Battalion Nigeria Regiment]]
−
* [[West India Regiment]]: stated by 1907 Manual of Military Law to be colonial, not British.
+
** [[3rd Battalion Nigeria Regiment]]
−
* [[Zion Mule Corps]]
+
** [[4th Battalion Nigeria Regiment]]
 +
** [[1st Service Battalion Nigeria Regiment]]
 +
** [[2nd Service Battalion Nigeria Regiment]]
 +
** [[3rd Service Battalion Nigeria Regiment]]
 +
** [[4th Service Battalion Nigeria Regiment]]
 +
* [[Northern Rhodesia Rifles]]
 +
* [[Rhodesia Native Regiment]]
 +
* [[Rhodesian Regiment]]
 +
** [[2nd Battalion Rhodesian Regiment]]
 +
* [[Royal Jersey Militia]]
 +
** [[Royal Jersey Garrison Battalion]]
 +
* [[Royal Guernsey Light Infantry]]
 +
** [[1st Battalion Royal Guernsey Light Infantry]]
 +
** [[2nd Battalion Royal Guernsey Light Infantry]]
 +
* [[Royal Malta Regiment]]
 +
* [[Royal Newfoundland Regiment]]
 +
** [[1st Battalion Royal Newfoundland Regiment]]
 +
** [[2nd Battalion Royal Newfoundland Regiment]]
 +
* [[Sierra Leone Battalion]]
 +
* [[South Persia Rifles]]
 +
* [[West African Regiment, Sierra Leone]]
 +
* [[West India Regiment]]
 +
** [[1st Battalion West India Regiment]]
 +
** [[2nd Battalion West India Regiment]]
  
 
=== Colonial labour corps ===
 
=== Colonial labour corps ===
  
 +
* [[Aden Labour Corps]]
 +
* [[Cape Coloured Labour Corps, South African]]
 
* [[Chinese Labour Corps]]
 
* [[Chinese Labour Corps]]
 +
* [[East African Military Labour Corps]]
 
* [[Egyptian Labour Corps]]
 
* [[Egyptian Labour Corps]]
 +
* [[Fijian Labour Corps]]
 +
* [[Jewish Labour Corps]]
 
* [[Maltese Labour Corps]]
 
* [[Maltese Labour Corps]]
 +
* [[Seychelles Labour Corps]]
 
* [[South African Native Labour Corps]]
 
* [[South African Native Labour Corps]]
 +
 +
=== Other colonial units ===
 +
 +
* [[Macedonian Mule Corps]]
 +
* [[Zion Mule Corps]]
 +
 +
 +
== British West Indies Regiment ==
 +
 +
Raised in the United Kingdom but many of the recruits came from British colonies in the West Indies. We need more information about whether this regiment was legally classed as a British or imperial force.
 +
 +
* [[British West Indies Regiment]]
 +
** [[1st Battalion British West Indies Regiment]]
 +
** [[2nd Battalion British West Indies Regiment]]
 +
** [[3rd Battalion British West Indies Regiment]]
 +
** [[4th Battalion British West Indies Regiment]]
 +
** [[5th Battalion British West Indies Regiment]]
 +
** [[6th Battalion British West Indies Regiment]]
 +
** [[7th Battalion British West Indies Regiment]]
 +
** [[8th Battalion British West Indies Regiment]]
 +
** [[9th Battalion British West Indies Regiment]]
 +
** [[10th Battalion British West Indies Regiment]]
 +
** [[11th Battalion British West Indies Regiment]]
 +
 +
 +
== Royal Navy ==
 +
 +
Branches:
 +
 +
* Regular Navy
 +
* Royal Naval Reserve
 +
* Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
 +
 +
Also included the Royal Naval Air Service, which operated aircraft and armoured cars.
 +
 +
=== Royal Navy infantry ===
 +
 +
These infantry units and formations were raised by the Royal Navy but fought on land under Army command.
 +
 +
* [[63rd (Royal Naval) Division, UK]]
 +
* [[1st Royal Naval Brigade, UK]]
 +
* [[188th Infantry Brigade, UK]]
 +
* [[189th Infantry Brigade, UK]]
 +
* [[Anson Battalion, UK]]
 +
* [[Benbow Battalion, UK]]
 +
* [[Collingwood Battalion, UK]]
 +
* [[Drake Battalion, UK]]
 +
* [[Hawke Battalion, UK]]
 +
* [[Hood Battalion, UK]]
 +
* [[Howe Battalion, UK]]
 +
* [[Nelson Battalion, UK]]
 +
 +
 +
== Royal Marines ==
 +
 +
* [[Royal Marine Light Infantry, UK]]
 +
** [[Royal Marine Brigade, UK]]
 +
** [[1st Battalion Royal Marines, UK]]
 +
** [[2nd Battalion Royal Marines, UK]]
 +
** [[Chatham Battalion Royal Marines, UK]]
 +
** [[Deal Battalion Royal Marines, UK]]
 +
** [[Plymouth Battalion Royal Marines, UK]]
 +
** [[Portsmouth Battalion Royal Marines, UK]]
 +
* [[Royal Marine Artillery, UK]]
 +
* [[Royal Marine Engineers, UK]]
 +
 +
 +
== Royal Air Force ==
 +
 +
Formed in April 1918 from the Royal Flying Corps (part of the Army) and Royal Naval Air Service (part of the Royal Navy).
 +
  
