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Structure of Aldershot Command in 1939

Aldershot Command was a formation of the British Army at the start of the Second World War in September 1939. It had been re-formed in 1905, when the army established a series of geographical military districts, known as "commands", to replace six army corps that had existed for a short period. The purpose of the commands was to administer all units and formations located within their geographical borders, and if needed could be further subdivided into "areas". In 1939, it was one of the army's six regional commands, which existed within the British Isles, on the outbreak of the Second World War.[1][2][3] Its geographical area encompassed parts of the following four counties: Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey, and Sussex.[4]

Black and white photographic portrait of man in military uniform.
Lieutenant-General John Dill, who was in charge of Aldershot Command on the outbreak of the war.

A command was placed under the control of a general officer commanding who was assisted by an assortment of staff officers, which were subdivided between the General Staff, the Adjutant-General, the Quartermaster-General, as well as the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, Royal Corps of Signals, Royal Army Medical Corps, and various other branches of the army. On the outbreak of the war, the general officer commanding of Aldershot Command was Lieutenant-General Sir John Dill.[4][5] Within the British Army's hierarchy, the command's general officer commanding would receive orders from General Headquarters, Home Forces and would then disseminate those instructions to the units under its charge. In the event of an invasion of the UK, it was intended that each command could form the basis for a field army.[2] However, on the outbreak of the war, Aldershot Command was used to form I Corps and then became responsible for providing drafts for British Expeditionary Force.[6][7] Following defeat during the Battle of France, the British Army reorganised their forces based in the UK. For Aldershot Command, this resulted in being downgraded into Aldershot Area within the new South Eastern Command on 15 February 1941. The new formation was formed by the splitting of Eastern Command and absorbing Aldershot's geographical area.[8]

Aldershot Command, outbreak of the Second World War, September 1939

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Main articles: Aldershot Command and Structure of the British Army in 1939

Headquarters : Aldershot[4]
Commander-in-Chief: Lieutenant General Sir John Dill[4]
Brigadier, General Staff: Brigadier Arthur Percival[4]

Services

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Royal Army Medical Corps (location for units not identified)[9]

Royal Army Ordnance Corps (location for units not identified)[9]

Royal Army Pay Corps[9]

Royal Army Veterinary Corps[9]

Independent brigades

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Married quarters at Blackdown

Army Tank Brigade (headquartered at Aldershot)[9][a]

1st Anti-Aircraft Brigade (headquartered at Blackdown)[9]

1st Infantry Division

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Main article: List of wartime orders of battle for the British 1st Division (1809–1945)

1st Infantry Division (headquartered at Aldershot)[9][11][12]

1st Infantry Brigade (Guards) (headquartered at Aldershot)

2nd Infantry Brigade (headquartered at Aldershot)

 
Sandhurst Block of the barracks at Bordon

3rd Infantry Brigade (headquartered at Bordon)

Divisional Troops

  • Divisional artillery, Royal Artillery
    • 2nd Field Regiment (Bordon)
    • 19th Field Regiment (Bordon)
    • 24th Field Regiment (Aldershot)
    • 21st Anti-Tank Regiment (location not identified)
  • Divisional engineers, Royal Engineers (all at Aldershot)
    • 17th Field Company
    • 23rd Field Company
    • 26th Field Company
    • 6th Field Park Company
  • Divisional Signals, Royal Corps of Signals (Aldershot)
  • Divisional reconnaissance
  • Royal Army Service Corps
    • 7th, 40th, and 42nd Companies (Aldershot)
  • Corps of Military Police
    • No. 1 Company (location not listed)

2nd Infantry Division

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Main article: List of orders of battle for the British 2nd Division

2nd Infantry Division (headquartered at Aldershot)[11][13][14]

4th Infantry Brigade (Aldershot)

5th Infantry Brigade (Aldershot)

 
Vehicle garage at Deepcut

6th Infantry Brigade (Blackdown)

Divisional Troops:

  • Divisional artillery, Royal Artillery
  • Divisional engineers, Royal Engineers (all at Aldershot)
    • 5th Field Company
    • 11th Field Company
    • 38th Field Company
    • 21st Field Park Company
  • Divisional Signals, Royal Corps of Signals (Aldershot)
  • Divisional reconnaissance
  • Royal Army Service Corps
    • 8th, 24th, and 29th Companies (Aldershot)
  • Corps of Military Police
    • No. 1 and 2 Companies (location not listed)

