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

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'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]
 
−
 
 
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, so populating this page from those is a high priority task. Please feel free to get stuck in if you spot a gap!
  
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I'm working on a definitive list of British battalions and regiments from 1914-1918, starting with the infantry, but 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). '''If you've got a diary you want to add now, please just click 'Edit' above, and add the name of the author's regiment.''' Add 'British infantry' or another appropriate label to help differentiate between units across different armies, then make it into a wiki link by putting two square brackets around the name of the regiment or battalion, like this:
+
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).
  
−
<nowiki>[[Royal Warwickshire Regiment, British infantry]]</nowiki>
+
'''If you've got a diary, letters or other personal narratives you want to add now:'''
  
−
This makes it into a red link [[Royal Warwickshire Regiment, British infantry]]; you can click on any red-linked page name to create that page.
+
*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]].
  
−
=== Uncategorised and miscellaneous regiments ===
+
To create a new page:
−
This is a great place to add any units that aren't yet linked, so they can be slotted in later.
 
  
−
There is also a [[British divisions in World War I|list of British divisions in World War I]].
+
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:
  
−
* [[Guards Machine Gun Regiment, British infantry]] (aka 6th or Machine Gun Regiment of Foot Guards)
+
<nowiki>[[Royal Army Medical Corps, UK]]</nowiki>
−
* [[No 1 (1st Life Guards) Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
* [[No 2 (2nd Life Guards) Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
* [[No 3 (Royal Horse Guards) Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
* [[4th (Foot Guards) Battalion, British infantry]] (formerly 4th Battalion Machine Gun Guards)
 
−
* [[The Household Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
* [[Royal Militia of Jersey, British infantry]]
 
−
* [[Royal Guernsey Light Infantry, British infantry]]
 
−
* [[The British West Indies Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
* [[Royal Newfoundland Regiment, British infantry]]
 
  
−
Regiments and battalions below added from the listings on http://www.1914-1918.net/regiments.htm (with many thanks to Chris Baker)
+
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.
  
−
=== Coldstream Guards ===
 
−
[[1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards, British infantry]]
 
  
−
[[2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, British infantry]]
+
== Infantry ==
  
−
[[3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, British infantry]]
+
=== Regiments ===
  
−
[[4th Battalion (Pioneers), Coldstream Guards, British infantry]]
+
We now have a page for every infantry regiment of the British Army except the London Regiment. The table below shows links to the pages and the regiments' full names. It can be sorted by names or order of precedence.
−
Formed as Guards Pioneer Battalion, but soon redesignated.
 
  
−
[[5th (Reserve) Battalion, Coldstream Guards, British infantry]]
+
(WARNING: some of these pages are very big and might crash before edits have saved.)
−
Formed as 4th (Reserve) Battalion; redesignated as 5th (Reserve) Battalion.
 
  
−
[[1st Provisional Battalion, Coldstream Guards, British infantry]]
+
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 +
!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 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
 +
|-
 +
|[[Liverpool Regiment, UK]]
 +
|King's (Liverpool Regiment)
 +
|008
 +
|-
 +
|[[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
 +
|}
  
−
=== Grenadier Guards ===
+
Regiment pages show each regiment's parent record office. Record offices also have their own pages, listed in [[:Category:British Army record offices]].
  
−
[[1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards, British infantry]]
 
  
−
[[2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards, British infantry]]
+
=== Battalions ===
  
−
[[3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards, British infantry]]
+
'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]
  
−
[[4th Battalion, Grenadier Guards, British infantry]]
+
We now have pages for every British infantry battalion that has an official war diary, except for the London Regiment and the Royal Naval Division. Pages for missing battalions will be imported later.
  
−
[[5th (Reserve) Battalion, Grenadier Guards, British infantry]]
+
There are too many battalions to list on this page (already more than 1,000), but there are several ways you can find them:
  
−
[[1st Provisional Battalion, Grenadier Guards, British infantry]]
+
The regiment pages shown in the table above list ALL battalions known to have been part of a regiment, even if they don't have war diaries or wiki pages. You can use the names given on the regiment pages to create pages for missing battalions.
  
−
=== Irish Guards ===
+
The following categories list British infantry battalions:
  
−
[[1st Battalion, Irish Guards, British infantry]]
+
* [[:Category:British infantry battalions]]: all British infantry battalions that have pages, listed alphabetically by regiment, then in order of battalion numbers.
 +
** 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]]: all British Army infantry battalions, listed in order of regimental precedence as shown in the above table, then in order of battalion numbers.
  
−
[[2nd Battalion, Irish Guards, British infantry]]
+
You can also use the search box to find battalions that already have pages. You don't 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.
  
