The organisation of Divisions and Brigades of British Army in 1939, at the outbreak of the Second World War, is listed below.
Contents
- War Office
- Northern Command
- Eastern Command
- Western Command
- Southern Command
- Aldershot Command
- Scottish Command
- Northern Ireland District
- London District
- Anti Aircraft Command
- Middle East Command
- India and Burma Offices
- Army of India
- References
The ultimate head of all the British armed forces was nominally King George VI, with the various Offices coming underneath. The War Office covered the Army in the United Kingdom, and the Middle East Command. The professional head of the Army was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Lord Gort. However, Gort would command the BEF when it crossed to the continent, being replaced by General Ironside. The army was administered through the Army Council, comparable to the Air Staff or the Admiralty.
War Office
Leslie Hore-Belisha was responsible for the War Office in his role as Secretary of State for War.
Northern Command
The Northern Command, under Commander-in-chief Lieutenant General Sir William Bartholomew, with its HQ in York.
Eastern Command
Eastern Command, under Lieutenant General Sir Guy Williams, with its HQ in London. Apart from the 4th Infantry Division, the units were drawn from the Territorial Army.
Western Command
The Western Command, under Lieutenant General Sir Robert Haining, had its HQ in Chester.
Southern Command
The Southern Command, under Lieutenant General Sir Bertie Fisher, with its HQ in Salisbury.
Aldershot Command
Aldershot Command, under Lieutenant General Sir John Dill, with its HQ in Aldershot.
Scottish Command
The Scottish Command, under General Sir Charles Grant, with its HQ in Edinburgh.
Northern Ireland District
The Northern Ireland District, under Major-General Robert Pollok, with its HQ in Belfast. It had no subordinate divisions or brigades.
London District
The London District, under Major-General Andrew Thorne, with its HQ in London.
Anti-Aircraft Command
Anti-Aircraft Command, under Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Pile, with its HQ co-located with RAF Fighter Command at RAF Bentley Priory, in the northwestern London suburb of Stanmore.
There were varying numbers of brigades to each Divisional HQ, the units were drawn from the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers.
Middle East Command
The Middle East Command, under Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Wavell, with its HQ in Cairo, Egypt.
India and Burma Offices
Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland was responsible for both the India and Burma Offices in his role as Secretary of State for India.
Army of India
There were no British Army divisions or brigades in India but units of the British Army were posted on tour to India as the "British Army in India" and collectively with the Indian Army formed the "Army of India" under the Commander-in-Chief, India (in 1939 General Robert Cassels). He commanded this force through GHQ India, covering India, Iraq and Persia.