Other troops assigned directly to the command

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A tank repair workshop in Aldershot

Royal Armoured Corps[14]

Royal Artillery[14]

  • 2nd Medium Regiment (Longmoor)
  • 13th Anti-Tank Regiment (Aldershot)
  • 21st Anti-Tank Regiment (Aldershot)
  • 5th Anti-Aircraft Depot (Arborfield)
  • 6th Anti-Aircraft Depot (Arborfield)

Royal Engineers[14]

  • Regimental HQ and Motor Transport Depot (Aldershot)
  • 1st Field Squadron (Aldershot)
  • 8th (Railway) Company (Longmoor Military Railway)
  • 10th (Railway) Company (Longmoor)
  • Railway Training Center (Longmoor)

Royal Corps of Signals (all located at Aldershot)[14]

  • 'A' Corps Signals
  • No. 2 Company, General Headquarters Signals
  • No. 1, 3, 6, and 11 Artillery Signals Sections
  • 4th Tank Signal Section
  • No. 1 Cavalry Armoured Car Regiment Signal Troop

Infantry[b]

Royal Army Service Corps[14]

  • Training Centre (Aldershot)
  • Training Battalion (Aldershot)
  • Training Battalion (Crookham)
  • 1st, 3rd, 6th, 35th, 41st, 64th, "A", and "C" Companies (Aldershot)
  • 9th Company (Bordon)

See also

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Notes

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Footnotes

  1. ^ At the start of the war, the Royal Tank Regiment utilized 'infantry' terminology and called their units battalions. In May 1940, the Royal Armoured Corps (the parent organisation that administered all armoured units) standardised nomenclature around the 'cavalry' tradition and thereafter, the term battalion was dropped, and the units were then known only as regiments.[10]
  2. ^ Both battalions were located in Aldershot. While they were subordinate to Aldershot Command, they were both administered by brigades of the 1st Infantry Division.[14]

Citations

  1. ^ Dunlop 1938, pp. 137–138, 147, 212–213.
  2. ^ a b U.S. War Department 1943, p. 11.
  3. ^ Dear & Foot 1995, p. 1145.
  4. ^ a b c d e "War Office, Monthly Army List, August, 1939: Security Edition". National Library of Scotland. p. 41. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  5. ^ Dunlop 1938, pp. 212–213.
  6. ^ Ironside 2018, Chapter 17: Waiting in the Wings.
  7. ^ Collier 1957, p. 77.
  8. ^ Crew 1955, p. 299.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g "War Office, Monthly Army List, August, 1939: Security Edition". National Library of Scotland. p. 42. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  10. ^ The Tank 1960, p. 181.
  11. ^ a b "War Office, Monthly Army List, August, 1939: Security Edition". National Library of Scotland. p. 43. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  12. ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 35–36, 225, 229, 232.
  13. ^ Joslen 2003, pp. 39–40, 234, 237, 240.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g "War Office, Monthly Army List, August, 1939: Security Edition". National Library of Scotland. pp. 44–50. Retrieved 11 July 2023.

References

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  • Collier, Basil (1957). Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The Defence of the United Kingdom. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. London: HMSO. OCLC 375046.
  • Crew, Francis Albert Eley (1955). MacNalty, Arthur S. (ed.). The Army Medical Services: Administration. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Medical Series. Vol. II. London: HMSO. OCLC 14668174.
  • Dear, Ian; Foot, Michael (1995). The Oxford Companion to the Second World War. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19214-168-2.
  • Dunlop, John K. (1938). The Development of the British Army 1899–1914. London: Methuen. OCLC 59826361.
  • Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
  • Ironside, Edmund (2018). Ironside: The Authorised Biography of Field Marshal Lord Ironside. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-75098-740-0.
  • The Tank. Vol. Issue 498–509. London: Royal Tank Regimental Publications Committee. 1960. OCLC 25275667. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  • U.S. War Department (1943). Technical Manual: Handbook on the British Army with Supplements on the Royal Air Force and Civilian Defense Organizations. Washington: U.S Government Printing Office. OCLC 19930228.
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