List of battalions of the Devonshire Regiment

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This is a list of battalions of the Devonshire Regiment, which existed as an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1958.

Contents

Original composition

When the 11th (North Devonshire) Regiment of Foot became the Devonshire Regiment in 1881 under the Cardwell-Childers reforms of the British Armed Forces, seven pre-existent militia and volunteer battalions of Devonshire were integrated into the structure of the regiment. Volunteer battalions had been created in reaction to a perceived threat of invasion by France in the late 1850s. Organised as "rifle volunteer corps", they were independent of the British Army and composed primarily of the middle class.

BattalionFormedFormerly
Regular
1st16851st Battalion, 11th (North Devonshire) Regiment of Foot
2nd18582nd Battalion, 11th (North Devonshire) Regiment of Foot
Militia
3rd (Militia)1853South Devon Militia [1]
4th (Militia)1853East Devon Militia [2]
Volunteers
1st (Exeter and South Devon) Volunteer 18531st Devonshire (Exeter and South Devon) Rifle Volunteer Corps [3]
2nd (Prince of Wales's) Volunteer 18602nd Devonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps (Prince of Wales's) [3]
3rd Volunteer 18603rd Devonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps [4]
4th Volunteer18604th Devonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps [4]
5th (The Hay Tor) Volunteer 18605th Devonshire Rifle Volunteer Corps [5]

Reorganisation

The Territorial Force (later Territorial Army) was formed in 1908, which the volunteer battalions joined, while the militia battalions transferred to the "Special Reserve". All volunteer battalions were renumbered to create a single sequential order. Also in 1908, the 3rd (Militia) Battalion was one of the 23 infantry militia battalions to disband, and so the 4th was renumbered at the 3rd. [1]

BattalionFormerly
4th 1st (Exeter and South Devon) Volunteer Battalion
5th (Prince of Wales's) Amalgamation of 2nd (Prince of Wales's) and 5th (The Hay Tor) Volunteer Battalions
6th4th Volunteer
7th (Cyclist)Cyclist sections of 1st (Exeter and South Devon), 2nd (Prince of Wales's), and 5th (The Hay Tor) Volunteer Battalions

First World War

The Devons fielded 28 battalions and lost over 6,000 officers and other ranks during the course of the war. [6] The regiment's territorial components formed duplicate second and third line battalions. As an example, the three-line battalions of the 4th Devons were numbered as the 1/4th, 2/4th, and 3/4th respectively, with the third line battalions, being redesignated reserve battalions in 1916. Four battalions of the regiment were formed as part of Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener's appeal for an initial 100,000 men volunteers in 1914. They were referred to as the New Army or Kitchener's Army. The Volunteer Training Corps were raised with overage or reserved occupation men early in the war, and were initially self-organised into many small corps, with a wide variety of names, such as the Bideford and District Emergence League formed in early August 1914 with 80 members. [7] Recognition of the corps by the authorities brought regulation and as the war continued the small corps were formed into battalion sized units of the county Volunteer Regiment. In 1918 these were linked to county regiments. [8]

