26th Division (United Kingdom)

The 26th Division was an infantry division of the British Army during World War I. The division was created in September 1914 from men volunteering for Lord Kitchener's New Armies and was the last division to be raised under the K3 enlistment scheme. Although the 26th Division began to assemble in September 1914, it was not fully deployed on the Western Front until the following year. In November 1915, the division was redeployed to the Macedonian Front, where it remained until the end of the war.

26th Division
Formation sign of the 26th Division, a strip of blue cloth on the shoulder strap.[1]
ActiveSeptember 1914 – 10 May 1919
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsWorld War I

Unit history

The Division was one of the six created for the Third New Army on 13 September 1914. It moved to France in September 1915 and then transferred to Salonika in November 1915. It saw action at the Battle of Horseshoe Hill in August 1916, the Battles of Doiran in April / May 1917, and the Third Battle of Doiran as well as the Pursuit to the Strumica Valley in September 1918. Demobilization began in February 1919, and the division was formally disbanded on 10 May 1919.[2]

General officers commanding
Rank Name Dates Notes Ref.
Major-General E. C. W. Mackenzie-Kennedy 18 September 1914 – 4 January 1917 Moved to command XII Corps [3]
Brigadier-General A. W. Gay 4 January – 10 March 1917 Temporary
Major-General A. W. Gay 10 March – 7 July 1917 Sick 7/7/17
Brigadier-General A. J. Poole 7 July – 2 August 1917 Acting
Major-General A. W. Gay 2 August – 27 September 1917
Brigadier-General H. D. White-Thompson 27 September – 4 November 1917 Acting
Major-General A. W. Gay 4 November 1917 – 10 May 1919

Order of Battle

The order of battle was as follows:[2]

77th Brigade

78th Brigade

79th Brigade

Divisional Troops

  • 10th (Service) Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment (left August 1915)
  • 8th (Service) Battalion, the Ox & Bucks. Light Infantry (became Divisional Pioneer Battalion in February 1915)
  • 8th (Service) Battalion, the Royal Berkshire Regiment (left August 1915)
  • Divisional Mounted Troops
  • 26th Divisional Train ASC
  • 38th Mobile Veterinary Section AVC
  • 817th Divisional Employment Company (formed October 1917)

Divisional Artillery

  • CXIV Brigade, RFA
  • CXV Brigade, RFA
  • CXVI Brigade, RFA
  • CXVII Brigade, RFA (left 9 August 1917 for 74th (Yeomanry) Division)
  • 26th Divisional Ammunition Column RFA (transferred to XII Corps Ammunition Column, 22 January 1917)
  • 131st Heavy Battery, RGA (raised with the Division, joined XXIII Heavy Artillery Brigade on 12 March 1916)
  • LVII Brigade, RFA (joined September 1917)
  • XXXI Brigade, RFA (attached 17 June to 24 August 1917)
  • IV Highland (Mountain) Brigade, RGA (attached in August 1918)

Royal Engineers

  • 95th Field Company (left 29 January 1915 for 16th (Irish) Division)
  • 96th Field Company (left 1 February 1915 for 20th (Light) Division)
  • 107th Field Company (joined 30 January 1915 from 35th Division)
  • 108th Field Company (joined 30 January 1915 from 35th Division)
  • 131st Field Company (joined 25 April 1915)
  • 26th Divisional Signals Company

Royal Army Medical Corps

  • 78th Field Ambulance (joined 25 August 1915)
  • 79th Field Ambulance (joined 25 August 1915)
  • 80th Field Ambulance (joined 25 August 1915)
  • 43rd Sanitary Section

See also

Notes
  1. Chappell pp. 15-16
  2. Baker, Chris. "26th Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  3. Becke (1938), p. 143.

Bibliography
  • Becke, A. F. (1938). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 3A. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office.
  • Chappell, Mike (1986). British Battle Insignia (1). 1914-18. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9780850457278.
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