62nd (2nd West Riding) Division

Former artillery division of the British Army

2nd West Riding Division
62nd (2nd West Riding) Division

Division insignia

Active| 1914–1919
Country|  United Kingdom
Branch|  British Army
Type| Infantry
Size| Division
Engagements| World War I
* Battle of Arras (1917)
* Battle of Cambrai (1917)
* Operation Michael (Somme, 1918)
* Second Battle of the Marne
* Second Battle of the Somme (1918)
Commanders
Notable
commanders| Walter Braithwaite

Military unit

The 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that saw active service on the Western Front during the First World War.

## History

[edit]

During the First World War the division fought on the Western Front at Bullecourt[1] in the Battle of Arras and Havrincourt in the Battle of Cambrai. During Operation Michael, in 1918, they were in the line near Arras and in the Second Battle of the Marne, in the Ardre Valley. At the opening of Second Battle of the Somme (1918), they fought the Battle of Havrincourt and continued across the Saint Quentin Canal at Marcoing, before beginning the fighting advance to Maubeuge on the Sambre.[2]

## Order of Battle

[edit]

The order of battle was as follows: [3][4][5]

### 185th (2/1st West Riding) Brigade

[edit]

Main article: 185th (2/1st West Riding) Brigade

* 2/5th Battalion, Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) (joined March 1915, left August 1918)
* 2/6th Battalion, Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) (joined March 1915, left January 1918)
* 2/7th Battalion, Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) (joined March 1915, left June 1918)
* 2/8th Battalion, Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) (joined March 1915, left February 1918)
* 1/8th Battalion, Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) (joined January 1918)
* 1/5th (Prince of Wales's) Battalion, Devonshire Regiment (joined June 1918)
* 2/20th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (joined August 1918)

### 186th (2/2nd West Riding) Brigade

[edit]

Main article: 186th (2/2nd West Riding) Brigade

* 2/4th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (joined March 1915)
* 2/5th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (joined March 1915, left January 1918)
* 2/6th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (joined March 1915, disbanded January 1918)
* 2/7th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (joined March 1915, left as a cadre June 1918)
* 5th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (joined January 1918)
* 2/4th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment (joined June 1918)

### 187th (2/3rd West Riding) Brigade

[edit]

Main article: 187th (2/3rd West Riding) Brigade

* 2/4th Battalion, King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry) (joined March 1915)
* 2/5th Battalion, King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry) (joined March 1915, absorbed 1/5th Bn and became simply 5th Bn February 1918)
* 2/4th Hallamshire Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment (joined March 1915)
* 2/5th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment (joined March 1915, disbanded February 1918)

### 62nd (2nd West Riding) Divisional Artillery

[edit]

Main article: 62nd (2nd West Riding) Divisional Artillery

* 2/I West Riding Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (RFA) (became CCCX Brigade May 1916)
* 2/II West Riding Brigade, RFA (became CCCXI Brigade May 1916; left as independent Army Field Artillery Brigade January 1917)
* 2/III West Riding Brigade, RFA (became CCCXII Brigade May 1916)
* 2/IV West Riding (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA (broken up May 1916)

## General Officer Commanding

[edit]

* Major General Sir James Trotter February 1915 – December 1915[6]
* Major-General Walter Braithwaite December 1915 – August 1918
* Major-General Robert Whigham August 1918 – 1919

## See also

[edit]

* United Kingdom portal

* List of British divisions in World War I

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Anderson 1920, p. 15.
2. ^ Anderson 1920, p. 102.
3. ^ Becke 2007, pp. 41–47.
4. ^ Magnus 2004, pp. 78–81.
5. ^ "62nd (2nd West Riding) Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
6. ^ Wyrall 1924.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Anderson, Austin Thomas (1920). War services of the 62nd West Riding Divisional Artillery. Cambridge: Heffer and Sons. OCLC 558510602.
* Becke, Maj A. F. (2007) [1937]. History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions (facs. repr. Naval & Military Press, Uckfield ed.). London: HMSO. ISBN 1-847347-39-8.
* Magnus, Laurie (2004) [1920]. The West Riding Territorials in the Great War (facs. repr. Naval & Military Press, Uckfield ed.). London: Keegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. ISBN 1-845740-77-7.
* Wyrall, E. (1924). The Story of the 62nd (West Riding) Division, 1914–1919. Vol. I. London: The Bodley Head. OCLC 6256569. Retrieved 4 January 2015.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Mitchinson, K. W. (2021). Of No Earthly Use: The 2nd line Territorial Force divisions and the Western Front, 1914–18. Warwick: Helion. ISBN 978-1-91-405995-7.
* Wyrall, E. (2003) [1928]. The Story of the 62nd (West Riding) Division, 1914–1919. Vol. II (facs. repr. Naval & Military Press, Uckfield ed.). London: The Bodley Head. ISBN 1-84342-582-3.

