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| 6th Division | |
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 Insignia of the 6th (United Kingdom) Division. A white circle on a black background. |
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| Active | 1914 to 1941 As 70th Infantry Division: 1941-1945 2008 - |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Regular Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Garrison/HQ | York |
| Engagements | Peninsula War Battle of Fuentes de Onoro Battle of Salamanca Battle of the Pyrenees Battle of Orthez World War I Battle of the Somme (1916) Battle of Cambrai (1917) Battle of Epehy |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Major General J D Page OBE (from February 2008) |
| Notable commanders |
Richard O'Connor |
The 6th Infantry Division was established by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington for service in the Peninsula War and was active for most of the period since, including World War I and World War II. The modern division was reformed on 1 February 2008, as a deployable two star Headquarters for service in Afghanistan during Operation Herrick. It was officially reformed with a parade and flag presentation at York on Tuesday 5 August 2008.
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History
Peninsula War
The 6th Division was formed for service in the Peninsula War by the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington it was present at the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro the Battle of Salamanca the Battle of the Pyrenees the Battle of Orthez.
Formation during the Peninsula War
- Commanding General Major General Clinton.
- 1st Brigade: commanded by Major General Hulse
- 2nd Brigade: commanded by Colonel Hinde
- 1/32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot
- 2/32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot
- 1/36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot
- Portuguese Brigade: commanded by Brigadier General de Rezende
- 1/8th Portuguese Line
- 2/8th Portuguese Line
- 1/12th Portuguese Line
- 2/12th Portuguese Line
- 9th Caçadores.
First World War
The British 6th Division was a Regular Army division that was sent to France on 10 September 1914. It served on the Western Front for the duration of the First World War, fighting in the Battle of the Somme (1916), the Battle of Cambrai (1917) and the Battle of Epehy.
World War I formation
- 1st Battalion, The Buffs (East Kent) Regiment
- 1st Battalion, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry
- 2nd Battalion, The York and Lancaster Regiment
- 8th (Service) Battalion, The Bedfordshire Regiment (from 71st Bde. November 1915, disbanded February 1918)
- 1st Battalion, The Leicestershire Regiment (to 71st Bde. November 1915)
- 1/5th Battalion, The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (from February 1915 to June 1915)
- 17th Brigade (until October 14, 1915)
- 1st Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers
- 1st Battalion, The Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment)
- 2nd Battalion, The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians)
- 3rd Battalion, The Rifle Brigade
- 1/2nd (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (from February 1915)
The brigade transferred to the 24th Division in October 1915, swapping with the 71st Brigade.
- 1st Battalion, The West Yorkshire Regiment
- 1st Battalion, The East Yorkshire Regiment (until November 1915)
- 2nd Battalion, the Durham Light Infantry
- 11th (Service) Battalion, The Essex Regiment (from 71st Bde. October 1915)
- 2nd Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters (to 71st Bde. October 1915)
- 14th (Service) Battalion, the Durham Light Infantry (from November 1915, disbanded February 1918)
- 1/16th (County of London) Battalion, the London Regiment (until February 1916
- 19th Brigade (until May 31, 1915)
- 2nd Battalion, the Royal Welsh Fusiliers
- 1st Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
- 1/5th Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
- 1st Battalion, The Middlesex Regiment
- 2nd Battalion, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
Originally an independent brigade before being attached to the division, the 19th Brigade moved to the 27th Division in May, 1915 and was not replaced, reducing the division to the standard three infantry brigades.
- 71st Brigade (from October 11, 1915)
- 9th (Service) Battalion, The Norfolk Regiment
- 9th (Service) Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment (disbanded February 1918)
- 8th (Service) Battalion, the Bedfordshire Regiment (to 16th Bde. November 1915)
- 1st Battalion, the Leicestershire Regiment (from 16th Bde. November 1915)
- 2nd Battalion, the Sherwood Foresters (from 18th Bde. October 1915)
The brigade joined from the 24th Division in October 1915, swapping with the 17th Brigade.
- II Brigade RFA
- XXIV Brigade RFA
- 12th Field Company RE
- 509th (1st London) Field Company RE
- 459th (2/2nd West Riding) Field Company RE
Second World War
During the Second World War the division did not fight as a complete formation. On 3 November 1939 it was formed in Egypt by the redesignation of the British 7th Infantry Division, under the command of Maj-Gen.R.N.O'Connor. On 17 June 1940 Divisional H.Q. became H.Q. Western Desert Force. The Division effectively ceased to exist. The Division reformed in Egypt on 17 February 1941, under the command of Maj-Gen. John Evetts. From 7 to 19 April it was temporarily under command of Brig.C.E.N.Lomax. On 29 September 1941 Major General Evetts left and Brig.G.N.C.Martin took acting command. Eleven days later on 10 October that year it was redesignated the 70th Infantry Division, and Major General R.MacK. Scobie assumed command.
Second World War formation
- 6th Divisional Signals - 9th Oct.1941
- The Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons) - 25 March 1940-30 May 1940 (Cavalry)
- 45th Recce.Battalion - 21st Oct.1942-16th Sept.1943
Engineers
- 2nd Field Company, Royal Engineers
- 12th Field Company, Royal Engineers
- 54th Field Company, Royal Engineers
- 219th Field Company, Royal Engineers
Artillery
- 8th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 51st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 60th (North Midland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 50th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 69th Light Anti-Aircraft/ Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 28 March 1940 - 27 June 1940 &
- 19 February 1941 - 17 May 1941 &
- 19 June 1941 - 19 September 1941 &
- 22 October 1941 - 26 February 1942 &
Twenty-First Century
On 26 July 2007 the Secretary of State for Defence announced that a new 'HQ 6 Division' would reform to direct the International Security Assistance Force's Regional Command South in Afghanistan.[1]
Des Browne said 'In order to meet these temporary demands we have decided to augment the forces’ command structure, and will temporarily establish an additional 2-Star deployable HQ. It will be based in York and will be known as HQ 6 Division, with a core of 55 Service personnel, drawn from existing structures. We will keep our planning assumption under review but currently we assess this HQ will be established until 2011.'[2] See also Afghanistan War order of battle.
Current formation
The implementation team for the new HQ 6 Division is based in York. Major General J D Page OBE took command of the new HQ with effect from 1 February 2008. The new divisional headquarters, Headquarters 6th (United Kingdom) Division, marked its formation with a parade and flag presentation in York 5 August 2008. [3]
References
See also
External links
- The British Army in the Great War: The 6th Division
- Official website
- A Short History of the 6th Division in WW1
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