List of commanders of the British 1st Division
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1st Division 1st Infantry Division | |
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Active | Raised and disbanded numerous times since 1809 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Engagements | Napoleonic Wars Crimean War Second Boer War First World War Second World War |
The 1st Division was an infantry division of the British Army and was first formed in 1809. The division was commanded by a general officer commanding (GOC), who received orders from a level above him in the chain of command, and then uses the forces within the division to undertake the mission assigned. In addition to directing the tactical battle in which the division is involved, the GOC oversees a staff and the administrative, logistical, medical, training, and discipline of the division.[1]
General officer commanding[edit]
No. | General officer commanding | Rank | Appointment date | Notes | Source(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | John Coape Sherbrooke | Lieutenant-General | 18 June 1809 | The division was formed for the first time, during the Peninsular War, from battalions from the British foot guards as well as the King's German Legion that were based in Portugal. Due to the large number of aristocrats within the division, it was dubbed the "The Gentlemens' Sons'". In April 1810, Sherbrooke returned to the UK due to illness. | [2] |
2 | Stapleton Cotton | Major-General | 26 April 1810 | On 3 June, Cotton took command of the Cavalry Division | [3] |
3 | Brent Spencer | Major-General | 3 June 1810 | Was also second-in-command, to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, of the British forces in the Iberian Peninsula during much of his tenure. | [3] |
Acting | Miles Nightingall | Major-General | 3 May 1811 | Was given command of the division during the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, as Brent Spencer was assigned to also command a corps. Due to his second-in-command position, Spencer commanded all British forces in the Iberian Peninsula during a brief absence by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. As a result, Nightingall likely retained command of the division into June. | [4] |
Acting | Edward Stopford | Brigadier-General | June 1811 | Acting | [5] |
3 | Brent Spencer | Major-General | June 1811 | Was also second-in-command, to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, of the British forces in the Iberian Peninsula during much of his tenure. | [3] |
Acting | Henry Campbell | Major-General | 25 July 1811 | Acting | [6] |
4 | Thomas Graham | Lieutenant-General | 9 August 1811 | Was also second-in-command, to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, of the British forces in the Iberian Peninsula. Departed the peninsular for the UK, prior to the Battle of Salamanca, as a result of an eye infection. | [7] |
5 | Henry Campbell | Major-General | 6 July 1812 | [8] | |
6 | Edward Paget | Major-General | 11 October 1812 | Captured during the retreat following the Battle of Burgos on 17 November 1812 | [8] |
7 | William Stewart | Major-General | 17 November 1812 | [8] | |
8 | Kenneth Howard | Major-General | 25 March 1813 | Howard maintained command of the division until the end of the Peninsular War | [9] |
4 | Thomas Graham | Lieutenant-General | 19 May 1813 | After his return to the Iberian Peninsula, Graham resumed command of the division. However, Kenneth Howard maintained de facto command as Graham was responsible for the left wing of the British force in the peninsula. On 8 October, Graham again left the peninsula due to illness. | [10] |
9 | John Hope | Lieutenant-General | 8 October 1813 | Kenneth Howard maintained de facto command of the division, as Hope was responsible for the left wing of the British force in the peninsula. At the end of the Peninsular War, the division was disbanded in France. | [11] |
10 | George Cooke | Major-General | 11 April 1815 | On 11 April 1815, the division was reformed in Southern Netherlands. Cooke was severely wounded in action, during the Battle of Waterloo, and lost an arm. | [12] |
Acting | John Byng | Major-General | 18 June 1815 | Byng took acting command of the division, during the Battle of Waterloo, following the injury to George Cooke. Later in the day, he also assumed control of I Corps when the Prince of Orange was also injured. | [13] |
Acting | Peregrine Maitland | Major-General | 18 June 1815 | Took over acting command of the division when John Byng assumed control of I Corps. | [14] |