BattalionFormedServedFate
Regular [9] [10]
1st1685 Western Front, Italian Front
2nd1858Western Front
Special Reserve [9] [10]
3rd (Reserve)1908 Britain
Territorial Force [9] [10]
1/4th1853 Mesopotamia
1/5th (Prince of Wales's)1908 India, Sinai and Palestine, Western Front
1/6th1860India, Mesopotamia
1/7th (Cyclist)1908BritainSee Inter-War
2/4th Exeter, September 1914India, Sinai and PalestineDisbanded, in Egypt, August 1918
2/5th (Prince of Wales's) Plymouth, September 1914EgyptDisbanded, in Egypt, June 1916
2/6th Barnstaple, September 1914India, MesopotamiaDisbanded, in 1919
2/7th (Cyclist) Totnes, October 1914BritainDisbanded, in 1919
3/4th
4th (Reserve), from April 1916		Exeter, March 1915Britain, Ireland Disbanded, in 1919
3/5th (Prince of Wales's)
5th (Reserve), from April 1916		Plymouth, March 1915BritainAbsorbed by 4th (Reserve) Battalion, in September 1916
3/6th
6th (Reserve), from April 1916		Barnstaple, March 1915BritainAbsorbed by 4th (Reserve) Battalion, in September 1916
3/7th (Cyclist)1915BritainDisbanded, in March 1916
15th January 1917
from 86th Provisional Battalion (Territorial Force) 		BritainDisbanded, in 1919
16th (Royal 1st Devon and Royal North Devon Yeomanry)Egypt, January 1917Sinai and Palestine, Western FrontDisbanded, in 1919
New Army [9] [10]
8th (Service)Exeter, August 1914Western Front, Italian FrontDisbanded, in 1919
9th (Service)Exeter, September 1914Western Front, Italian FrontDisbanded, in 1919
10th (Service)Exeter, September 1914Western Front, Salonika Disbanded, in 1919
11th (Reserve) Exeter, November 1914BritainConverted to 44th Training Reserve Battalion in September 1916
Others [9] [10]
12th (Labour) Devonport, May 1916Western FrontBecame Nos. 152 and 153 Companies, Labour Corps, in April 1917
13th (Works) Saltash, June 1916BritainBecame 3rd Labour Battalion, in April 1917
14th (Labour)Plymouth, August 1916Western FrontBecame Nos. 154 and 155 Companies, Labour Corps, in April 1917
1st Garrison Weymouth, August 1915Egypt, Sinai and PalestineDisbanded, in 1919
2nd (Home Service) GarrisonExeter, July 1916BritainConverted to 5th Battalion, Royal Defence Corps, in August 1917
51st (Graduated)October 1917
from 206th Graduated Battalion		BritainDisbanded, in 1920
52nd (Graduated) October 1917
from 210th (Infantry) Battalion, Training Reserve 		BritainConverted to service battalion and disbanded in Germany, in 1920
53rd (Young Soldier) October 1917
from 35th Training Reserve Battalion 		BritainConverted to service battalion and absorbed into 1/5th Battalion in Germany, in 1920
Volunteer Training Corps [11]
1st Battalion Devonshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Devonshire Regiment		ExeterDisbanded post war
2nd Battalion Devonshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Devonshire Regiment		PlymouthDisbanded post war
3rd Battalion (North Devon) Devonshire Volunteer RegimentChesterDisbanded 1918
4th Battalion (South Devon) Devonshire Volunteer Regiment
later the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Devonshire Regiment		TorquayDisbanded post war
5th Battalion (East Devon) Devonshire Volunteer RegimentSidmouthDisbanded 1918

Inter-War

By 1920, all of the regiment's war-raised battalions had disbanded. The Special Reserve reverted to its militia designation in 1921, then to the Supplementary Reserve in 1924; however, its battalions were effectively placed in 'suspended animation'. As World War II approached, the Territorial Army was reorganised in the mid-1930s, many of its infantry battalions were converted to other roles, especially anti-aircraft.

BattalionFate
5th (Prince of Wales's)
7th (Cyclist)Originally to convert to 7th (Devon and Warwick) Medium Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery; however instead disbanded in 1921. [12]

Second World War

The regiment's expansion during the Second World War was modest compared to 1914–1918. National Defence Companies were combined to create a new "Home Defence" battalion, and in addition to this 25 battalions of the Home Guard were affiliated to the regiment, wearing its cap badge. By 1944 two anti-aircraft rocket batteries (Z Battery) were also part of the regiment. [13] Due to the daytime (or shift working) occupations of these men, the batteries required eight times the manpower of an equivalent regular battery. [14] A number of Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) troops were formed from the local battalions to defend specific points, such as factories. [15] . [16]

