Structure of the British Army in 1939


In September 1939, the British Army was in process of expanding their anti-aircraft and mobile assets. Among these new changes was the formation of Anti-Aircraft Command which was formed on 1 April 1939, and the 1st Armoured Division formed in 1937. The list below will include the British Army units, colonial units, and those units which were in the process of formation.
The list includes units which were in the process of formation, cadre sized, or had no units attached. Also included are Territorial Army and Supplementary Reserve units.

War Office

The War Office or WO as it was abbreviated, was the office of the British Government which controlled all of the Armed Forces of which were based around the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland and Middle East.

Aldershot Command

Aldershot Command's geographical area encompassed portions of the following counties Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex. Its primary formations on the outbreak of the war were:

Northern Command

;Northern Command

5th Infantry Division

Northumbrian Area

Northumbrian Area, Darlington: comprising the counties of Northumberland, County Durham, North Riding of Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire; also Berwick-upon-Tweed.

23rd (Northumbrian) Division (2/TA)

23rd (Northumbrian) Division, Darlington

50th (Northumbrian) Motor Division (TA)

50th (Northumbrian) Motor Division, Darlington

West Riding Area

West Riding Area: York, covering West Riding of Yorkshire, County Borough of York, Strensall Camp, Lincolnshire, Rutlandshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire.

46th Infantry Division (2/TA)

46th Infantry Division, York

49th (West Riding) Infantry Division (TA)

49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, Clifton

Scottish Command

Scottish Command, Edinburgh covered Scotland and Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Highland Area

Highland Area, Perth: covering the counties of Sutherland, Caithness, Ross and Cromarty, Inverness-shire, Nairnshire, Morayshire, Banffshire, Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire, Angus, Perthshire, Kinross-shire, Fife, Clackmannanshire, Stirlingshire, Dumbartonshire, Renfrewshire, Buteshire, and Argyllshire.

9th (Highland) Infantry Division

51st (Highland) Infantry Division (TA)

51st (Highland) Infantry Division, Perth

Lowland Area

Lowland Area, Darlington: comprising the counties of West Lothian, Midlothian, East Lothian, Berwickshire, Roxburghshire, Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, Wigtownshire, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Peeblesshire, Selkirkshire; and, and Fife.

15th (Scottish) Infantry Division

15th (Scottish) Infantry Division, Glasgow

52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division (TA)

52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division, Glasgow

Eastern Command

Eastern Command was one of two southern commands, itself overseeing the areas of: Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Middlesex, Kent, Sussex, and Surrey, and Woolwich Garrison.

4th Infantry Division

4th Infantry Division, Colchester Garrison

East Anglian Area

East Anglian Area covered the counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Middlesex, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire.

18th Infantry Division (2/TA)

18th (Eastern) Infantry Division, Hertford

54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division (TA)

54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division, Hertford

Chatham Area

Chatham Area covered the areas of: Foulness Point by a line drawn south to Shellness thence a line drawn south-west to Ladydane thence along a road to Watling Street thence Watling Street to road Faversham, Leaveland, Challock Lees, Chaning, Lenham, Harrietsham, Elsfield, Hollingbourne thence Pilgrim's Way via Detling, Burham, Snodland thence via Pilgrim's Road to Trosley Towers thence along road Wrotham-Gravesent to Northumberland Bottom thence Watling Street to Southern Railway Bridge at Springhead thence northward along stream to River Thames, along south bank of River Thames to lighthouse on Swanscombe Marshes thence by a line drawn northeast across the River Thames to Grays Thurrock Station thence along the main road to Stanford-le-Hope thence northside of railway via South Benfleet to Southend Borough boundary thence a line drawn northeast to lower Edward's Hull thence along road Eastwood to Harp House thence a line drawn south-east to Southchurch Lawn thence a line due north to River Roach, along south bank of River Roach and south bank of River Crouch to Foulness Point.

Home Counties Area

Home Counties Area covered the areas of: Woolwich, Counties of Kent, Sussex, Surrey including portions of the parishes of Stoke-next-Guildford, St. Nicholas, Arlington, to the west of the railway.

12th (Eastern) Infantry Division

12th (Eastern) Infantry Division , Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich

44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division

44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division

Northern Ireland District

Northern Ireland District was one of two army districts, tasked with covering all of Northern Ireland.

Western Command

Western Command was the largest command by area covered, including: Wales and the Counties of Cumberland, Westmorland, Lancashire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Cheshire, and Beachley, Gloucestershire, and The Isle of Man.

Welsh Area

Welsh Area covered Wales and the Countries of Shropshire and Herefordshire, and Beachley.

38th (Welsh) Infantry Division (2/TA)

38th (Welsh) Infantry Division, Shrewsbury

53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division (1/TA)

53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division, Shrewsbury

West Lancashire Area

West Lancashire encompassed: Lancashire, south and west of a line along the River Douglas and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, South-East to Worsley, Cheshire, and Staffordshire.