8 | Kenneth Howard | Major-General | 23 July 1815 | [13] | |
Acting | John Byng | Major-General | 22 August 1815 | Went on leave in October, leaving the division without a commanding officer until the British Army organisation in November 1815. | [13] |
11 | Galbraith Lowry Cole | Major-General | 30 November 1815 | On this date, the British Army in France was reorganised into an Army of Occupation, and Cole was given command. The division was disbanded in December 1818 when the British military withdrew from France. | [15] |
12 | George Duke of Cambridge | Lieutenant-General | 20 June 1854 | The division was formed in Varna, Ottoman Bulgaria, from British troops who had been assembled, and had prepared to move to the Crimean peninsular during the Crimean War. On 25 November 1854, the Duke had boarded a ship bound back for the UK due to illness. | [16][17] |
Acting | Henry Lockyer | Brigadier-General (acting rank) |
November 1854 | Acting | [18] |
13 | Colin Campbell | Lieutenant-General | 23 January 1855 | [19][20] | |
14 | Henry Robinson-Montagu | Lieutenant-General | 30 July 1855 | [21][22] | |
Acting | Charles Ridley | Brigadier-General | August 1855 | Acting | [23] |
14 | Henry Robinson-Montagu | Lieutenant-General | August 1855 | In 1856, after the end of the Crimean War, the division was disbanded in Crimea. | [24] |
15 | Paul Methuen | Lieutenant-General | 9 October 1899 | A new 2nd Division was formed in England, and then moved to southern Africa to fight in the Second Boer War. Methuen maintained command through to the end of 1900 when, while still in southern Africa, the division was broken-up. | [25][26] |
16 | Arthur Paget | Major-General | 30 September 1902 | A new 1st Division was formed in the UK | [27][28] |
17 | James Grierson | Major-General | 6 October 1906 | [29] | |
18 | Samuel Lomax | Major-General | 6 October 1906 | During Lomax's tenure, the division was mobilised for service in the First World War. Lomax was wounded in action on 31 October 1914, during the First Battle of Ypres | [30][31] |
Temporary | Herman Landon | Major-General | 31 October 1914 | Temporary | [32] |
19 | David Henderson | Major-General | 22 November 1914 | [32] | |
20 | Richard Haking | Major-General | 19 December 1914 | [32] | |
21 | Arthur Holland | Major-General | 11 September 1915 | [32] | |
22 | Peter Strickland | Major-General | 12 June 1916 | The First World War ended in November 1918, and the division entered Germany one month later. In March 1919, elements of the division were used to create the 'Western Division' of the British Army of the Rhine, while the rest of the division was demobilised and returned to England where it was reformed. | [33] |
23 | Guy Bainbridge | Major-General | 4 June 1919 | The division was reformed in England on this date. During Bainbridge's tenure, the division dispatched troops to reinforce British forces fighting in the Irish War of Independence and also sent troops to reinforce the British presence during the Occupation of Constantinople. | [34][35][36] |
24 | Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd | Major-General | 4 June 1923 | [37] | |
25 | Cecil Romer | Major-General | 1 April 1926 | [38] | |
26 | John Duncan | Major-General | 14 March 1928 | [39] | |
27 | Felix Ready | Major-General | 15 December 1928 | [40] | |
28 | Wentworth Harman | Major-General | 9 November 1930 | [41] | |
29 | John Kennedy | Major-General | 21 April 1934 | During Kennedy's tenure, the division dispatched troops to the Territory of the Saar Basin to oversee the 1935 Saar status referendum. | [34][42] |
30 | Clement Armitage | Major-General | 18 February 1936 | In 1936, the division dispatched detachments of troops to Palestine following the start of the Arab revolt. | [34][43] |
31 | Harold Alexander | Major-General | 14 February 1938 | During Alexander's tenure, the division was mobilised for service in the Second World War, dispatched to France, and fought in the Battle of France | [44][45] |
Acting | Merton Beckwith-Smith | Brigadier | 31 May 1940 | Acting | [46] |
31 | Harold Alexander | Major-General | 3 June 1940 | The division was evacuated from France, during June 1940, and returned to England. | [44] |
Acting | Merton Beckwith-Smith | Brigadier | 9 June 1940 | Acting | [46] |
32 | Kenneth Anderson | Major-General | 13 June 1940 | [46] | |
33 | Edwin Morris | Major-General | 19 May 1941 | [46] | |
34 | Walter Clutterbuck | Major-General | 18 November 1941 | During Clutterbuck's tenure, the division was dispatched to Africa to fight in the Tunisian campaign of the Second World War. | [46] |
