The history of 58th (2/1st London) Division
On 31 August 1914 the War Office issued instructions for all units of the Territorial Force to form a reserve unit. The men who had agreed to serve overseas were separated from the rest. Those left as ‘home service only’ were formed into ‘second line’ units, which would be this reserve.
When many of the ‘first line’ units of the senior 56th (1st London) Division were sent overseas, that Division was temporarily disbanded and the rest of its units joined the ‘second line’ in the 2/1st London Division. The number 57 was not issued until August 1915.
The 2/1st London Infantry Brigade was sent for garrison duty at Malta in early 1915, being replaced in the Division by the ‘third line’ 3/1st London Infantry Brigade.
The ‘second line’ Divisions suffered greatly from lack of equipment of all sorts, and training was inevitably affected. The passing of the Military Service Act in early 1916 deemed all men to have agreed to serve overseas and thus the Division was available to be sent, once it was trained. After being based in the Ipswich area, the Division took over the East Coast defences in spring 1916. It moved again, to Sutton Veny, in July 1916.
1917
The Division received a warning order on 1 January 1917 that it would soon depart for France. The units crossed the Channel from Southampton and Boulogne from 20 January and completed concentration at Lucheux on 8 February. The Division then remained in France and Flanders and took part in the following engagements:
The pursuit of the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line (17-28 March)
The Battle of Bullecourt (4-17 May)
The actions of the Hindenburg Line (20 May -16 June)
The Battle of the Menin Road Ridge (20-25 September)*
The Battle of Polygon Wood (26-27 September)*
The Second Battle of Passchendaele (26 October – 10 November)*
* the battles marked * are phases of the Third Battles of the Ypres
1918
The Battle of St Quentin (21-23 March) (although this was only a phase of the First Battles of the Somme 1918, 21 March – 3 April, and the Division was engaged at times throughout)
The Battle of the Avre (4 April)
The Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (24-25 April)
The Battle of Amiens (8-11 August)
The Battle of Albert (22-23 August)+
The Second Battle of Bapaume (31 August – 1 September)+
+ the battles marked + are phases of the Second Battles of the Somme 1918
The Battle of Epehy (18 September)”
” the battles marked ” are phases of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line
The general final advance in Artois (2 October – 11 November)*
* the battles marked * are phases of the Final Advance in Artois
The Division had crossed the River Scheldt and the forward units were south of Ath on 11 November 1918. The Division remained in the Peruwelz area after the Armistice. Here the units began to demobilise and by early March 1919 the Division was down to a small set of cadres which were moved to Leuze. The last units sailed for home at the end of June 1919, bringing the history of the Division to an end.
The order of battle of the 58th (London) Division
| 2/1st London Brigade | Brigade left the Division for Malta in early 1915 |
| 2/1st Bn, the London Regiment | arrived Malta 11 February 1915 |
| 2/2nd Bn, the London Regiment | arrived Malta 31 December 1914 |
| 2/3rd Bn, the London Regiment | arrived 31 December 1914 |
| 2/4th Bn, the London Regiment | arrived 31 December 1914 |
| 174th (2/2nd London) Brigade | |
| 2/5th Bn, the London Regiment | disbanded 31 January 1918 |
| 2/6th Bn, the London Regiment | became 6th Bn 31 January 1918 |
| 2/7th Bn, the London Regiment | became 7th Bn 2 February 1918 |
| 2/8th Bn, the London Regiment | became 8th Bn 2 February 1918 |
| 198th Machine Gun Company | joined 21 February 1917, moved to 58th Bn MGC 2 Mar 1918 |
| 174th Trench Mortar Battery | |
| 175th (2/3rd London) Brigade | |
| 2/9th Bn, the London Regiment | became 9th Bn 1 February 1918 |
| 2/10th Bn, the London Regiment | |
| 2/11th Bn, the London Regiment | disbanded 31 January 1918 |
| 2/12th Bn, the London Regiment | became 12th Bn 31 January 1918 |
| 44th Machine Gun Company | attached 23 February 1917 to 22 March 1917 |