BattalionFormedServedFate
Regular
1st1685 India, Burma [17]
2nd1858 Malta, Sicily, North West Europe [18] See Post-World War II
Supplementary Reserve
3rd1908See Post-World War II
Territorial Army [19]
4th1853 Gibraltar, Britain
5th (Prince of Wales's)1908BritainConverted to 86th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, in 1941 [20]
6th1860Britain, IrelandConverted to 628th Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery, in January 1947
7th (Haytor)1939
as a duplicate of 5th (Prince of Wales's) Battalion [21] 		BritainConverted to 87th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, in 1941 [20]
8th1939
as a duplicate of 4th Battalion [22] 		BritainDisbanded, in 1947
9th1939
as a duplicate of 6th Battalion [23] 		BritainDisbanded, in August 1942
10thNovember 1939
from No. 80 Group, National Defence Companies		BritainBecome 30th Battalion, in December 1941
11thJuly 1940
from Regimental Depot		Britain, IrelandDisbanded, in September 1943
12thJuly 1940
from 50th (Holding) Battalion [24] 		Normandy, North West Europe [25] Disbanded, in November 1945 [26]
30thDecember 1941
from 10th Battalion		BritainDisbanded, in 1945
50th (Holding)1940BritainBecame 12th Battalion, in 1940 [24]
Home Guard [27]
BattalionHeadquartersFormation Sign (dark blue on khaki)BattalionHeadquartersFormation Sign (dark blue on khaki)
1stExeterDVN 12ndOttery St. MaryDVN 2
3rdCullomptonDVN 34thBarnstapleDVN 4
5thBidefordDVN 56thChumleighDVN 6
7thOakhamptonDVN 78thHolsworthyDVN 8
9thNewton AbbotDVN 910thTorqueyDVN 10
11thKnightsbridgeDVN 1113thTotnesDVN 13
14thBovey TracyDVN 1415thPlymptonDVN 15
16thPlymouthDVN 1617thDevonportDVN 17
18thSaltashDVN 1819thSeatonDVN 19
20thTivertonDVN 2021stPlymouthDVN 21
22ndExeter (5th Bn Southern Railways)DVN 2223rd (Drake's)TavistockDVN 23
24thHartlandDVN 2425thIllfracombeDVN 25
Home Guard Anti-Aircraft units [13] [15]
Formation Sign
(dark blue on khaki)		Headquarters or LocationAA Formation and DesignationFormation Sign
(dark blue on khaki)		Headquarters or LocationAA Formation and Designation
DVN 101Plymstock144th Battery, 18th Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Home Guard) (Z battery)DVN 102Plymouth142nd Battery, 18th Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Home Guard) (Z battery)
DVN 1Exeter,
(Great Western Railways)		A Troop LAADVN 9Newton Abbot,
(Great Western Railways)		A Troop LAA
DVN 10Torre,
(Great Western Railways)		A Troop LAADVN 16Plymouth and Laira Junction,
(Great Western Railways)		A Troop LAA
DVN 17Plymouth,
(Dockyards)		A Troop LAADVN 17Ernesettle and Bull Point
Ammunition depots		B Troop LAA
DVN 22Barnstaple,
(Southern Railways)		A Troop LAADVN 22Exeter and Exmouth,
(Southern Railways)		B Troop LAA
DVN 22Exeter Junction and Axminster,
(Southern Railways)		C Troop LAADVN 22Templecombe and Yeovil Junction,
(Southern Railways)		D Troop LAA
DVN 22Oakhampton, Meldon Quarry, Tavistock and Bere Aslton,
(Southern Railways)		E Troop LAADVN 22Launceston and Wadebridge,
(Southern Railways)		F Troop LAA

Post-World War II

In the immediate post-war period, the army was significantly reduced: nearly all infantry regiments had their first and second battalions amalgamated and the Supplementary Reserve disbanded.

BattalionFate
2ndDisbanded, in June 1948 [28]
5th (Prince of Wales's)Reformed, in January 1947. Later amalgamated with the 4th Battalion, in May 1950. [21]

1957 Defence White Paper

Under the 1957 Defence White Paper, it was announced that the Devonshire Regiment would amalgamate with the Dorset Regiment, to form the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, in May 1958.

BattalionFate
1stAmalgamated with 1st Battalion, Dorset Regiment to form 1st Battalion, Devonshire and Dorset Regiment [29]
4thTransferred to the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment without a change in title [22]

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References

  1. 1 2 Parkyn p.223
  2. ↑ Parkyn p.222
  3. 1 2 Westlake p.63
  4. 1 2 Westlake p.64
  5. ↑ Westlake p.65
  6. ↑ "The Devonshire Regiment In the First World War" . Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  7. ↑ Westlake, Ray (2020). Guide to the Volunteer Training Corps 1914-1918. Uckfield: Naval and Military Press. p. 23. ISBN   9781783315390.
  8. ↑ Westlake pp. 4-7
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Devonshire Regiment" . Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "Unit History: Devonshire Regiment" . Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  11. ↑ Westlake p. 114
  12. ↑ "7th (Cyclist) Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment". Archived from the original on 30 November 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  13. 1 2 Whittaker p. 107
  14. ↑ Whittaker p. 23
  15. 1 2 Whittaker pp. 115-116
  16. ↑ "Devon Home Guard" . Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  17. ↑ "1st Battalion, Devonshire Regiment" . Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  18. ↑ "2nd Battalion, Devonshire Regiment" . Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  19. ↑ "The 4th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 30th Battalions The Devonshire Regiment in World War Two" . Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  20. 1 2 "The 5th and 7th Battalions The Devonshire Regiment in World War Two" . Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  21. 1 2 "5th Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment". Archived from the original on 9 February 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  22. 1 2 "4th Battalion The Devonshire Regiment (and all Devonshire infantry successors)". Archived from the original on 5 March 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  23. ↑ "6th Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment". Archived from the original on 19 April 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  24. 1 2 "The 12th and 50th Battalions The Devonshire Regiment in World War Two" . Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  25. ↑ "12th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment" . Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  26. ↑ "12th Battalion The Devonshire Regiment" . Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  27. ↑ "History of the Home Guard" . Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  28. ↑ "2nd Battalion, 11th Regiment of Foot / 2nd Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment". Archived from the original on 1 January 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  29. ↑ "1st Battalion, 11th Regiment of Foot / 1st Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment". Archived from the original on 26 February 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2021.

Bibliography

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