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To trace the movements and actions of any battalion, click on the Divisions with which it served
Battalions of the regular army
1st Battalion:
August 1914 : in Jersey.
21 August 1914 : landed
in Le Havre and joined Lines of Communication Defence Troops.
14
September 1914: joined 8th Brigade, 3rd Division.
30 September 1915 : transferred to 14th Brigade, 5th
Division.
12 January 1916 : transferred to 95th Brigade, 5th
Division
2nd Battalion:
August 1914 : in Cairo, Egypt. Returned to England 1 October 1914 and attached to 23rd Brigade, 8th Division.
3rd (Reserve) Battalion:
August 1914 : in Exeter but moved to PLymouth on 8 August, returning on 28th
of the same month. Moved to Devonport in May 1915.
A training unit used as the garrison for the defences of Plymouth, it remained
in UK throughout the war.
Battalions of the Territorial Force
1/4th Battalion:
August 1914 : in Exeter. Part
of Devon and Cornwall Brigade, Wessex Division.
9 October 1914 : sailed for India, landing Karachi 11 November 1914.
Came under orders of 3rd (Lahore) Divisional Area at Ferozepore.
February 1915: moved to the independent 42nd Brigade of the Indian Army.
2 March 1916 : landed at Basra with the independent 41st Indian Brigade
andthereafter remained in Mesopotamia for the
rest of the war.
5 May 1916: transferred to 37th Brigade in 14th (Indian) Division
February 1917: moved to Amara and came under orders of the Tigris Lines
of Communication
2/4th Battalion:
Formed at Exeter
in September 1914 as a Second Line battalion. Became part of 2nd Devon and Cornwall Brigade, 2nd
Wessex Division.
12 December 1914 : sailed for India and came under orders of the Southern
Brigade, 9th (Secunderabad) Division
15
October 1917 left for Egypt, landing at Suez on 26 October. Under orders
of Lines of Communication.
13 December
1917 : attached to 234th Brigade, 75th Division. Left Division in July
1918.
17 August 1918 : disbanded
in Egypt.
1/5th (Prince of Wales's) Battalion:
August 1914 : in Millbay, Plymouth.
Part of Devon and Cornwall Brigade, Wessex Division.
9 October 1914 : sailed for India, landing Karachi 11 November 1914. Came
under orders of 3rd (Lahore) Divisional Area at Multan. December 1915
moved to Lahore.
4 April 1917 : landed at Suez, Egypt.
25 June 1917 : transferred to 232nd
Brigade, 75th Division.
1 June 1918 : landed at
Marseilles and proceeded to the Western Front.
1 June : transferred to
185th Brigade, 62nd Division.
2/5th (Prince of Wales's) Battalion:
Formed at Plymouth in
September 1914 as a Second Line battalion. Became
part of 2nd Devon and Cornwall Brigade, 2nd Wessex
Division.
17 September 1915 : landed in
Egypt.
June 1916 : disbanded in Egypt.
1/6th Battalion:
August 1914 : in Barnstaple. Attached
as Divisional Troops to Wessex
Division. On 16 September 1914 came
under orders of Devon and Cornwall Brigade.
9 October 1914 : sailed for India, landing
Karachi 11 November 1914. Came under orders
of 3rd (Lahore) Divisional Area at Lahore.
January 1916: joined independent 36th Brigade in Indian Army.
5 January 1916 : landed at Basra, and remained in Mesopotamia for
the rest of the war.
12 May 1916: 36th Brigade came under orders of 14th (Indian)
Division.
September 1916 : came under orders of the Tigris Lines of Communication
2/6th Battalion:
Formed at Barnstaple
on 16 September 1914 as a Second Line battalion.
Became part of 2nd Devon and Cornwall Brigade, 2nd
Wessex Division.
12 December 1914 : sailed for India. Came under
orders of 6th (Poona) Divisional Area at Bombay
March 1916: moved to 7th (Meerut) Divisional Area.
August
1916: moved to Peshawar Brigade in 1st
(Peshawar) Division.
Left for Mesopotamia, landing at Basra on
14 September 1917 remaining until the end of the war as Lines of Communication
troops.
1/7th (Cyclist) Battalion:
August 1914 : in Exeter, not allotted to a higher formation. Moved to Seaton Carew on North East coastal defences by by 1916 was at Bawdsey in Suffolk. In early 1918 moved to Canterbury and came under orders of 11th Cyclist Brigade in the Cyclist Division.
2/7th (Cyclist) Battalion:
Formed at Totnes
in October 1914. Remained in UK throughout the war, moving to Sevenoaks
in 1916, Margate in 1917 and Southminster in 1918. By November 1918
was at Maldon.
Attached to 73rd
Division, October 1917 to January 1918.
3/4th, 3/5th and 3/6th Battalions:
Formed at Exeter, Plymouth and
Barnstaple respectively on 25 March 1915. Moved to Bournemouth in August
1915.