 
== Women's organisations ==
 
== Women's organisations ==
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−
== Other Organisations ==
+
== Other organisations ==
  
−
* [[Volunteer Training Corps]], later Volunteer Force. Similar to Home Guard in WW2. Probably unofficial at first but later brought into the British Army.
 
 
* [[British Red Cross]]
 
* [[British Red Cross]]
 
* [[Friends Ambulance Unit]]: set up by Quakers and operated with the British Red Cross and Order of St John. [http://fau.quaker.org.uk/ More information].
 
* [[Friends Ambulance Unit]]: set up by Quakers and operated with the British Red Cross and Order of St John. [http://fau.quaker.org.uk/ More information].
 +
 +
[[Category:United Kingdom]]
 +
[[Category:British Army]]
 +
[[Category:British Empire]]

Revision as of 02:40, 15 May 2015

See how you can help to find out how you can help collect experiences of those in the First World War in their own words; you can also help by filling in the battalions for each regiment. A good source is the Long, Long Trail's page for the British infantry of 1914-1918 and on The British Divisions of 1914-1918. Chris Baker, the site's owner, has kindly given permission to use information from the site. We now have pages for most infantry battalions, but please feel free to get stuck in if you spot a gap!

Here's a list of REGIMENTS and CORPS of the BRITISH ARMY in 1918 (via the Internet Archive as the site appears to have been down for some years).

If you've got a diary, letters or other personal narratives you want to add now:

  • if the page for the author's unit already exists, you can add it straight to the page. See below for which British units do and don't currently have pages.
  • if the page for the author's unit doesn't yet exist, you can create it.
  • if you don't want to create a page or you don't know which unit the author belonged to, you can add the narrative to Lists of personal diaries, letters, memoirs.

To create a new page:

Type the name of the unit, add ", UK" to the end if it's a British unit, then make it into a wiki link by putting two square brackets around the name of the regiment or battalion, like this:

[[1st Battalion Example Regiment, UK]]

This makes it into a red link 1st Battalion Example Regiment, UK; you can click on any red-linked page name to create that page. You can also create a page by entering its name in the search box. If it doesn't already exist, you can click on the red link in the search results.


British Army

The British Army consisted of land forces raised in the United Kingdom apart from the Royal Marines and the Royal Naval Division. It had these branches:

  • Regular Army
  • New Army
  • Territorial Force
  • Special Reserve

Most regiments and corps included a mixture of units from each branch.

Every British army unit that has a page on this site should be listed in Category:All British Army units.

See also British Army Hierarchies for more information about the structure of the Army.

Higher formations

These are tactical formations above division level:


Infantry

Infantry regiments

We now have a page for every infantry regiment of the British Army. The table below shows links to the pages and the regiments' full names. It can be sorted by names or order of precedence.

(WARNING: some of these pages might crash before edits have saved.)