35 | Ronald Penney | Major-General | 14 October 1943 | During Penney's tenure, the division was dispatched to fight in the Italian campaigns of the Second World War. | [44] |
Temporary | Gerald Templer | Major-General | 18 February 1944 | Templer was the commanding officer of the 56th (London) Infantry Division at this time, when he was appointed to temporary command of the 1st Division. | [44] |
35 | Ronald Penney | Major-General | 23 February 1944 | [46] | |
Temporary | John Hawkesworth | Major-General | 4 May 1944 | Temporary | [44] |
Acting | Charles Loewen | Brigadier | 24 May 1944 | Acting | [46] |
35 | Ronald Penney | Major-General | 14 June 1944 | [46] | |
36 | Charles Loewen | Major-General | 24 July 1944 | In February 1945, the division left Italy and moved to Palestine. It was still in Palestine when the Second World War ended. | [44] |
37 | Richard Gale | Major-General | 1946 | ||
38 | Horatius Murray | Major-General | 1947 | ||
39 | Francis Matthews | Major-General | 1950 | [47] | |
40 | Thomas Brodie | Major-General | 1952 | ||
41 | Rodney Moore | Major-General | 1955 | ||
42 | Guy Gregson | Major-General | 1956 | ||
43 | Reginald Hobbs | Major-General | 1959 |
General officers commanding 1st (United Kingdom) Division[edit]
GOC 1st Division[edit]
- 1960–1961 Major-General Alan Jolly
- 1961–1963 Major-General Thomas Pearson
- 1963–1965 Major-General Miles Fitzalan-Howard
- 1965–1968 Major-General Richard Ward
- 1968–1970 Major-General Allan Taylor
- 1970–1972 Major-General Jack Harman
- 1972–1973 Major-General Edwin Bramall
- 1973–1975 Major-General John Stanier
GOC 1st Armoured Division[edit]
- 1975–1977 Major-General David Alexander-Sinclair
- 1977–1979 Major-General Richard Lawson
- 1979–1982 Major-General Geoffrey Howlett
- 1982–1983 Major-General Brian Kenny
- 1983–1985 Major-General David Thorne
- 1985–1987 Major-General Anthony Mullens
- 1987–1989 Major-General Richard Swinburn
- 1989–1990 Major-General Roger Wheeler
- 1990–1992 Major-General Rupert Smith
- 1992–1993 Major-General Iain Mackay-Dick
GOC 1st (UK) Armoured Division[edit]
- 1993–1994 Major General Anthony Denison-Smith
- 1994–1996 Major General Roddy Cordy-Simpson
- 1996–1998 Major General John Kiszely
- 1998–2000 Major General Redmond Watt
- 2000–2003 Major General Robin Brims
- 2003–2005 Major General Peter Wall
- 2005–2006 Major General John Cooper
- 2006–2009 Major General Graham Binns
- 2009–2011 Major General Adrian Bradshaw
- 2011–2012 Major-General James Bashall
- 2012–2014 Major-General James Chiswell
GOC 1st (United Kingdom) Division[edit]
- 2014–2015 Major-General James Chiswell
- 2015–2017 Major-General Giles Hill
- 2017–2018 Major-General Ralph Wooddisse
- 2018–2020 Major-General Colin Weir
- 2020–Present Major-General Charles Collins
Notes[edit]
- ^ Haythornthwaite 2016, The Divisional System.
- ^ Reid 2004, pp. 35–36.
- ^ a b c Reid 2004, p. 36.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham 2017, p. 209.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham 2017, p. 281.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham 2017, pp. 85–86.
- ^ Reid 2004, pp. 36–38.
- ^ a b c Reid 2004, p. 38.
- ^ Reid 2004, pp. 39–40.
- ^ Reid 2004, p. 39.
- ^ Reid 2004, pp. 39–40; Oman 1930, p. 513.
- ^ Weller 2010, p. 34; Siborne 1900, p. 783; Dalton 1904, p. 18.
- ^ a b c McGuigan & Burnham 2017, p. 77.
- ^ McGuigan & Burnham 2017, p. 205.
- ^ Ross-of-Bladensburg 1896, pp. 48–50; Veve 1992, p. 159.
- ^ Barthorp 1980, p. 155; McGuigan 2001, p. 13; Hospital report 1855, p. 226.
- ^ "No. 21564". The London Gazette. 22 June 1854. p. 1931.
- ^ McGuigan 2001, p. 33.
- ^ McGuigan 2001, p. 44.
- ^ "No. 21653". The London Gazette. 23 January 1855. p. 251.
- ^ McGuigan 2001, p. 49.
- ^ "No. 21754". The London Gazette. 31 July 1855. p. 2913.
- ^ McGuigan 2001, p. 54.
- ^ McGuigan 2001, p. 54; Demchak 2011, p. 127.
- ^ Creswicke 1900, Chart of Staff Appointments Made at the Commencement of the War; Creswicke 1901, p. 138; War in South Africa 1908, pp. 379, 529; Dunlop 1938, p. 72.
- ^ "No. 27126". The London Gazette. 13 October 1899. p. 6179.
- ^ "No. 27482". The London Gazette. 14 October 1902. p. 6496. and "No. 27956". The London Gazette. 9 October 1906. p. 6791.
- ^ "Naval & Military Intelligence". The Times. No. 60557. 3 October 1902. p. 8.
- ^ "No. 27956". The London Gazette. 9 October 1906. p. 6791. and "No. 28407". The London Gazette. 16 August 1910. p. 5947.
- ^ Becke 1935, pp. 33, 38.
- ^ "No. 28407". The London Gazette. 16 August 1910. p. 5947.
- ^ a b c d Becke 1935, p. 33.
- ^ Becke 1935, pp. 33, 39; Kennedy & Crabb 1977, p. 243.
- ^ a b c Lord & Watson 2003, p. 24.