55th (West Lancashire) Motor Division (TA)

55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division, Liverpool

59th (Staffordshire) Motor Division (2/TA)

59th (Staffordshire) Motor Division, Stafford

East Lancashire Area

East Lancashire Area comprised the areas of: Cumberland, Westmoreland and that part of Lancashire not included in West Lancashire Area.

42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division (TA)

42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division, Manchester

66th Infantry Division (2/TA)

66th Infantry Division, Manchester

London District

London District comprises County of London, Warley Barracks, Rainham Rifle Range, Purfleet, Woolwich, Caterham Barracks, Pirbright, and Combermere Barracks and Victoria Barracks.

1st London Motor Division (TA)

1st London Motor Division, Finsbury Barracks

2nd London Motor Division (2/TA)

2nd London Motor Division, London

Southern Command

Southern Command comprised: Counties of Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Devonshire, Cornwall, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.

1st Armoured Division

1st Armoured Division, Priory Lodge, Andore

3rd Infantry Division

3rd Infantry Division, Bulford Barracks - Division contained regular and 1st Line TA units

Salisbury Plain Area

Salisbury Plain Area comprising: The County of Wiltshire : [Great Western Railway|The Great Western Railway|Great Western Railway] from the bridge over the River Avon at Freshford to the aqueduct of the Kennet and Avon Canal, thence the Kennet and Avon Canal to Devizes, The Depot The Wiltshire Regiment, Devizes, thence the Kennet and Avon Canal to the County boundary at Froxfield, thence the county boundary from Froxfield to the road Fordingbridge-Salisbury at Downton. Thence the road Fordingbridge-Salisbury from the county boundary at Downton to Salisbury; Salisbury; the road Salisbury-Wilton-Great Wishford-Codford-Hegtesbury, the road Warminster-Frome to the county boundary at Whitbourne; thence the county boundary near Whitbourne to the Great Western Railway Bridge over the River Avon near Freshford. That portion of Hampshire including Tidworth and Western District land adjacent.

South Midland Area

South Midland Area comprising: Counties of Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Wiltshire north of the Salisbury Plain Area.

48th (South Midland) Infantry Division (TA)

48th Infantry Division, Oxford

61st Infantry Division (2/TA)

61st Infantry Division, Oxford

South-Western Area

South-Western Area comprising: Counties of Somerset, Dorsetshire, Devonshire and Cornwall, those portions of Wiltshire not included in South Midland and Salisbury Plain Areas, and that part of Hampshire lying west of the Southern Railway between the county boundary of Downton and the county boundary at Fordingbridge station.

43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division (TA)

43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division, Salisbury

45th Infantry Division (2/TA)

45th Infantry Division, Exeter

Southern Area

Southern Area comprising: Hampshire.

Anti-Aircraft Command (TA)

Anti-Aircraft Command controlled all of the AA units.

1st Anti-Aircraft Division

1st AA Division covering London, Dover, and Slough.

2nd Anti-Aircraft Division

2nd AA Division covering Kingston upon Hull, The Humber, Leeds, Sheffield, and Nottingham. Aligned with No. 12 Group RAF.

3rd Anti-Aircraft Division

3rd AA Division covering the Firth of Forth, The Clyde, Scapa Flow, Tyne River, Tees River, and Belfast. Aligned with No. 13 Group RAF.

4th Anti-Aircraft Division

4th AA Division covering Liverpool, Birmingham, Coventry, Manchester, Cardiff, and Newport. Aligned with No. 9 Group RAF.

5th Anti-Aircraft Division

5th AA Division covering Bristol, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Isle of Portland, Southampton, and Cardiff. Aligned with No. 10 Group RAF.

6th Anti-Aircraft Division

6th AA Division covering Thames and Medway and Harwich. Aligned with No. 11 Group RAF.

7th Anti-Aircraft Division

7th AA Division covering River Tyne, River Tees, and Middlesbrough.

Middle East Command

Middle East Command controlled all the forces based in: Sudan, Aden, Somaliland, Palestine, Transjordan, and Egypt.

British Troops in Aden

British Troops in Egypt

Armoured Division (Egypt)

Armoured Division (Egypt), Gerwala

7th Infantry Division (Forming)

7th Infantry Division, Egypt '

British Troops in Palestine and Transjordan

8th Infantry Division

8th Infantry Division, Jerusalem

British Troops in The Sudan

The Army of India

The British Indian Army, or as it was known in the British Army as the 'Army of India' was the collective name for all the units and commands of the army based in India. for Imperial Service Force.

Auxiliary Forces, India">Auxiliary Force (India)">Auxiliary Forces, India

The Auxiliary Force was a part-time, paid volunteer organisation within the Indian Army in British India. Its units were entirely made up of European and Anglo-Indian personnel.

Cavalry

Infantry

Contingents

Agra Contingent, Agra

Artillery

Engineers

Railway Troops

Western District (Independent)

Western District encompassed the states of: Baluchistan, Sind, Khairpur State, and Rajputana.

