62nd (2nd West Riding) Division in the Great War - The Wartime Memories Project -

62nd (2nd West Riding) Division

Divisional History  The 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division in 1914-1918
The history of 62nd (2nd West Riding) 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. They were joined by many new recruits from September 1914 onward.
The 'first line' 49th (West Riding) Division went to France in April 1915.
The units of the 'second line', the 2nd West Riding Division, remained at home for quite some time. Along with other 'second line' Divisions suffered it greatly from lack of equipment of all sorts, and training was inevitably affected. The Division also continually supplied drafts of men to the 'first line', which delayed things terribly.
In March 1915 Divisional HQ moved to Matlock Bath and the various units gradually moved to the Matlock, Derby, Belper, Nottingham and Bakewell areas. Two months later moves were made to Thoresby Park, Babworth Park, Welbeck Park, Southwell and Beverley. A further move in October 1915 saw all units concentrated in the area of Retford, then quickly going to Newcastle and in early 1916 to Salisbury Plain. Yet another move was made in June 1916, with the Division going to Lowestoft, Wangford, Flixton Park, Bungay and Somerleytown.
The Division was inspected by King George V on 26 July 1916. The units made a final move to Bedford, Wellingborough and Northampton in October 1916, where orders were received to embark for France.
The Divisional Ammunition Column sailed from Avonmouth for Rouen on 30 December 1916; the rest crossed from Southampton to Le Havre from 5 January 1917 and by 18 January concentration was completed in Third Army area between the rivers Canche and Authie. The Division then remained on the Western Front in France and Flanders for the rest of the war and took part in the following engagements:
1917

The Operations on the Ancre ( 15 February - 13 March)
The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line (14 - 19 March)
The first attack on Bullecourt (part of the Arras offensive) (11 April)
The German attack on Lagnicourt (part of the Arras offensive) (15 April)
The Battle of Bullecourt (part of the flanking operations round Arras) (3 - 17 May)
The actions on the Hindenburg Line (20 - 28 May)
The Cambrai Operations (Tank attack 20 - 21 November and the capture of Bourlon Wood 27 - 28 November)

1918

The Battle of Bapaume (25 March) - Somme 1918
The First Battle of Arras 1918 (28 March) - Somme 1918
The Battle of the Tardenois (Battles of the Marne 1918) (20 - 30 July)
The Battle of the Scarpe (26 - 30 August) - Arras 1918
The Battle of the Drocourt-Queant Line (2 September) - Arras 1918
The Battle of Havrincourt (12 September) - Hindenburg Line
The Battle of the Canal du Nord (27 - 30 September) - Hindenburg Line
The Battle of the Selle (17 - 23 October) - Final Advance in Picardy
The capture of Solesmes (20 October) - Final Advance in Picardy
The Battle of the Sambre (4 November) - Final Advance in Picardy

On 9 November the Division entered the southern outskirts of Maubeuge, crossed the Sambre and reached the Maubeuge-Avesnes road. The Division was selected to form part of the army which would advance across Belgium and occupy the Rhine bridgeheads, the only Territorial formation to receive this honour. The move began on 18 November, although the Division halted 1 - 9 December between Ciney and Rochefort. The German border was crossed on 15 December and the last units reached the allotted area around Schleiden on Christmas Day.
In February 1919, Scots battalions began to arrive and the Division was renamed as the Highland Division on 15 March 1919.
The Units forming the Divisional Order of Battle of the 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division
185th (2/1st West Riding) Brigade

2/5th Bn, the West Yorkshire Regiment disbanded 13-18 August 1918
2/6th Bn, the West Yorkshire Regiment disbanded 31 January 1918
2/7th Bn, the West Yorkshire Regiment disbanded 16-19 June 1918
2/8th Bn, the West Yorkshire Regiment became 8th Bn on 1 February 1918
212th Machine Gun Company joined 9 March 1917, moved to 62nd Bn MGC 9 March 1918
185th Trench Mortar Battery
1/5th Bn, the Devonshire Regiment joined 6 June 1918
2/20th Bn, the London Regiment joined 9 August 1918

186th (2/2nd West Riding) Brigade

2/4th Bn, the Duke of Wellington's
2/5th Bn, the Duke of Wellington's became 5th Bn on 1 February 1918
2/6th Bn, the Duke of Wellington's disbanded 31 January 1918
2/7th Bn, the Duke of Wellington's disbanded 17-18 June 1918
213th Machine Gun Company joined 9 March 1917, moved to 62nd Bn MGC 9 March 1918
186th Trench Mortar Battery
2/4th Bn, the Hampshire Regiment joined 14 June 1918

187th (2/3rd West Riding) Brigade

2/4th Bn, the King's Own Yorkshire LI
2/5th Bn, the King's Own Yorkshire LI became 5th Bn on 2 February 1918
2/4th Bn, the York & Lancaster Regiment
2/5th Bn, the York & Lancaster Regiment disbanded 3 February 1918
208th Machine Gun Company joined 4 March 1917, moved to 62nd Bn MGC 9 March 1918
187th Trench Mortar Battery

