The Territorial Force was established on 1 April 1908 as a volunteer auxiliary to the British Army. It was formed by the amalgamation of the former auxiliary institutions of the Volunteer Force and the yeomanry. Designed primarily as a home defence force, its members could not be compelled to serve overseas unless they volunteered to do so. On the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, many did. The first units were deployed piecemeal in support of the regular army as it defended against the opening German offensive in Belgium and France in 1914. The first territorial divisions to be deployed were used to free up imperial garrisons overseas, but in 1915 they began to be deployed to the front lines on the Western Front and at Gallipoli. The pre-war territorial divisions were numbered in May 1915 in order of their deployment. As they were deployed, second-line divisions were raised to replace them at home, and in 1916 these began to be deployed to combat zones. By the end of the war in 1918, the Territorial Force had provided 28 divisions and 14 mounted brigades.Beckett 2011 pp. 213–217 & 230Becket 2008 pp. 54, 57 & 79Mitchinson pp. 59, 62 & 204Beckett 2004 p. 132
Infantry divisions Number Name Second-line Recruitment Area Notes References 42nd East Lancashire Division 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division Cumberland, part of Lancashire and Westmorland Becke 2A pp. 35–41Becke 2B pp. 67–74 43rd Wessex Division 45th (2nd Wessex) Division Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset, Wiltshire Becke 2A pp. 43–48Becke 2A pp. 55–60 44th Home Counties Division 67th (2nd Home Counties) Division Middlesex, Kent, Surrey and Sussex Second-line division lost territorial association early 1918 Becke 2A pp. 49–54Becke 2B pp. 75–82 46th North Midland Division 59th (2nd North Midland) Division Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland and Staffordshire Becke 2A pp. 61–67Becke 2B pp. 17–23 47th 2nd London Division 60th (2/2nd London) Division County of London Becke 2A pp. 69–75Becke 2B pp. 25–32 48th South Midland Division 61st (2nd South Midland) Division Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire Becke 2A pp. 77–834Becke 2B pp. 33–39 49th West Riding Division 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division West Riding of Yorkshire Becke 2A pp. 85–91Becke 2B pp. 41–48 50th Northumbrian Division 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division County Durham, Northumberland, East and North Ridings of Yorkshire Second-line division broken up in July 1916 Becke 2A pp. 93–100Becke 2B pp. 49–54 51st Highland Division 64th (2nd Highland) Division Aberdeen and Dundee, the counties of Aberdeenshire, Argyllshire, Banffshire, Buteshire, Caithness, Clackmannanshire, Dunbartonshire, Elginshire, Fife, Forfarshire, Inverness-shire, Kinross-shire, Nairnshire, Renfrewshire, Shetland, Stirlingshire, Sutherland and part of Lanarkshire Second-line division lost territorial association early 1918 Becke 2A pp. 101–107Becke 2B pp. 55–59 52nd Lowland Division 65th (2nd Lowland) Division Edinburgh and Glasgow, Counties of Berwickshire, Dumfriesshire, Haddingtonshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, Linlithgowshire, Midlothian, Peeblesshire, Selkirkshire, Wigtownshire and part of Lanarkshire Second-line division broken up 18 March 1918 Becke 2A pp. 109–115Becke 2B pp. 61–65 53rd Welsh Division 68th (2nd Welsh) Division Wales, Monmouthshire, Cheshire, Herefordshire and Shropshire Second-line division lost territorial association early 1918 Becke 2A pp. 117–123Becke 2B pp. 83–90 54th East Anglian Division 69th (2nd East Anglian) Division Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Suffolk Second-line division lost territorial association early 1918 Becke 2A pp. 125–131Becke 2B pp. 91–98 55th West Lancashire Division 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division Lancashire and Liverpool Becke 2A pp. 133–139Becke 2B pp. 1–7 56th 1st London Division 58th (2/1st London) Division City of London and County of London Becke 2A pp. 141–147Becke 2B pp. 9–15
Mounted units The original mounted brigades were:Westlake pp. 14–15 Eastern Mounted Brigade Highland Mounted Brigade London Mounted Brigade Lowland Mounted Brigade North Midland Mounted Brigade Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Mounted Brigade South Eastern Mounted Brigade 1st South Midland Mounted Brigade 2nd South Midland Mounted Brigade South Wales Mounted Brigade 1st South Western Mounted Brigade 2nd South Western Mounted Brigade Welsh Border Mounted Brigade Yorkshire Mounted Brigade
A number of yeomanry divisions were also formed:
Name Formed Theatre Notes References 1st Mounted Division August 1914 Home defence Became the 1st Cyclist Division in July 1916. Disbanded November 1916. Becke 2A p. 7 2nd Mounted Division September 1914 Gallipoli Campaign Fought dismounted at Gallipoli. Disbanded January 1916. Becke 2A pp. 16–17 3rd Mounted Division March 1915 Home defence Formed as the second-line 2/2nd Mounted Division. Renamed to 3rd Mounted Division March 1916. Renamed to 1st Mounted Division July 1916. Renamed to Cyclist Division September 1917. Disbanded June 1919. Becke 2A pp. 25–26 4th Mounted Division March 1916 Home defence Renamed to 2nd Cyclist Division July 1916. Disbanded November 1916. Becke 2A p. 30 Yeomanry Mounted Division July 1917 Sinai and Palestine Campaign Lost its yeomanry affiliation April 1918, becoming an Indian division and renamed to 1st Mounted Division. Becke 2A p. 34 74th (Yeomanry) Division April 1917 Sinai and Palestine CampaignWestern Front Formed from dismounted yeomanry. Transferred to France May 1918. Disbanded July 1919. Becke 2A pp. 121–122
Other divisions
Also considered divisions of the Territorial Force were: 71st, 72nd and 73rd Divisions – formed late 1916 as Home Service divisions; all broken up early 1918.Becke 2B pp. 101–105 75th Division – mixed Territorial Force and Indian Army division formed in June 1917.Becke 2B pp. 129–130
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