Page Name Full Name Precedence
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, UK Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) 091
Bedfordshire Regiment, UK Bedfordshire Regiment 016
Black Watch, UK Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) 042
Border Regiment, UK Border Regiment 034
Cambridgeshire Regiment, UK Cambridgeshire Regiment 199 04
Cameron Highlanders, UK Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders 079
Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), UK Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) 026
Cheshire Regiment, UK Cheshire Regiment 022
Coldstream Guards, UK Coldstream Guards 000 02
Connaught Rangers, UK Connaught Rangers 088
Devonshire Regiment, UK Devonshire Regiment 011
Dorsetshire Regiment, UK Dorsetshire Regiment 039
Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, UK Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry 032
Durham Light Infantry, UK Durham Light Infantry 068
East Kent Regiment, UK Buffs (East Kent Regiment) 003
East Lancashire Regiment, UK East Lancashire Regiment 030
East Surrey Regiment, UK East Surrey Regiment 031
East Yorkshire Regiment, UK East Yorkshire Regiment 015
Essex Regiment, UK Essex Regiment 044
Gloucestershire Regiment, UK Gloucestershire Regiment 028
Gordon Highlanders, UK Gordon Highlanders 075
Grenadier Guards, UK Grenadier Guards 000 01
Hampshire Regiment, UK Hampshire Regiment 037
Herefordshire Regiment, UK Herefordshire Regiment 199 07
Hertfordshire Regiment, UK Hertfordshire Regiment 199 06
Highland Cyclist Battalion, UK Highland Cyclist Battalion 199 09
Highland Light Infantry, UK Highland Light Infantry 071
Honourable Artillery Company (Infantry), UK Honourable Artillery Company (Infantry) 199 02
Household Battalion, UK Household Battalion 000 00
Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion, UK Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion 199 11
Irish Guards, UK Irish Guards 000 04
Kent Cyclist Battalion, UK Kent Cyclist Battalion 199 10
King's Liverpool Regiment, UK King's (Liverpool Regiment) 008
King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, UK King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) 004
King's Own Scottish Borderers, UK King's Own Scottish Borderers 025
King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, UK King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry) 051
King's Royal Rifle Corps, UK King's Royal Rifle Corps 060
King's Shropshire Light Infantry, UK King's (Shropshire Light Infantry) 053
Lancashire Fusiliers, UK Lancashire Fusiliers 020
Leicestershire Regiment, UK Leicestershire Regiment 017
Leinster Regiment, UK Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) 100
Lincolnshire Regiment, UK Lincolnshire Regiment 010
London Regiment, UK London Regiment 199 05
Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, UK Loyal North Lancashire Regiment 047
Manchester Regiment, UK Manchester Regiment 063
Middlesex Regiment, UK Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) 057
Monmouthshire Regiment, UK Monmouthshire Regiment 199 03
Norfolk Regiment, UK Norfolk Regiment 009
North Staffordshire Regiment, UK Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment) 064
Northamptonshire Regiment, UK Northamptonshire Regiment 048
Northern Cyclist Battalion, UK Northern Cyclist Battalion 199 08
Northumberland Fusiliers, UK Northumberland Fusiliers 005
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, UK Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 043
Rifle Brigade, UK Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) 199 01
Royal Berkshire Regiment, UK Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment) 049
Royal Dublin Fusiliers, UK Royal Dublin Fusiliers 102
Royal Fusiliers, UK Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) 007
Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, UK Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 027
Royal Irish Fusiliers, UK Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers) 087
Royal Irish Regiment, UK Royal Irish Regiment 018
Royal Irish Rifles, UK Royal Irish Rifles 083
Royal Munster Fusiliers, UK Royal Munster Fusiliers 101
Royal Scots Fusiliers, UK Royal Scots Fusiliers 021
Royal Scots, UK Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) 001
Royal Sussex Regiment, UK Royal Sussex Regiment 035
Royal Warwickshire Regiment, UK Royal Warwickshire Regiment 006
Royal Welsh Fusiliers, UK Royal Welsh Fusiliers 023
Royal West Kent Regiment, UK Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) 050
Royal West Surrey Regiment, UK Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) 002
Scots Guards, UK Scots Guards 000 03
Seaforth Highlanders, UK Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) 072
Sherwood Foresters, UK Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) 045
Somerset Light Infantry, UK Prince Albert's (Somerset Light Infantry) 013
South Lancashire Regiment, UK Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) 040
South Staffordshire Regiment, UK South Staffordshire Regiment 038
South Wales Borderers, UK South Wales Borderers 024
Suffolk Regiment, UK Suffolk Regiment 012
Welsh Guards, UK Welsh Guards 000 05
Welsh Regiment, UK Welsh Regiment 041
West Riding Regiment, UK Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) 033
West Yorkshire Regiment, UK Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) 014
Wiltshire Regiment, UK Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire Regiment) 062
Worcestershire Regiment, UK Worcestershire Regiment 029
York and Lancaster Regiment, UK York and Lancaster Regiment 065
Yorkshire Regiment, UK Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment) 019

Also administratively part of the infantry:

Regiment pages show each regiment's parent record office. Record offices also have their own pages, listed in Category:British Army record offices.