Divisional Troops

1/9th Bn, the Durham Light Infantry joined as Divisional Pioneer Bn 12 February 1918
201st Machine Gun Company joined 30 March 1917, moved to 62nd Bn MGC 9 March 1918
62nd Battalion MGC formed 9 March 1918

Divisional Mounted Troops

HQ, MG Section and B Sqn, the 2/1st Northumberland Hussars joined 18 April 1916, left before embarkation
62nd Divisional Cyclist Company formed 23 March 1915, left 19 January 1917

Divisional Artillery Note: the artillery of 59th Division was also attached 15-24 April 1918 and 17 May - 19 June 1918

CCCX (2/I West Riding) Brigade, RFA
CCCXI (2/II West Riding) Brigade, RFA
CCCXII (2/III West Riding) Brigade, RFA broken up 28 February 1917
2/IV West Riding (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA broken up may 1916
2/1st West Riding Heavy Battery, RGA left before embarkation and attached to Tyne garrison
62nd Divisional Ammunition Column RFA
V.62 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery, RFA broken up 11 February 1918
X.62, Y.62 and Z.62 Medium Mortar Batteries, RFA on 11 February 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have six 6-inch weapons each

Royal Engineers

2/1st West Riding Field Company left for 49th Division 23 June 1916, later retitled 458th
2/2nd West Riding Field Company left for 6th Division 13 October 1915, later retitled 459th
461st (3/1st West Riding) Field Company
457th (1/3rd West Riding) Field Company joined by November 1916
460th (2/3rd West Riding) Field Company joined by November 1916
62nd Divisional Signals Company

Royal Army Medical Corps

2/1st West Riding Field Ambulance
2/2nd West Riding Ambulance
2/3rd West Riding Field Ambulance
62nd Sanitary Section left for First Army 8 April 1917

Other Divisional Troops

62nd Divisional Train ASC retitled from the 2nd West Riding Divisional Transport and Supply Column, and the units also retitled as 525, 526, 527 and 528 Companies ASC
2/1st West Riding Mobile Veterinary Section AVC joined by November 1916
252nd Divisional Employment Company formed by 14 July 1917

Jul 1915 Training Instruction

Jul 1915 Billets

June 1916 On the Move

11th Aug 1916 On the Move

4th January 1917 Message from His Majesty the King

10th January 1917 Leaving Southampton

13th January 1917 Leaving Havre

15th Feb 1917 Reliefs

26th Feb 1917 Advance Made

26th Feb 1917 Moving On

13th March 1917 Into the trenches

16th March 1917 In Billets at Forceville

17th May 1917 Bullecourt Taken

19th of May 1917 Orders

16th of September 1917 Orders

1st October 1917 Somme and Cambrai

1st November 1917 Battle of Cambrai

3rd Nov 1917 Recce

3rd November 1917 7th Tank Regt. practiced with the Infantry.

9th Nov 1917 Training

9th November 1917 Another practice with 185th Infantry Brigade

17th of November 1917 108th Brigade Relieved

18th November 1917 Tanks arrive

20th of November 1917 IV Corps Attack

21st of November 1917 Some Advances Made

24th Nov 1917 Praise

25th Nov 1917 In Action

25th Nov 1917 Orders

1st December 1917 Retreat from Cambrai

24th Dec 1917 Reorganisation

21st Jan 1918 Course

5th Feb 1918 Course Ends

10th of February 1918 Orders

12th of February 1918

13th Feb 1918 Personnel

21st Feb 1918 Reorganisation

5th Mar 1918 Appointments

25th Mar 1918 Fighting Withdrawal

25th Mar 1918 Enemy Attacks

26th Mar 1918 Fighting Withdrawal

27th Mar 1918 In Defence

1st Apr 1918 Reliefs

28th of August 1918 Situation Unchanged

29th of August 1918 Enemy Evacuate Town

1st of September 1918 Attack Sucessful

27th September 1918 Heavy Shelling

2nd of November 1918 Warning of Advance

5th Nov 1918 In the Line

6th Nov 1918 Attack Made

8th Nov 1918 Advance

8th Nov 1918 Attack Made

9th Nov 1918 Attack Made

31st December 1918 The first Battle of Cambrai.

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Want to know more about 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division?

There are:53 items tagged 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division available in our Library

These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.

Those known to have served with
62nd (2nd West Riding) Division
during the Great War 1914-1918.

