The history of 29th Division
As regular units from the further garrisons of Empire arrived back in England after having received recall orders soon after war was declared, many having waited until a Territorial unit had gone out to replace them, they were formed up into three Divisions, numbered 27th to 29th. The 29th, consisting of units that arrived from the most distant stations, was formed in the Stratford-Warwick-Leamington-Rugby-Nuneaton area of Warwickshire in January-March 1915. Originally intended for France, pressure on Lord Kitchener to launch a ground attack at Gallipoli forced him to deploy the Division there.
The 29th Division embarked at Avonmouth on 16-22 March 1915 and went via Malta to Alexandria. On 7 April the first units to have arrived at Egypt began to re-embark for the move to Mudros, the deep water harbour at the island of Lemnos that was going to be used as a forward base for operations at Gallipoli. The Division landed at Cape Helles on Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and subsequently took part in the following actions:
1915
Gallipoli
1916
On the nights 7-8 January 1916, the Division was evacuated from Gallipoli and all units returned to Egypt. Orders were received there on 25 February for a move to France. Embarking in March it arrived at Marseilles and moved to concentrate in the area east of Pont Remy between 15 and 29 March. The Division remained on the Western Front for the remainder of the war.
The Battle of Albert*
The Battle of the Transloy Ridges*
* the battles marked * are phases of the Battles of the Somme 1916
1917
The First Battle of the Scarpe**
The Second Battle of the Scarpe**
The Third Battle of the Scarpe**
** the battles marked ** are phases of the Arras Offensive 1917
The Battle of Langemarck^
The Battle of Broodseinde^
The Battle of Poelcapelle^
^ the battles marked ^ are phases of the Third Battles of Ypres 1917
The Battle of Cambrai
1918
The Battle of Estaires+
The Battle of Messines 1918+
The Battle of Hazebrouck+ including the defence on Nieppe Forest
The Battle of Bailleul+
+ the battles marked + are phases of the Battles of the Lys
The Action of Outtersteene Ridge-
The capture of Ploegsteert and Hill 63-
– the battles marked – are phases of the Advance in Flanders
The Battle of Ypres 1918++
The Battle of Courtrai++
++ the battles marked ++ are phases of the Final Advance in Flanders
After the Armistice the Division was among those selected to march into Germany to occupy the Rhine bridgehead. All units crossed the Belgian-German border at Malmedy on 4 December 1918 and arrived in Cologne five days later. The Division crossed the Rhine by the Honhenzollern Bridge on 13 December. Gradually, demobilisation began and by March 1919 most units were down to cadre strength.
The order of battle of the 29th Division
| 86th Infantry Brigade | sometimes known as the Fusilier Brigade |
|---|---|
| 2nd Bn, the Royal Fusiliers | |
| 1st Bn, the Lancashire Fusiliers | |
| 1st Bn, the Royal Munster Fusiliers | left April 1916 |
| 1st Bn, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers | left October 1917, rejoined April 1918 |
| 2/3rd Bn, the London Regiment | joined August 1915, left January 1916 |
| 86th Machine Gun Company | formed 26 February 1916, moved to 29 Battalion MGC on 15 Feb 1918 |
| 16th Bn, the Middlesex Regiment | joined April 1916, disbanded February 1918 |
| 86th Trench Mortar Battery | formed 21 April 1916 |
| 1st Bn, the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry | joined October 1917, left April 1918 |
| 87th Infantry Brigade | |
| 2nd Bn, the South Wales Borderers | |
| 1st Bn, the King’s Own Scottish Borderers | |
| 1st Bn, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers | left February 1918 |
| 1st Bn, the Border Regiment | |
| 87th Machine Gun Company | formed 16 February 1916, moved to 29 Battalion MGC on 15 Feb 1918 |