−
[[3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Irish Guards, British infantry]]
 
  
−
=== Scots Guards ===
+
=== Divisions ===
  
−
[[1st Battalion, Scots Guards, British infantry]]
+
We now have pages for every British infantry division except the Royal Naval Division. These pages are listed in [[:Category:British divisions]].
  
−
[[2nd Battalion, Scots Guards, British infantry]]
+
=== Brigades ===
  
−
[[3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Scots Guards, British infantry]]
+
We now have a page for every British infantry brigade that has war diaries, except those in the Royal Naval Division. These pages are listed in [[:Category:British infantry brigades]].
  
−
=== Welsh Guards ===
 
  
−
[[1st Battalion, Welsh Guards, British infantry]]
+
== Cavalry ==
  
−
[[2nd (Reserve) Battalion, Welsh Guards, British infantry]]
+
We do not yet have pages for cavalry or yeomanry.
  
−
=== Line Regiments ===
 
−
[[Argyll &amp; Sutherland Highlanders Regiment, British infantry]]
 
  
−
[[Bedfordshire Regiment, British infantry]]
+
== Machine Gun Units ==
  
−
[[Black Watch Regiment, British infantry]]
+
[[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]].
  
−
[[Border Regiment, British infantry]]
+
Other machine gun units:
  
−
[[Buffs (East Kent) Regiment, British infantry]]
+
* [[Motor Machine Gun Service, UK]]
 +
* [[Guards Machine Gun Regiment, UK]] (formerly Machine Gun Guards):
 +
** [[1st Battalion Guards Machine Gun Regiment, UK]]
 +
** [[2nd Battalion Guards Machine Gun Regiment, UK]]
 +
** [[3rd Battalion Guards Machine Gun Regiment, UK]]
 +
** [[4th Battalion Guards Machine Gun Regiment, UK]]
  
−
[[Cameron Highlanders Regiment, British infantry]]
 
  
−
[[Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) Regiment, British infantry]]
+
== Artillery ==
  
−
[[Cheshire Regiment, British infantry]]
+
[[Royal Artillery, UK]] was an arm of the British Army, divided into two corps:
−
* [[6th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
  
−
[[Connaught Rangers Regiment, British infantry]]
+
* [[Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Field Artillery, UK]]; divided into two distinct identities:
 +
** [[Royal Horse Artillery, UK]]
 +
** [[Royal Field Artillery, UK]]
 +
* [[Royal Garrison Artillery, UK]]
  
−
[[Devonshire Regiment, British infantry]]
+
The basic unit of the Royal Field Artillery was the brigade, which was roughly equivalent to an infantry battalion.
  
−
[[Dorsetshire Regiment, British infantry]]
+
== Other regiments and corps ==
  
−
[[Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
+
This is a list of other regiments and corps of the British Army.
  
−
[[Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment, British infantry]]
+
* [[Army Cyclist Corps, UK]] (administratively part of the infantry)
 +
* [[Army Ordnance Corps, UK]]
 +
* [[Army Service Corps, UK]]
 +
* [[Army Veterinary Corps, UK]]
 +
* [[Labour Corps, UK]]
 +
* [[Military Police, UK]] divided into:
 +
** [[Military Foot Police, UK]]
 +
** [[Military Mounted Police, UK]]
 +
* [[Non-Combatant Corps, UK]]
 +
* [[Royal Army Medical Corps, UK]]
 +
* [[Royal Defence Corps, UK]] (administratively part of the infantry)
 +
* [[Royal Engineers, UK]]
 +
* [[Tank Corps, UK]]
  
−
[[Durham Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
+
== Colonial units ==
  
−
[[East Lancashire Regiment, British infantry]]
+
These are units which were legally classed as colonial units, not part of the British Army, or whose status is currently uncertain.
  
−
[[East Surrey Regiment, British infantry]]
+
* [[British West Indies Regiment]]: more information needed.
 +
* [[King's African Rifles]]: more information needed.
 +
* [[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.
 +
* [[Royal Newfoundland Regiment]]: not part of Canadian Expeditionary Force because Newfoundland not part of Canada until 1940s.
 +
* [[West India Regiment]]: stated by 1907 Manual of Military Law to be colonial, not British.
  
−
[[East Yorkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
  
−
[[Essex Regiment, British infantry]]
+
== Women's organisations ==
−
 
 
−
[[Gloucestershire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
 
−
[[Gordon Highlanders Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
 
−
[[Hampshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
 
−
[[Highland Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
 
−
[[King's (Liverpool) Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
 
−
[[King's Own (Royal Lancaster) Regiment, British infantry]]
 
  
−
[[King's Own Scottish Borderers Regiment, British infantry]]
+
More information is needed about the legal and administrative status of these organisations in relation to the British Army.
  