Infantry battalions

'The battalion was the basic tactical unit of the infantry of the British Army in the Great War of 1914-1918. At full establishment it consisted of 1,007 men of whom 30 were officers. It comprised a Battalion Headquarters and four Companies.'[1]

We now have pages for most British infantry battalions. Pages for missing Training Reserve battalions that earlier or later belonged to other regiments will be imported soon. Training Reserve or provisional battalions that were never part of another regiment will need to be added manually if any can be identified. There might also be other battalions that need to be added manually, such as any Royal Defence Corps battalions not listed under regiments by E.A. James, and any Royal Marine Light Infantry battalions that were not part of the Royal Naval Division. We don't yet have any information about Volunteer Training Corps battalions.

There are too many battalions to list on this page (already more than 1,600), but there are several ways you can find them:

The regiment pages shown in the table above list nearly all battalions known to have been part of a regiment, even if they don't yet have wiki pages. You can use the names given on the regiment pages to create pages for missing battalions.

The following categories list British infantry battalions:

  • Category:British infantry battalions: all British infantry battalions that have pages, listed alphabetically by regiment, then in order of battalion numbers. Includes Army, Royal Navy and Royal Marines.
    • Also has sub-categories listing certain battalions by uniform distinctions and special roles, but these are not yet complete.
  • Category:British Army infantry battalions by regimental precedence: British Army infantry battalions only, listed in order of regimental precedence as shown in the above table, then in order of battalion numbers.

You can also use the search box to find battalions that already have pages. You don't always have to enter the name exactly as it appears in the page title: alternative names will often show up as redirects or part of the page text.

Infantry brigades

We now have a page for nearly every British infantry brigade that has war diaries. These pages are listed in Category:British infantry brigades.

Please feel free to add any missing brigades.

Infantry divisions

We now have pages for every British infantry division. These pages are listed in Category:British divisions.

Cavalry and mounted infantry

We don't yet have pages for cavalry or yeomanry.

Administrative hierarchy of the British cavalry:

Sources:

  • Template:RefTLLT lists British regular and special reserve cavalry regiments, with further reading.
  • Template:RefTLLT lists British yeomanry regiments (these were the Territorial branch of the cavalry).
  • Template:RefTLLT lists which administrative corps each regiment belonged to.

Imperial Camel Corps


Machine Gun Units

Machine Gun Corps, UK consisted of Machine Gun Companies attached to infantry brigades, and later Machine Gun Battalions attached to infantry divisions. Many Machine Gun Companies are listed on the pages of their parent brigades. See Category:British infantry brigades.

Other machine gun units:


Artillery

Royal Artillery, UK was an arm of the British Army, divided into two corps:

The basic unit of the Royal Field Artillery was the brigade, which was roughly equivalent to an infantry battalion.

Other regiments, corps and departments

This is a list of other regiments, corps and departments of the British Army.


Officer Cadet Battalions

These battalions were set up to train new officers. They all have pages, listed in Category:British officer cadet battalions.


Volunteer Training Corps

Renamed Volunteer Force later in the war, but not to be confused with the old Volunteer Force that became the Territorial Force in 1908. Similar to Home Guard in WW2. Probably unofficial at first but later brought into the British Army.

We need more information on the VTC's legal status, and a list of units.


Colonial units

These were either colonial forces raised by the governments of individual colonies of the British Empire, or imperial forces raised directly by the British Crown outside the United Kingdom.


Colonial infantry

Please add any missing battalions or regiments by creating red links.

Colonial labour corps

Other colonial units


British West Indies Regiment

Raised in the United Kingdom but many of the recruits came from British colonies in the West Indies. We need more information about whether this regiment was legally classed as a British or imperial force.


Royal Navy

Branches:

  • Regular Navy
  • Royal Naval Reserve
  • Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

Also included the Royal Naval Air Service, which operated aircraft and armoured cars.

Royal Navy infantry

These infantry units and formations were raised by the Royal Navy but fought on land under Army command.


Royal Marines


Royal Air Force

Formed in April 1918 from the Royal Flying Corps (part of the Army) and Royal Naval Air Service (part of the Royal Navy).


Women's organisations

More information is needed about the legal and administrative status of these organisations in relation to the British Army.


Other organisations

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