| 87th Trench Mortar Battery | formed 28 April 1916 |
| 88th Infantry Brigade | |
| 4th Bn, the Worcestershire Regiment | |
| 2nd Bn, the Hampshire Regiment | |
| 1st Bn, the Essex Regiment | left February 1918 |
| 1st Bn, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment | left April 1918 |
| 1/5th Bn, the Royal Scots | joined March 1915, left July 1915 |
| 2/1st Bn, the London Regiment | joined August 1915, left January 1916 |
| 88th Machine Gun Company | formed 21 February 1916, moved to 29 Battalion MGC on 15 Feb 1918 |
| 88th Trench Mortar Battery | formed 16 April 1916 |
| 2nd Bn, the Leinster Regiment | joined April 1918 |
| Divisional Troops | under direct command of Divisional HQ |
| 1/2nd Bn, the Monmouthshire Regiment | joined as Divisional Pioneer Battalion in May 1916 |
| 29th Divisional Train | 246, 247, 248 and 249 TF Companies, ASC. This was originally the Wessex Divisional Train from the Wessex Division. This transferred to 53rd (Welsh) Division in Egypt, March 1916, after seeing action in Gallipoli. A new Divisional Train was formed in England, consisting of 225, 226, 227 and 228 Companies, ASC. It moved to France and joined the Division 24 March 1916 |
| 18th Mobile Veterinary Section AVC | |
| 226th Divisional Employment Company | joined on 25 May 1917 as 28th Employment Company, 1st Labour Corps; redesignated in June 1917 |
| 29th Divisional Motor Ambulance Workshop | remained in Egypt when Division moved to France. A fresh unit joined in France, and it was absorbed by the Divisional Supply Column in April 1916 |
| Divisional Mounted Troops | under direct command of Divisional HQ |
| C Sqn, the Surrey Yeomanry | left 11 May 1916 |
| 1 Section, 10 Squadron, Royal Naval Armoured Car Detachment | attached between 5 May 1915 and 20 June 1915 |
| Divisional Artillery | |
| XV Brigade, RHA | |
| XVII Brigade, RFA | |
| CXLVII Brigade, RFA | left January 1917 |
| IV Highland Mountain Brigade, RGA | left July 1915 |
| 29th Divisional Ammunition Column RFA | original 29th DAC remained in Egypt when the Division moved to France (in October 1916 it was transferred to the 10th (Irish) Division. While en-route to Salonika its ship was torpedoed and more than 100 men were lost). On arrival in France the former DAC of the 53rd (Welsh) Division joined 29th Division |
| CXXXII Brigade, RFA | formerly LVII (H) joined 2 March 1916, broken up 12 September 1916 |
| V.29 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery, RFA | formed May 1916, broken up 4 February 1918 |
| X.29, Y.29 and Z.29 Medium Trench Mortar Batteries, RFA | joined April 1916; on 4 February 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each |
| Royal Engineers | |
| 2nd (Lowland) Field Company | left February 1916 |
| 510th Field Company | renamed from 2nd (London) Field Company |
| 455th Field Company | renamed from 1st (West Riding) Field Company |
| 497th Field Company | joined February 1916, renamed from 3rd (kent) Field Company |
| 1st London Divisional Signal Company | |
| Royal Army Medical Corps | |
| 87th (1st West Lancashire) Field Ambulance | |
| 88th (1st East Anglian) Field Ambulance | |
| 89th (1st Highland) Field Ambulance | |
| 16th Sanitary Section | left April 1917 |
Divisional histories
“The story of the 29th Division: a record of gallant deeds” by Captain Stair Gillon.
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Divisional memorials
There is a memorial to the 29th Division situated within Newfoundland Memorial Park, Beaumont-Hamel, Somme, France.
The memorial to the 29th Division in Newfoundland Park, a reminder of the costly attack on this ground on 1 July 1916.
There is also a memorial, situated on the A45 east of Coventry near Stretton-on-Dunsmore, at the spot where units of the 29th Division were inspected by King George V before they departed for Gallipoli.
The memorial to the 29th Division on the A45.