## External links

[edit]

* Summary of 62nd Division history
* A more detailed history[usurped]
* An operation which earned the 62nd Div much respect

* v
* t
* e

Divisions of the British Army

Active

| Administrative units|

* Guards and Parachute
* Union
* Queen's
* Light

|

Combat units|

* 1st (United Kingdom) Division
* 3rd (United Kingdom) Division

Post-Cold War period

| Administrative units|

* Guards
* King's
* Light
* Prince of Wales's
* Queen's
* Scottish
* Scottish, Welsh and Irish

|

Combat units|

* 1st (UK) Armoured
* 2nd
* 3rd
* 4th
* 5th
* 6th
* Multi-National Division (South-West) (Bosnia)
* Multi-National Division (South-East) (Iraq)

Cold War

| Administrative units|

* Guards
* King's
* Light
* Prince of Wales's
* Queen's
* Scottish

|

Airborne|

* 6th Airborne
* 16th Airborne

Armoured|

* 1st
* 2nd
* 3rd
* 4th
* 6th
* 7th
* 11th
* 49th (West Riding)
* 56th (London)

Infantry|

* 1st
* 2nd
* 3rd
* 5th
* 13th
* 40th
* 42nd (Lancashire)
* 43rd (Wessex)
* 44th (Home Counties)
* 50th (Northumbrian)
* 51st/52nd (Scottish)
* 53rd (Welsh)

Other|

* Artillery Division
* 1st Commonwealth Division
* 17th Gurkha Division

Second World War (list)

| Airborne|

* 1st Airborne
* 6th Airborne

|

Armoured|

* Guards
* 1st
* 2nd
* 6th
* 7th
* 8th
* 9th
* 10th
* 11th
* 42nd
* 79th

Infantry|

* Guards
* 1st
* 2nd
* 3rd
* 4th
* 5th
* 6th
* 7th
* 8th
* 9th (Highland)
* 12th (Eastern)
* 15th (Scottish)
* 18th
* 23rd (Northumbrian)
* 36th
* 38th (Welsh)
* 42nd (East Lancashire)
* 43rd (Wessex)
* 44th (Home Counties)
* 45th
* 46th
* 47th (London)
* 48th (South Midland)
* 49th (West Riding)
* 50th (Northumbrian)
* 51st (Highland)
* 52nd (Lowland)
* 53rd (Welsh)
* 54th (East Anglian)
* 55th (West Lancashire)
* 56th (London)
* 59th (Staffordshire)
* 61st
* 66th
* 70th
* 76th
* 77th
* 78th
* 80th

Anti-Invasion "County Divisions"|

* Devon and Cornwall
* Dorset
* Durham and North Riding
* Essex
* Hampshire
* Lincolnshire
* Norfolk
* Northumberland
* West Sussex
* Yorkshire

Anti-Aircraft|

* 1st
* 2nd
* 3rd
* 4th
* 5th
* 6th
* 7th
* 8th
* 9th
* 10th
* 11th
* 12th

Deception|

* See British deception formations in World War II

African|

* 1st (African)
* 2nd (African)
* 11th (African)
* 11th (East Africa)
* 12th (SDF)
* 81st (West Africa)
* 82nd (West Africa)

Other|

* 1st Cavalry
* Beauman Division
* Royal Marines
* Y Division
* British Army in India

First World War (list)

| Regular Army|

* Guards
* 1st
* 2nd
* 3rd
* 4th
* 5th
* 6th
* 7th
* 8th
* 27th
* 28th
* 29th

|

New Army|

| 1st New Army|

* 9th (Scottish)
* 10th (Irish)
* 11th (Northern)
* 12th (Eastern)
* 13th (Western)
* 14th (Light)

|

2nd New Army|

* 15th (Scottish)
* 16th (Irish)
* 17th (Northern)
* 18th (Eastern)
* 19th (Western)
* 20th (Light)

3rd New Army|

* 21st
* 22nd
* 23rd
* 24th
* 25th
* 26th

4th New Army|

* 30th
* 31st
* 32nd
* 33rd
* 34th
* 35th

5th New Army|

* 36th (Ulster)
* 37th
* 38th (Welsh)
* 39th
* 40th
* 41st

Territorial Force|

| 1st Line|

* 42nd (East Lancashire)
* 43rd (Wessex)
* 44th (Home Counties)
* 46th (North Midland)
* 47th (1/2nd London)
* 48th (South Midland)
* 49th (West Riding)
* 50th (Northumbrian)
* 51st (Highland)
* 52nd (Lowland)
* 53rd (Welsh)
* 54th (East Anglian)
* 55th (West Lancashire)
* 56th (1/1st London)

|

2nd Line|

* 45th (2nd Wessex)
* 57th (2nd West Lancashire)
* 58th (2/1st London)
* 59th (2nd North Midland)
* 60th (2/2nd London)
* 61st (2nd South Midland)
* 62nd (2nd West Riding)
* 63rd (2nd Northumbrian)
* 64th (2nd Highland)
* 65th (2nd Lowland)
* 66th (2nd East Lancashire)
* 67th (2nd Home Counties)
* 68th (2nd Welsh)
* 69th (2nd East Anglian)

Other|

* 63rd (Royal Naval)
* 71st
* 72nd
* 73rd
* 74th (Yeomanry)
* 75th

Cavalry|

| Cavalry|

* 1st
* 2nd
* 3rd

|

Mounted|

* 1st
* 2nd
* 2/2nd (later 3rd)
* 4th
* Yeomanry

Second Boer War (list)

| Infantry|

* 1st
* 2nd
* 3rd
* 4th
* 5th
* 6th
* 7th
* 8th
* 9th
* 10th
* 11th
* Colonial

|

Cavalry|

* Cavalry

Mounted|

* 1st
* 2nd
* 3rd
* 4th
* 5th

Crimean War (list)

* 1st
* 2nd
* 3rd
* 4th
* Cavalry
* Highland
* Light

Napoleonic Wars (list)

* 1st
* 2nd
* 3rd
* 4th
* 5th
* 6th
* 7th
* Light

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