- ^ "No. 31623". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 October 1919. p. 13230. and "No. 32834". The London Gazette. 15 June 1923. p. 4208.
- ^ "War Office, Monthly Army List, December 1920". London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1920. p. 29.
- ^ "No. 32834". The London Gazette. 15 June 1923. p. 4208. and "No. 33150". The London Gazette. 13 April 1926. p. 2552.
- ^ "No. 33150". The London Gazette. 13 April 1926. p. 2552.
- ^ "No. 33369". The London Gazette. 23 March 1928. p. 2133. and "No. 33451". The London Gazette. 28 December 1928. p. 8539.
- ^ "No. 33451". The London Gazette. 28 December 1928. p. 8540. and "No. 33660". The London Gazette. 11 November 1930. p. 7175.
- ^ "No. 33661". The London Gazette. 14 November 1930. p. 7252. and "No. 34043". The London Gazette. 20 April 1934. p. 2545.
- ^ "No. 34045". The London Gazette. 27 April 1934. p. 2707. and "No. 34256". The London Gazette. 18 February 1936. p. 1058.
- ^ "No. 34258". The London Gazette. 1 February 1936. p. 1164. and "No. 34493". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 March 1938. p. 1751.
- ^ a b c d e f Joslen 2003, pp. 35–36.
- ^ "No. 34487". The London Gazette. 25 February 1938. p. 1261.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Joslen 2003, p. 35.
- ^ "Army Notes". Royal United Services Institution. 95:579 (579): 524. 1950. doi:10.1080/03071845009434082.
References[edit]
- Barthorp, Michael (1980). The Armies of Britain, 1485–1980. London: National Army Museum. OCLC 252418281.
- Becke, Archibald Frank (1935). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 1: The Regular British Divisions. London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office. OCLC 929528172.
- Creswicke, Louis (1900). South Africa and the Transvaal War. Vol. II — From the commencement of the war to the Battle of Colenso, 15th Dec. 1899. Edinburgh: T. C. & E. C. Jack. OCLC 154231374 – via gutenberg.org.
- Creswicke, Louis (1901). South Africa and the Transvaal War. Vol. VI. Edinburgh: T. C. & E. C. Jack. OCLC 154231374.
- Dalton, Charles (1904). The Waterloo Roll Call (2nd ed.). London: Eyre and Spottiswoode. OCLC 558745289 – via archive.org.
- Demchak, Chris C. (2011). Wars of Disruption and Resilience: Cybered Conflict, Power, and National Security. Athens, Georgia: The University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-82034-137-8.
- Dunlop, John K. (1938). The Development of the British Army 1899–1914. London: Methuen. OCLC 59826361.
- Haythornthwaite, Philip (2016). Picton's Division at Waterloo. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-78159-102-4.
- Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1990]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
- Kennedy, Alistair; Crabb, George Felix (1977). The Postal History of the British Army in World War I, Before and After, 1903–1929. Ewell, Surrey: G. Crabb. OCLC 60058343.
- Lord, Cliff; Watson, Graham (2003). The Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920–2001) and its Antecedents. West Midlands: Helion. ISBN 978-1-874622-07-9.
- McGuigan, Ron (2001). 'Into Battle!' British Orders of Battle for the Crimean War, 1854–56. Bowdon, Cheshire: Withycut House. ISBN 978-1-89924-402-7.
- McGuigan, Ron; Burnham, Robert (2017). Wellington's Brigade Commanders. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-47385-079-8.
- Oman, Charles (1930). A History of the Peninsular War. Vol. VII August 1813 – April 14, 1814. Oxford: Oxford University Press. OCLC 185228609 – via archive.org.
- Reid, Stuart (2004). Wellington's Army in the Peninsula 1809–14. Battle Orders 2. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-517-4.
- Report upon the State of the Hospitals of the British Army in the Crimea and Scutari. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1855. OCLC 14530844.
- Ross-of-Bladensburg, John Foster George (1896). A History of the Coldstream Guards from 1815 to 1895. London: A.D. Inness & Co. OCLC 1152610342 – via Gutenberg.org.
- Siborne, William (1900). The Waterloo Campaign (5th ed.). Westminster: Archibald Constable and Co. OCLC 672639901.
- Veve, Thomas Dwight (1992). The Duke of Wellington and the British Army of Occupation in France, 1815-1818. Westport, Connecticut and London: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-31327-941-6.
- History of the War in South Africa. Vol. III. London: Hurst and Blackett Limited. 1908. OCLC 775290586 – via archive.org.
- Weller, Jac (2010) [1992]. Wellington at Waterloo. Barnsley: Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-84832-586-9.
Categories:
- British Army personnel by war
- British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
- British Army personnel of the Peninsular War
- British Army personnel of the Crimean War
- British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
- British Army personnel of World War I
- British Army personnel of World War II
- British Army general officer commanding lists