46th (North Midland) Division

46th (North Midland) Division
svg Own work · Public domain · source
Unit name	46th (North Midland) Division
Dates	1908–1919; 1920–1946
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Territorial Force; Territorial Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Garrison	Derby, Nottingham
Notable commanders	Sir John Monash; Aylmer Hunter-Weston

46th (North Midland) Division

The 46th (North Midland) Division was a British Territorial infantry formation raised in 1908 from the Territorial Force counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire. It served in major actions on the Western Front during the First World War and later underwent reconstitution in the Interwar Period as part of the Territorial Army before conversion and deployment during the Second World War. The division's lineage intersects with formations and personalities associated with Kitchener's Army, the British Expeditionary Force, and postwar British Army reorganizations.

Formation and Early History

The division originated in the reorganisation brought about by the Haldane Reforms and drew volunteers from county regiments including the Sherwood Foresters, the Leicestershire Regiment, the Lincolnshire Regiment, and the Derbyshire Yeomanry. Early commanders liaised with the War Office and trained in the prewar annual camps at locations such as Rugeley and Belper, integrating artillery elements from the Royal Horse Artillery and engineers from the Royal Engineers. During exercises the division worked alongside formations like the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division and the 49th (West Riding) Division, developing doctrines that anticipated the mass mobilisations of the First World War.

First World War

Mobilised in August 1914, the division was initially embodied for home defence and later volunteered for overseas service, deploying to the Western Front in 1915. It took part in set-piece offensives and trench operations alongside corps such as I Corps and VII Corps, seeing action at battles including Hamel and components of the Battle of the Somme. The division’s brigades and battalions were engaged in the Battle of Gommecourt diversion on 1 July 1916 and later in the German spring offensive of 1918. Commanders of the period coordinated with higher formation leaders like General Sir Douglas Haig and staff officers who had served under figures such as Lord Kitchener.

Its infantry fought in conditions described in dispatches alongside units from the Canadian Expeditionary Force and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, while divisional artillery coordinated barrages with the Royal Garrison Artillery and the Royal Flying Corps for observation and spotting. Casualties and replacements flowed through depots at Le Havre and Étaples, and the divisional medical services worked with the Royal Army Medical Corps and casualty clearing stations near the Somme and Ypres. Following the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the division demobilised in the postwar reductions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles settlement and Home Service commitments.

Interwar Period and Reorganization

Reconstituted in 1920 during the establishment of the Territorial Army, the division retained its regional identity while integrating lessons from the First World War and the Essex and Lincolnshire recruiting areas. Interwar reorganisation involved alignment with the Royal Artillery anti-aircraft units and conversion of some infantry battalions to roles associated with the Royal Corps of Signals and Royal Army Service Corps. The division participated in Territorial Army training schemes alongside the 54th (East Anglian) Division and the 46th (North Midland) Division’s contemporaries in annual camps at sites including Strensall and Catterick.

Political developments in Europe and rearmament drives influenced the division’s establishment, with revised tables of organisation reflecting equipment procurements from Vickers and coordination with the Ministry of Defence (predecessor agencies). Senior officers attended staff courses at the Staff College, Camberley and linked plans with corps headquarters and regional command structures.

Second World War

At the outbreak of the Second World War the division underwent conversion and provided cadres and territorial units to the expanding British Army and the British Expeditionary Force that served in France in 1939–1940. Elements were redesignated, with some battalions joining operations in North Africa, Greece, and the Far East, while others remained in the United Kingdom under formations such as Home Forces for defence against potential invasion following Operation Sea Lion planning. The division’s units worked in coordination with formations including the 1st Armoured Division and the 50th (Northumbrian) Division for combined-arms training and coastal defence.

Later wartime reorganisations saw territorial infantry brigades converted to armoured and anti-aircraft roles, linking to the Royal Tank Regiment and Anti-Aircraft Command. Personnel from the division served in campaigns like Operation Torch and the Normandy invasion as reinforcements or as part of reconstituted brigades attached to Eighth Army and Second Army formations.

Postwar Disbandment and Legacy

After 1945 postwar demobilisation and defence cuts led to the division’s final disbandment amid the 1946 Territorial reductions, while successor units in the Territorial Army preserved lineage through battalion titles in the Sherwood Foresters and other county regiments. Its veterans participated in commemorations with organisations such as the Royal British Legion and contributed to regimental museums at Derby Museum and Art Gallery and the Nottingham Castle Museum.

The division’s wartime experience informed postwar doctrine and influenced subsequent reorganisations including the 1967 Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve reforms and the later structure of regional brigades in the British Army of the Rhine. Memorials and roll of honour lists remain in county churches and civic centres across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire, preserving the division’s regional and historical legacy.

Category:Infantry divisions of the British Army Category:Military units and formations established in 1908