−
[[King's (Shropshire Light Infantry) Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry) Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[King's Royal Rifle Corps Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Lancashire Fusiliers Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Leicestershire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[1st Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[2nd Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[3rd (Reserve) Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[1/4th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[2/4th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[3/4th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[4th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[1/5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[2/5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[3/5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[6th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[7th (Service) Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[8th (Service) Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[9th (Reserve) Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[10th (Service) Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[11th (Reserve) Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[12th (Labour) Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[13th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[1st Garrison Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[2nd (Home Service) Garrison Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Leinster Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Manchester Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Middlesex Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[1st Battalion Middlesex Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[2nd Battalion Middlesex Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[3rd Battalion Middlesex Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[4th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, British infantry]]
 
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*[[5th (Reserve) Battalion Middlesex Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
*[[6th (Reserve) Battalion Middlesex Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Norfolk Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Northamptonshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[North Staffordshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Northumberland Fusiliers Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Ox &amp; Bucks Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Rifle Brigade Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]] (The Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment)
 
−
* [[1st Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[2nd Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[5th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[6th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[7th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[8th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[9th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]] (37th Training Reserve Battalion)
 
−
 
−
* [[10th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[11th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[12th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[13th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[1/4th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[2/4th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[3/4th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Royal Dublin Fusiliers Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Royal Fusiliers Regiment, British infantry]]
 
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[[Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers Regiment, British infantry]]
 
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−
[[Royal Irish Fusiliers Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Royal Irish Regiment, British infantry]]
 
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[[Royal Irish Rifles Regiment, British infantry]]
 
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[[Royal Munster Fusiliers Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Royal Scots Regiment, British infantry]]
 
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−
[[Royal Scots Fusiliers Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Royal Sussex Regiment, British infantry]]
 
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−
[[Royal Warwickshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Royal Welsh Fusiliers Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Royal West Kent Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Seaforth Highlanders Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Sherwood Foresters (Notts &amp; Derbys) Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
* [[1st Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[2nd Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[1/4th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[1/5th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[2/4th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[2/5th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[3/4th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[3/5th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[11th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[12th (West Somerset Yeomanry) Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[6th (Service) Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[7th (Service) Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[8th (Service) Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[9th (Reserve) Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[10th (Home Service) Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[13th (Home Service) Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
* [[1st Garrison Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[South Lancashire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[South Staffordshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[South Wales Borderers Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Suffolk Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Welsh Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[West Yorkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Wiltshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Worcestershire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[York and Lancaster Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Yorkshire Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
=== Territorial-only Regiments ===
 
−
[[Cambridgeshire, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Herefordshire, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Hertfordshire, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Highland Cyclist Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Honourable Artillery Company, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Kent Cyclist Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[London Regiment, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Monmouthshire, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[Northern Cyclist Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
=== Machine Gun Battalions ===
 
−
[[39 Machine Gun Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[101 Machine Gun Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[[104 Machine Gun Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[["A" Machine Gun Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[["B" Machine Gun Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[["C" Machine Gun Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[["D" Machine Gun Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[["E" Machine Gun Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
[["F" Machine Gun Battalion, British infantry]]
 
−
 
−
== [[Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), British Army]] ==
 
−
 
−
== Women's organisations ==
 
 
* [[Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service]] (QAIMNS)
 
* [[Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service]] (QAIMNS)
 
* [[Territorial Force Nursing Service]]
 
* [[Territorial Force Nursing Service]]

Revision as of 06:02, 30 March 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, so populating this page from those is a high priority task. 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:

[[Royal Army Medical Corps, UK]]

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.


Infantry

Regiments

We now have a page for every infantry regiment of the British Army except the London Regiment. 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.)

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 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
Liverpool Regiment, UK King's (Liverpool Regiment) 008
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

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


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 every British infantry battalion that has an official war diary, except for the London Regiment and the Royal Naval Division. Pages for missing battalions will be imported later.

There are too many battalions to list on this page (already more than 1,000), but there are several ways you can find them:

The regiment pages shown in the table above list ALL battalions known to have been part of a regiment, even if they don't have war diaries or 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:

You can also use the search box to find battalions that already have pages. You don't 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

We now have pages for every British infantry division except the Royal Naval Division. These pages are listed in Category:British divisions.

Brigades

We now have a page for every British infantry brigade that has war diaries, except those in the Royal Naval Division. These pages are listed in Category:British infantry brigades.


Cavalry

We do not yet have pages for cavalry or yeomanry.


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 and corps

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

Colonial units

These are units which were legally classed as colonial units, not part of the British Army, or whose status is currently uncertain.


Women's organisations

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

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