The Long, Long Trail
 
The 35th Division This shape of seven fives replaced an earlier Bantam Cock
The origianl Divisional symbol was a fighting cock
A New Army Division; a Bantam formation
History | Units | Commanders

Summary history of the division
 

Raised for the Fifth New Army, originally designated 42nd Division. The Brigades were numbered 125, 126 and 127. When the original Fourth New Army was broken up to replace casualties in the first three, Fifth became Fourth and this Division adopted the designation 35th. This was on 27 April 1915. Many of the battalions had been raised as bantam units.

After initial training without equipment or uniform, at billets close to home, the Division began to concentrate in Yorkshire with HQ at Masham, in June 1915. In Augus, the troops moved to Salisbury Plain. HQ moved initially to Marlborough but was moved to Chiseldon (14 September) and Cholderton (11 October 1915). In late 1915, orders werereceived to prepare to move to Egypt, but this was soon countermanded.

The Division moved to France in late January and early February 1916. It remained on the Western Front for teh remainder of the war, taking part in the following actions:

The Battle of Albert (first phase of the Battle of the Somme 1916)

In December 1916, the Divisional commander (Major-General Landon) reported that the Division was now suffering from low physical and morale standards. This was a result of replacing casualties not with fit 'bantams' but with undersized and weak men. Medical inspections were ordered, and 2784 men rejected from teh ranks of the Division. These men were largely posted to the Labour Corps. Their places were filled with men posted from disbanded yeomanry regiments; they had to be quickly trained in infantry methods and a Divisional depot was formed for the purpose.

The German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line

The Second Battle of Passchendaele (eighth phase of the Third Battle of Ypres)

The First Battle of Bapaume (second phase of the First Battles of the Somme 1918)

The Battle of Ypres 1918

The Battle of Courtrai

The Division also fought in the subsequent Action of Tieghem. On 9 November 1918, the advanced units of the Division had made a foothold on the far bank of the River Schelde near Berchem. They pushed forward, and had captured Grammont and reached the line of the River Dendre when the armitice halted the fighting at 11am on 11 November 1918.

The Division was withdrawn towards Ypres, and by 2 December 1918 was near St-Omer. Here it began to demobilise. In January 1919, the Division was celled upon to quell rioting in the camps at Calais.

The 35th Division ceased to exist by the end of April 1919, having suffered casualties (killed, wounded and missing) of 23,915 during the war.


Order of Battle 
 

104th Brigade

17th (Service) Bn (1st South-East Lancs), the Lancashire Fusiliers (joined June 1915)

18th (Service) Bn (2nd South-East Lancs), the Lancashire Fusiliers (joined June 1915)

20th (Service) Bn (4th Salford), the Lancashire Fusiliers (joined June 1915, disbanded February 1918)

23rd (Service) Bn (8th City), the Manchesters (joined June 1915, disbanded February 1918)

19th (Service) Bn (2nd County), the Durham Light Infantry (joined February 1918)

9th (Service) Bn, the Northumberland Fusiliers (joined August 1917, left May 1918)

104th Brigade Machine Gun Company (joined April 1916, moved into 35 MG Bn February 1918)

104th Trench Mortar Battery (joined February 1916)

105th Brigade

15th (Service) Bn (1st Birkenhead), the Cheshires (joined June 1915)

16th (Service) Bn (2nd Birkenhead), the Cheshires (joined June 1915, disbanded February 1918)

14th (Service) Bn (West of England), the Gloucesters (joined June 1915, disbanded February 1918)

15th (Service) Bn (Nottingham), the Sherwood Foresters (joined June 1915)

4th (Extra Reserve) Bn, the North Staffords (joined February 1918)

105th Brigade Machine Gun Company (joined April 1916, moved into 35 MG Bn February 1918)

105th Trench Mortar Battery (joined February 1916)

106th Brigade

17th (Service) Bn (Rosebery), the Royal Scots (joined June 1915)

17th (Service) Bn (2nd Leeds), the West Yorkshires (joined June 1915, left November 1917)

19th (Service) Bn (2nd County), the Durham Light Infantry (joined June 1915, left February 1918)

18th (Service) Bn (4th Glasgow), the Highland Light Infantry (joined June 1915)

4th (Extra Reserve) Bn, the North Staffords (joined November 1917, left for 105th Brigade February 1918)

12th (Service) Bn, the Highland Light Infantry (joined February 1918)

106th Brigade Machine Gun Company (joined April 1916, moved into 35 MG Bn February 1918)

106th Trench Mortar Battery (joined February 1916)


Divisional Pioneers

19th (Service) Bn , the Northumberland Fusiliers (joined June 1915)


Divisional Mobile Troops

C Squadron, 1/1st Lancashire Hussars (joined 14 November 1915, left for VIII Cavalary Regiment, 9 May 1916)

35th Divisional Cyclist Company (left for XI Corps Cyclist Battalion 10 May 1916)


Divisional Artillery

CLVII (Aberdeen) Brigade RFA

CLVIII (Accrington and Burnley) Brigade RFA (broken up by 28 February 1917)

CLVIX (Glasgow) Brigade RFA

CLXIII (H) (West Ham) Brigade RFA (broken up by 9 September 1916)

35th Divisional Ammunition Column (British Empire League) RFA

X.35, Y.35 and Z.35 Medium Mortar Batteries RFA (formed by 28 June 1916; Z Bty broken up 8 February 1918)

V.35 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery RFA (formed 12 September 1916, broken up 8 February 1918)

131 Heavy Battery RGA (raised in Lewisham for 26th Division 22 January 1915, but did not sail with that Division and was then attached to 35th. Left Division and moved independently to France, joining XXIII HA Group in March 1916)


Divisional Engineers, Royal Engineers

203 Field Company (Cambridge) (joined by July 1915)

204 Field Company (Empire) (joined by July 1915)

205 Field Company (Dundee) (joined by July 1915)

35th Divisional Signal Company (Reading) (joined by July 1915)


Field Ambulances, Royal Army Medical Corps

105th Field Ambulance (joined November 1915)

106th Field Ambulance (joined November 1915)

107th Field Ambulance (joined November 1915)


Other Divisional Troops

35th Divisional Train (233, 234, 235 and 236 Companies, ASC joined July 1915)

35th Divisional Motor Ambulance Workshop (absorbed into Divisional Supply Column, 31 March 1916)

232nd Divisional Employment Company (formed by 9 June 1917)

75th Sanitary Section (left for IV Corps 9 April 1917)

45th Mobile Veterinary Section, AVC

241st Company, Machine Gun Corps (joined 18 July 1917, merged into No 35 Battalion, MGC by 2 March 1918)

No 35 Battalion, MGC (formed by 2 March 1918)

 

 


Divisional command  
 
Maj.-Gen. R. Pinney (from 5 July 1915 to September 1915)
Maj.-Gen. H. Landon (from 23 September 1915 to July 1917)
Maj.-Gen. G. Franks (from 9 July 1917 to March 1918)
Maj.-Gen. A. Marindin (from 27 March 1918, originally temporary as a Brigadier-General; promoted and made permanent on 7 April 1918)
  Brigadiers-General J. Hunter (1-5 July 1915) and H. O'Donnell (17-23 September 1915) assumed temporary or acting commands.
 
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