British 18th Infantry Division
Encyclopedia
For the First World War unit, see 18th (Eastern) Division.
The 18th Infantry Division was a Division
of the British Army
in the Second World War, a duplicate of the 54th (East Anglian) Division using mostly units with connections to East Anglia
.
a few weeks before the fall of the island. Its units went into Japan
ese POW camps after the brief but violent week long Battle of Singapore
. Other units, such as the 2nd Battalion, The Cambridgeshire Regiment and the 5th and 6th battalions, The Royal Norfolk Regiment—which had arrived before the rest of the Division—fought strong rearguard actions on the Malayan
mainland. This division was not reformed.
The 18th Infantry Division was a Division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in the Second World War, a duplicate of the 54th (East Anglian) Division using mostly units with connections to East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
.
History
The 18th Infantry Division landed at SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
a few weeks before the fall of the island. Its units went into Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese POW camps after the brief but violent week long Battle of Singapore
Battle of Singapore
The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in Southeast Asia and nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East"...
. Other units, such as the 2nd Battalion, The Cambridgeshire Regiment and the 5th and 6th battalions, The Royal Norfolk Regiment—which had arrived before the rest of the Division—fought strong rearguard actions on the Malayan
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
mainland. This division was not reformed.
General Officer Commanding (G.O.C)
- 30.09.1939 Maj-Gen.T.G. McArthur
- 30.11.1939 Maj-Gen. Bernard Charles Tolver PagetBernard PagetGeneral Sir Bernard Charles Tolver Paget GCB, DSO, MC was a British officer who served in both the First and Second World Wars.-Military career:...
- 20.04.1940 (Acting) Maj-Gen.E.H.W.Backhouse
- 14.05.1940 Maj-Gen. Bernard Charles Tolver Paget
- 27.05.1940 (Acting) Brig.G.E.W.Franklyn
- 01.06.1940 Maj-Gen.T.R.Eastwood
- 09.06.1940 Maj-Gen. L.H.K. Finch
- 14-07-1940 Maj-Gen. Merton Beckwith-SmithMerton Beckwith-SmithMajor-General Merton Beckwith-Smith DSO MC MA was a British Army officer during the First and Second World Wars .- Early career :...
(P.O.W 15.02.1942)
Order of battle
In January 1942 before the surrender in Singapore18th Division H.Q.
- 135th (Hertfordshire YeomanryHertfordshire YeomanryThe Hertfordshire Yeomanry is a British Army unit specializing in artillery and yeomanry that can trace its formation to the late 18th century. First seeing service in the Boer War, it subsequently served in both World Wars....
)Field Regt, Royal ArtilleryRoyal ArtilleryThe Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:... - 198th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical CorpsRoyal Army Medical CorpsThe Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
- 118th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 287th Field Company, Royal EngineersRoyal EngineersThe Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
- 125th Anti Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
- 148th Field Regt, Royal Artillery
- 288th Field Coy, Royal Engineers
- 560th Field Coy, Royal Engineer
- 251st Battalion, The Recce Regt (5th Battalion, The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) )
- 9th Battalion, The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers , M.G. - Lieut.Col.Lechmere Thomas/Henry (Flossie) Flower
53rd Infantry Brigade
- Brigadier C.L.B.Duke
- 2nd Battalion, The Cambridgeshire RegimentCambridgeshire RegimentThe Cambridgeshire Regiment was a territorial infantry regiment of the British Army from 1908 to 1961.-Pre 1908:The regiment had its origins in the rifle volunteer corps formed in Cambridgeshire in 1860. By 1880 the volunteer units in the county had amalgamated as the battalion-size 1st...
- Lieut.Col.Thorne - 5th Battalion, The Royal Norfolk Regiment
- 6th Battalion, The Royal Norfolk Regiment - Lieut.Col.Ian Lywood (Hospitalised with malariaMalariaMalaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
but killed during the massacre at Alexandra HospitalAlexandra HospitalAlexandra Hospital is a 400-bed hospital located in the south-western part of Singapore. Nestled in a 110,000 square metre land, the hospital is a picture of tranquil setting, lined with mostly colonial style buildings built since the late 1930s...
)
54th Infantry Brigade
- Brigadier E.K.W.Backhouse
- 4th Battalion, The Royal Norfolk Regiment
- 4th Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment
- 5th Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment
55th Infantry Brigade
- Brigadier J.B.Coates
- 1st Battalion, The Cambridgeshire RegimentCambridgeshire RegimentThe Cambridgeshire Regiment was a territorial infantry regiment of the British Army from 1908 to 1961.-Pre 1908:The regiment had its origins in the rifle volunteer corps formed in Cambridgeshire in 1860. By 1880 the volunteer units in the county had amalgamated as the battalion-size 1st...
- Lieut.Col.Gerald Carpenter - 5th Battalion, The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
- 1st/5th Battalion, The Sherwood ForestersWorcestershire and Sherwood ForestersThe Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division...
- Lieut.Col.Harold Lilly
See also
- British Divisions in World War IIBritish Divisions in World War IIThis page is a list of British Army divisions that fought in World War II.-Armoured:*Guards Armoured Division*1st Armoured Division*2nd Armoured Division - Formed 15 December 1939 in the UK. Served in Egypt from January 1941 until March 1941 and from April 1941 until May 1941, and in Libya from...
- Battle of SingaporeBattle of SingaporeThe Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in Southeast Asia and nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East"...
- British Army Order of Battle - September 1939