| 215th Machine Gun Company | joined 21 March 1917, moved to 58th Bn MGC 2 Mar 1918 |
| 175th Trench Mortar Battery | |
| 173rd (3/1st London) Brigade | formed April 1915, replaced 2/1st London Brigade in this Division in August 1915 |
| 3/1st Bn, the London Regiment | became 2/1st Bn June 1916, disbanded 31 January 1918 |
| 3/2nd Bn, the London Regiment | became 2/2nd Bn June 1916, left 12 September 1918 |
| 3/3rd Bn, the London Regiment | became 2/3rd Bn June 1916, became 3rd Bn 31 January 1918 |
| 3/4th Bn, the London Regiment | became 2/4th Bn June 1916, aborbed into 2/2nd Bn 12 September 1918 |
| 197th Machine Gun Company | attached 22 February 1917 to 26 March 1917 |
| 214th Machine Gun Company | joined 25 March 1917, moved to 58th Bn MGC 2 Mar 1918 |
| 173rd Trench Mortar Battery | |
| 2/24th Bn, the London Regiment | joined at Guyencourt 11 September 1918 |
| Divisional Troops | |
| 4th Bn, the Suffolk Regt | joined as Divisional Pioneer Bn 15 February 1918 |
| 206th Machine Gun Company | joined 24 March 1917, moved to 58th Bn MGC 2 Mar 1918 |
| 58th Battalion MGC | formed 2 March 1918 |
| 100th Machine Gun Company | attached 7-25 September 1918 |
| Divisional Mounted Troops | |
| 1/1st Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry | broken up early 1915 |
| A Sqn, Hampshire Carabiniers | joined 21 March 1916 (A Sqn moved independently to France 17 January 1917, rejoined 25 January 1917) |
| 1/1st Kent Cyclist Battalion | joined October 1915, left 2 December 1915 |
| 2/1st Wessex Divisional Cyclist Company | left before Division sailed |
| Divisional Artillery | note: the artillery of 1st London Division came under command of this Division August 1915 – 23 September 1915 when transferred to the 36th (Ulster) Division |
| CCXC (2/I London) Brigade, RFA | joined 25 September 1915 |
| CCXCI (2/II London) Brigade, RFA | joined 27 September 1915 |
| CCXCII (2/III London) Brigade, RFA | joined 25 September 1915, broken up by end of 1916 |
| CCXCIII (2/IV London) (How) Bde, RFA | joined 25 September 1915, became Army Brigade January 1917 |
| 1st London Heavy Battery, RGA | a battery of four 4.7-inch guns which joined from 1st London Division in early 1915, left 11 February and moved independently to France, arriving on 3 March 1916 and coming initially under orders of XXVII Heavy Artillery Group |
| 2/1st London Heavy Battery, RGA | joined 24 September 1915, did not sail and remained in England |
| 58th Divisional Ammunition Column RFA | |
| V.58 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery, RFA | most personnel to X.58 and Y.58 on 8 February 1918, rest left for V/III Corps 18 February 1918 |
| X.58, Y.58 and Z.58 Medium Mortar Batteries, RFA | joined 1 March 1917, on 7-8 February 1918 Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have six 6-inch weapons each |
| Royal Engineers | |
| 2/1st London Field Company | left for 1st London Division 21 February 1916 |
| 2/2nd London Field Company | left for 1st London Division 21 February 1916 |
| 511th (1/5th London) Field Company | joined 16 November 1915 |
| 503rd (2/1st Wessex) Field Company | joined 22 February 1916 |
| 504th (2/2nd Wessex) Field Company | joined 23 February 1916 |
| 58th Divisional Signals Company | |
| Royal Army Medical Corps | |
| 2/1st London Field Ambulance | left for 1st London Division 21 February 1916 |
| 2/2nd London Field Ambulance | left for 1st London Division 21 February 1916 |
| 2/3rd London Field Ambulance | left for 1st London Division 21 February 1916 |
| 2/1st Home Counties Field Ambulance | joined 22 February 1916 |
| 2/2nd Home Counties Ambulance | joined 22 February 1916 |
| 2/3rd Home Counties Field Ambulance | joined 22 February 1916 |
| 58th Sanitary Section | left for VIII Corps 30 March1917 |
| Other Divisional Troops | |
| 58th Divisional Train ASC | 509, 510, 511 and 512 Companies ASC |
| 58th Mobile Veterinary Section AVC | joined 21 November 1915 |
| 249th Divisional Employment Company | formed by 23 June 1917, broken up 22 April 1919 |
Divisional histories
“Londoners on the Western Front: the 58th (2/1st London) Division in the Great War” by Martin David.
Divisional memorials
