The history of the 41st Division
This division was formed at Aldershot in September 1915. The majority of the units that comprised the division were originally locally raised ones, primarily from the south of England. The division was inspected by king George V and Field Marshal Lord French on 26 April 1916.
The units of 41st Division moved to France between 1 and 6 May 1916 and by 8 May had concentrated between Hazebrouck and Bailleul. The division then remained on the Western Front until October 1917 and took part in the following engagements:
1916
The Battle of Flers-Courcelette*
The Battle of the Transloy Ridges*
* the battles marked * are phases of the Battles of the Somme 1916
1917
The Battle of Messines
The Battle of Pilkem Ridge^
The Battle of the Menin Road^
^ the battles marked ^ are phases of the Third Battles of Ypres 1917
Operations on the Flanders coast
On 7 November the Division was notified that it was to be transferred to Italy. The move (by train) began five days later and by 18 November all units had concentrated north west of Mantua. The Division took over a sector of front line behind the River Piave, north west of Treviso, between 30 November and early on 2 December.
1918
On 28 February 1918 the Division concentrated in Campo San Piero, preparatory to returning to France. By 9 March it had completed concentration near Doullens and Mondicourt.
The Battle of St Quentin**
The Battle of Bapaume**
The Battle of Arras**
** the battles marked ** are phases of the First Battles of the Somme 1918
The Battles of the Lys
The Advance in Flanders
The Battle of Ypres++
The Battle of Courtrai++
The action of Ooteghem++
++ the battles marked ++ are phases of the Final Advance in Flanders
The forward units of the Division were at Nederbrakel, Tenbosch and on the line of the River Dender near Grammont when the Armistice brought fighting to an end. Selected to join the Army of Occupation, the Division began to move on 18 December, going via Enghien – Hal – Braine ‘Alleud – Sombreffe – Temploux – north of Namur and Huy. On 6 January the move was completed by train and on 12 January the Division took over the left section of the Cologne bridgehead.Demobilisation began; on 15 March the Division was retitled as the London Division.
The Great War cost 41st Division 32158 men killed, wounded or missing.
The order of battle of the 41st Division
| 122nd Brigade | |
| 12th Bn, the East Surrey Regiment | (Bermondsey) |
| 15th Bn, the Hampshire Regiment | (2nd Portsmouth) |
| 11th Bn, the Royal West Kent Regiment | (Lewisham) disbanded March 1918 |
| 18th Bn, the King’s Royal Rifle Corps | (Arts and Crafts) |
| 122nd Machine Gun Company | joined May 1916, moved to 41st Bn MGC March 1918 |
| 122nd Trench Mortar Battery | joined June 1916 |
| 123rd Brigade | |
| 11th Bn, the Queen’s | |
| 10th Bn, the Royal West Kent Regiment | (Kent County) |
| 23rd Bn, the Middlesex Regiment | (2nd Football) |
| 20th Bn, the Durham Light Infantry | (Wearside) left for 124th Bde March 1918 |
| 123rd Machine Gun Company | joined June 1916, moved to 41st Bn MGC March 1918 |
| 123rd Trench Mortar Battery | joined June 1916 |
| 124th Brigade | |
| 10th Bn, the Queen’s | |
| 26th Bn, the Royal Fusiliers | |
| 32nd Bn, the Royal Fusiliers | disbanded March 1918 |
| 21st Bn, the King’s Royal Rifle Corps | (Yeomen Rifles) disbanded March 1918 |
| 124th Machine Gun Company | joined June 1916, moved to 41st Bn MGC March 1918 |
| 124th Trench Mortar Battery | joined June 1916 |
| 20th Bn, the Durham Light Infantry | (Wearside) joined from 123rd Bde March 1918 |
| Divisional Troops | |
| 13th Bn, the East Surrey Regiment | (Wandsworth) left October 1915 |
| 19th Bn, the Middlesex Regiment | (2nd Public Works) joined as Divisional Pioneer Bn October 1915 |
| 238th Machine Gun Company | joined July 1917, left October 1917 |
| 199th Machine Gun Company | joined October 1917, moved to 41st Bn MGC March 1918 |
| 41st Battalion MGC | formed March 1918 |
| Divisional Mounted Troops | |
| B Sqn, the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry | left 31 May 1916 |
| 41st Divisional Cyclist Company, Army Cyclist Corps | left 28 May 1916 |
| Divisional Artillery | see detailed history |
| CLXXXIII (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA | broken up November 1916 |
| CLXXXVII Brigade, RFA | |
| CLXXXIX Brigade, RFA | left January 1917 |
| CXC Brigade, RFA | |
| 41st Divisional Ammunition Column RFA | (West Ham) |
| V.41 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery, RFA | formed July 1916; disbanded October 1917 |
| X.41, Y.41 and Z.41 Medium Mortar Batteries, RFA | formed May 1916; in April 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each |
| XIII Belgian Field Artillery Regiment | attached January to May 1917 |
| Royal Engineers | |
| 228th (Barnsley) Field Company | |
| 233rd (Ripon) Field Company | |
| 237th (Reading) Company | |
| 41st Divisional Signals Company | |
| Royal Army Medical Corps | |
| 138th Field Ambulance | |
| 139th Field Ambulance | |
| 140th Field Ambulance | |
| 84th Sanitary Section | left April 1917 |
| Other Divisional Troops | |
| 41st Divisional Train ASC | 296, 297, 298 and 299 Companies |
| 52nd Mobile Veterinary Section AVC | |
| 41st Divisional Motor Ambulance Workshop | left May 1916 |
Divisional histories
There is no published history to the 41st Division.
Divisional memorials