8 April 1916 : became Reserve Bns and 4th then absorbed 5th and 6th on
1 September 1916 at Hursley Park near Winchester. Remained in
England (moving to Bournemouth in October 1916, Sutton Veny ain March
1917 and Larkhill in early 1918), until going to Ireland in April 1918.
Thereafter stationed at various times at Belfast, Londonderry and Clonmany.
3/7th (Cyclist) Battalion:
Formed in late 1915, possibly only as a depor rather than a fully-fledged training battalion. Disbanded March 1916.
16th (Royal
1st Devon & Royal North Devon Yeomanry)
Battalion
Formed in Egypt in January 1917 from two
dismounted Yeomanry units.
January 1917 : attached to 229th Brigade, 74th
Division.
18th Battalion:
Formed on 1 January 1917 from what had previously been the 86th Provisional Battalion of the TF. It had been formed in August 1915 from "Home Service only" personnel. Moved to Aldeburgh in 1918.
Battalions of the New Armies
8th (Service) Battalion:
Formed at Exeter on 19
August 1914 as part of K1 and attached as Divisional Troops to 14th
(Light) Division.
May 1915 : left Division and landed at Le Havre
26 July 1915.
4 August 1915 : attached to 20th Brigade, 7th
Division.
9th (Service) Battalion:
Formed at Exeter on 15
September 1914 as part of K2 and attached as Divisional Troops to 20th
(Light) Division.
April 1915 : left Division and landed at Le Havre 28 July 1915.
8 August 1915 : attached to 20th Brigade, 7th Division.
September 1918 : left Division in Italy and moved back to France. 16 September 1918 : attached to 7th Brigade, 25th Division.
10th (Service) Battalion:
Formed at Exeter on 25 September 1914 as part of K3. September 1914 : attached to 79th Brigade, 26th Division.
11th (Reserve) Battalion:
Formed in Exeter in November 1914
as a Service Battalion of K4 and attached to 100th Brigade, original
33rd Division.
April 1915 : became a Reserve battalion.
1 September 1916 : became 44th Battalion of 10th Reserve Brigade
of Training
Reserve.
Other battalions raised by the regiment
12th (Labour) Battalion:
Formed in Devonport in
May 1916.
June 1916 : landed in France and joined to Fourth Army.
April
1917 : transferred to Labour Corps as 152nd
and 153rd Labour Companies.
13th (Works) Battalion:
Formed in Saltash in June 1916. Moved to Plymouth. April 1917 became 3rd Labour Battalion.
14th (Labour) Battalion:
Formed in Plymouth in August 1916.
October 1916 : landed
in France and joined to Third Army.
April 1917 : transferred to Labour Corps as
154th and 155th Labour Companies.
1st (Garrison) Battalion:
Formed in Weymouth on 8 August 1915. Moved to Egypt on 27 September 1915 and moved to Palestine in 1917.
2nd (Home Service) Garrison Battalion:
Formed in Exeter in July 1916. Moved toPlymouth and Falmouth. Converted and became 5th Battalion of the Royal Defence Corps in August 1917..
51st (Graduated) Battalion:
Up to 27 October 1917, this was known as 206th Graduated Battalion and had no regimental affiliation. Before that it had been 33rd Battalion of the Training Reserve and up to September 1916 had been the 13th (Reserve) Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. A training unit based at North Walsham, it was part of 192nd Brigade in 64th Division. It moved to Norwich by late 1917 and was at Holt by May 1918.
52nd (Graduated) Battalion:
Up to 27 October 1917, this was known as 210th Graduated Battalion and had no regimental affiliation. Before that it had been 37th Battalion of the Training Reserve and up to September 1916 had been the 9th (Reserve) Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment. A training unit based at Taverham, it was part of 193rd Brigade in 64th Division. It moved to Norwich by late 1917 and was at Cromer by May 1918. It transferred to 192nd Brigade in 64th Division on 26 February 1918.
53rd (Young Soldier) Battalion:
Up to 27 October 1917, this was known as 35th Young Soldier Battalion and had no regimental affiliation. A basic recruit training unit based at Sutton Mendeville, it was part of 8th Reserve Brigade. In January 1918 it moved to Rollestone Camp.
| Did you know? The regiment is unusual in having three of its units commemorated by having specific memorials in France. Devonshire Trench Cemetery at Mametz on the Somme is a poignant one, holding as it does many men of the 8th and 9th Battalions who fell on 1 July 1916 and who were buried in a communication trench close to their jumping-off point: "The Devonshires held this trench; the Devonshires hold it still". For their staunch defence at the Bois des Buttes on the Aisne on 27 May 1918, the 2nd Battalion is commemorated by a memorial in the village of La Ville au Bois. It was, as a unit, awarded the Croix de Guerre avec Palmes. |