Binnie Arnold. Pte. 5th Btn. (d.21st Jul 1918)
Flanaghan Richard. Pte. 2nd/4th Btn. (d.30th Sep 1918)
Holdsworth John Willie. Sig. 310th Brigade
Holman Clive Whelpton. Pte. 16th Btn.
Roberts Fred. Pte
Ryder Herbert. Gnr. 4th West Riding Howitzer Brigade, A Battery (d.15th July 1917)

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258862

Pte Fred Roberts York and Lancaster Regiment

My paternal grandfather Fred Roberts was a blacksmith/farrier, whilst serving during the Great War. He was with the 2/4th of 2/5th York and Lancaster Regiment in 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division.

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254913

Sig. John Willie Holdsworth 310th Brigade Royal Field Artillery

John Holdsworth signed up August 1914 in Pals Battalion aged 16. Initially he was sent to a coastal battery at South Shields. He arrived in France in June 1915. He was first injured in June 1916, He returned to the lines in December 1916. On the 21st of August he was being buried, when he moved. He was barely alive and was sent to UK where the remnants of his damaged lung were surgically removed. Injury caused by shrapnel from German shellfire. Death notices had already been sent to his father with letters from his superiors. His obituary was published in the Shipley Times and Express on the 31st of August 1917.
John survived until May 1975 with one lung and some plumbing in silver. A remarkable testimony to his strength, the surgeons and infection control.
Susan Holdsworth

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254746

Pte. Clive Whelpton Holman 16th Btn. Middlesex Regiment

Clive Holman graduated from Dulwich College and joined the Army soon after War was declared, as did his two older brothers and a sister (as a nurse.) This information is from the Dulwich College Register. "Holman, Clive Whelpton,b.12 August 1896. Great War, Pte Publ. Schs. Bn. Middlesex Regt, R.N.Div., Dardanelles. Leading Mechanic, R.N.A.S. (rigid airships)".
His name is listed as crew of the R-29 flying out of Howden Base in Yorkshire. The R-29 attacked and sank the German U-boat UB-115.
After the War, Clive Holman emigrated to B.E.A. (Kenya), then in 1931 to Canada where he lived until his death in July 1980. He still had a piece of a metal girder from an airship which burned in its shed in 1918, and of a plywood girder dismantled at Howden. He was fascinated by airships.
Lois Holman Davidson

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249936

Gnr. Herbert Ryder 4th West Riding Howitzer Brigade, A Battery Royal Field Artillery (d.15th July 1917)

Herbert Ryder was an iron moulder at Dawson & Co Printing Press manufacturer, Otley. On 21st February 1914 he married Dorothy Lupton, 230 West Terrace, Burley in Wharfedale. Pre-war he had served in 4th West Riding Howitzer Brigade then from 1910 to 1914 with the 6th Battalion, West Riding Regiment, his term of engagement expired in May 1914.
He re-enlisted after hostilities began and served with the 2nd Line Territorial West Riding Artillery which became part of 62nd Division. He went to France January 1917. He died of wounds at 3rd Canadian Stationary Hospital, Le Treport on 15th of July 1917, and was buried in Mont Huon Military Cemetery.
Nick Hooper

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214641

Pte. Arnold Binnie 5th Btn. King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (d.21st Jul 1918)

Arnold Binnie, Private 51922, enlisted at Jarrow and served with the 5th Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, formerly 5/92117 of the 7th Training Reserve Battalion He died age 19 on the 21st July 1918. He is commemorated on the Triptych in St. Paul's Church Jarrow and his Grave Memorial Reference is at Soissons Memorial. His medal card shows the award of the War and Victory Medals.
Arnold was born in Gosforth and lived in Jarrow, son of Elizabeth Anne Binnie (nee Short) of 50 Dee Street Jarrow and the late Wilson Binnie. William Allison age 11 at School is living with his widowed mother Elizabeth Binnie and family at 20 Russell Street, Jarrow on the 1911 census.
Vin Mullen

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214061

Pte. Richard Flanaghan 2nd/4th Btn. Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment) (d.30th Sep 1918)

Richard Flanaghan was born and lived in Jarrow, the Son of Patrick Flanagan of Jarrow. On the 1911 census, Richard Flanaghan age 20 General Labourer at Chemical Works is with his father Patrick Flanaghan at 54 Old Church, Jarrow.
Richard enlisted at Newcastle and served with the 2nd/4th Battalion Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment). He died aged 27 on the 30th September 1918. He is commemorated on the Triptych in St. Paul's Church Jarrow and is buried in Grevillers British Cemetery.
Vin Mullen

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- 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division during the Great War -

62nd (2nd West Riding) Division

Want to know more about 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division?

Those known to have served with
62nd (2nd West Riding) Division
during the Great War 1914-1918.

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The Wartime Memories Project - 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division during the Great War -

62nd (2nd West Riding) Division

Want to know more about 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division?

Those known to have served with62nd (2nd West Riding) Divisionduring the Great War 1914-1918.

Can you help?

If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.

Announcements

Recomended Reading.

Links

The Wartime Memories Project
- 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division during the Great War -

Those known to have served with
62nd (2nd West Riding) Division
during the Great War 1914-1918.