Northern Command

Northern Command comprised the areas of: The North-West Frontier Province; Waziristan District; Kashmir State; the Punjab ; the Punjab States including the Punjab Hill States

Kohat District

Kohat District, Kohat

Lahore District

Lahore District, Lahore

Peshawar District

Peshawar District, Peshawar

Rawalpindi District

Rawalpindi District, Rawalpindi

Waziristan District

Waziristan District, Dera Ismail Khan

Eastern Command

Eastern Command comprising: Delhi Province; Rohtak and Gurgaon districts, the United Provinces; Rajputana ; the combined Bundelkhand and Bagelkhand Agency of Central India; Piklon ; Gwalior State ; Bihar and Orissa Province; Eastern States Agency ; Bengal, Bengal States; Assam and Manipur States. Of the Punjab states; Pataudi, Dujana, Tehri and the Bawal District of the Nabha State.

Lucknow District

Lucknow District, Lucknow

Meerut District

Meerut District, Dehradun

Presidency & Assam District

Presidency & Assam District, Jalapahar

Southern Command

Southern Command comprised the areas of the Western India States Agency – Central India States Agency – Ajmer-Merwara – Jodhpur – Udaipur, Sirohi, Danta, Palanpur, Banswara, Partabgarh, Shahpurg, Kushalgarh, Nimbahera and Dungarpur States of Rajputana – Ujjain, Amjhera, Shajapur, and Mandasar districts of Gwalior State – Bombay Presidency – Gujarat States Agency including Baroda State – Deccan State Agency, including Kolhapur State – Central Provinces – Bastar Changbakhar, Chhuikadan Jashpur, Kanker, Karwardho, Khairagarh, Korea, Nandgaon, Raigarh, Sakti, Sarangarh, Surguja, Udaipur and Makrai States of the Eastern States Agency – Hyderababd State, Madras Presidency – Mysore State and Madras States Agency.

Bombay District

Bombay District, Bombay

Deccan District

Deccan District, Bolarum

Madras District

Madras District, Bangalore

Army in Burma

BAF - Burma Auxiliary Forces or BFF - Burma Frontier Force

Atlantic Region

The Atlantic region covered: Falkland Islands, Newfoundland, Saint Helena, and Bermuda.Falklands

Caribbean

The Caribbean region covered: Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent.Barbados

South America

The South America Region covered the areas of British Guiana and British Honduras.British Guiana

Mediterranean Region

The Mediterranean Region consisted of the colonies which were NOT part of Middle East Command. These regions included: Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, and Iraq.

Gibraltar

Malta

Iraq

Cyprus

China Command

China Command covered the British interests in: Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tianjin.China Command, Hong Kong

Shanghai Area

Shanghai Area, Shanghai

Tientsin Area

Tientsin Area, Tianjin

Malaya Command

Malaya Command covered British Malaya, British Singapore, and British Borneo.Malaya Command, Singapore

Penang Fortress

Penang Fortress, Fort Cornwallis

Federated Malay States Volunteer Force

Federated Malay States Volunteer Force, Port Dickson
  • * Headquarters, Volunteer Forces
  • * Federated Malay States Volunteer Force Signal Section
  • * Federated Malay States Volunteer Force Armoured Car Squadron, Ipoh
  • * 1st Battalion, Federated Malay States Volunteer Force, Ipoh
  • * 2nd Battalion, Federated Malay States Volunteer Force, Kuala Lumpur
  • * 3rd Battalion, Federated Malay States Volunteer Force, Seremban
  • * 4th Battalion, Federated Malay States Volunteer Force, Kuantan
  • * Light Field Battery, Federated Malay States Volunteer Force, Kuala Lumpur
  • * Federated Malay States Volunteer Force Engineer Company

Singapore Fortress

Singapore Fortress, Singapore

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean area covered the islands of Ceylon and Mauritius.

Ceylon

Ceylon Defence Force, Colombo

Mauritius

British Troops on Mauritius, Port Louis

Pacific Ocean Region

The Pacific Ocean region comprised the areas of: Fiji, Sarawak, and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony.Fiji

Royal West African Frontier Force

The Royal West African Frontier Force or also known as the West African Force comprised troops from the areas of Colony of Nigeria, Gold Coast Protectorate, Colony of Sierra Leone, Gambia Protectorate, and the Cameroons Mandate.Royal West African Frontier Force Headquarters commanded by Brigadier Collen Edward Melville Richards

East African Force

General Officer Commanding East African Force was responsible for War Office supervision of troops for the Uganda Protectorate, Kenya Colony, Tanganyika Mandate, Northern Rhodesia Protectorate, Southern Rhodesia Colony, and Nyasaland Protectorate.
Major General Douglas Dickinson commanded the force from his headquarters in Nairobi.
Directly responsible to HQ EAF: