British Land Units of the First World War

During the First World War the British Armed Forces was enlarged to many times its peacetime strength. This was done mainly by adding new battalions to existing regiments (the King's Royal Rifles raised a total of 26 battalions). Although sometimes identified by shoulder titles, generally the new battalions could not be identified from appearance. Consequently, the units in this list have been assembled considering only those as having a uniquely different cap badge.

Royal Navy
Although Men of the Royal Navy served on land in many areas throughout the world, the units listed below serve as an infantry division in Belgium and France (the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division).

1st (Drake) Battalion

2nd (Hawke) Battalion

5th (Nelson) Battalion

6th (Howe) Battalion

7th (Hood) Battalion

9th (Machine Gun) Battalion

Royal Marine Light Infantry

Royal Marine Artillery

Royal Marine Laour Corps

Royal Naval Air Service Armoured Car Section

Royal Naval Air Service

Regular Cavalry
The cavalry consisted of Guards (Household Cavalry), Dragoon Guards, Dragoons, Hussars & Lancers. The volunteer cavalry was called the Yeomanry and sometimes used the terms "Horse" or "Mounted Rifles" in their titles.

Life guards

Royal Horse Guards

1st King's Dragoon Guards

2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays)

3rd Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards

4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards

5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards

6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers)

7th (PrincessRoyal) Dragoon Guards

1st (Royal) Dragoons

2nd Dragoons (Scots Greys)

3rd (King's Own) Hussars

4th (Queen's Own) Hussars

5th (Roysl Irish) Lancers

6th (inniskilling) Dragoons

7th (Queen's Own) Hussars]

8th (King's Royal Irish) Hussars

9th (Queen's Royal) Lancers

10th (Prince of Wales Own Royal) Hussars-

11th (Prince Albert's Own) Hussars -

12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's Royal) Lancers

13th Hussars

14th (King's) Hussars

15th (The King's) Hussars

16th (The Queen's) Lancers

17th(Duke of Cambridge Own) Lancers

18th (Queen Mary's Own) Hussars

19th (Queen Alexandra's Own Royal) Lancers

20th Hussars

21st (Empress of Iindia) Lancers

Guards
Grenadier Guards

Coldstream Guards

Scots Guards

Irish Guards

Welsh Guards

Regular Infantry
Many regiments had two regular battalions, supported by associated battalions from the Territorial Force ('part-time' soldiers) and Reserve Battalions. After the start of the war, many new battalions were raised and called "Service Battallions". Units raised from a single locale were often given the word "Pals" in their title. Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment)

Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)

The Buffs (East Kent Regiment)

King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)

Royal Warwickshire Regiment

Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)

King's (Liverpool Regiment)

Norfolk Regiment

Lincolnshire Regiment

Devonshire Regiment

Suffolk Regiment

Prince Albert's (Somerset Light Infantry)

Prince of Wales's Own`(West Yorkshire Regiment)

East Yorkshire Regiment

Bedfordshire Regiment

Leicestershire Regiment

Royal Irish Regiment

Lancashire Fusiliers

Royal Scots Fusiliers

Alexandra Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment)

Royal Northumberland Fusiliers

Cheshire Regiment

Royal Welsh Fusiliers

South Wales Borderers

King's Own Scottish Borderers

Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

Gloucestershire Regiment

Worcestershire Regiment

East Lancshire Regiment

East Surrey Regiment

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry

Duke of Wellington's (West Riding)

Border Regiment

Royal Sussex Regiment

Hampshire Regiment

South Staffordshire Regiment

Dorsetshire Regiment

Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment)

Welsh Regiment (spelling changed to Welch after war)

Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)

Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry

Essex Regiment

Sherwood Foresters (Northamptonshire & Derbyshire Regiment)

Loyal North Lancashire Regiment

Northamptonshire Regiment

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry

King's Shropshire Light Infantry

Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment)

Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)

King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry)

Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment )

King's Royal Rifle Corps

Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire Regiment)

Manchester Regiment

Prince of Wales's (North Staffordshire Regiment)

York & Lancs Regiment

Durham Light Infantry

Highland Light Infantry

Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, Duke ofAlbany's)

Gordon Highlanders

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders

Royal Irish Rifles

Princess Victoria's (Royal Irish Fusiliers)

Connaught Rangers

Princess Louise's (Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders)

Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians)

Royal Munster Fusiliers

Royal Dublin Fusiliers

Rifle Brigade

Support Corps
Royal Field Artillery

Royal Horse Artillery

Royal Garrison Artillery

Corps of Royal Engineers

Royal Flying Corps (not separate at this time, but controlled by the War Office)

Royal Tank Regiment

Army Cyclist Corps

Royal Corps of Signal

Army Service Corps

Army Remount Service

Machine Gun Corps

Motor Machine Gun Service

Royal Army Medical Corps

Army Dental Corps

Army Ordnance Corps

Royal Army Pay Corps

Royal Army Veterinary Corps

Labour Corps

Army Chaplain Department

Yeomanry and Special Reserve
Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (Prince of wales's Own)

Warwickshire Yeomanry

Yorkshire Hussars Yeomanry

Nottinghamshire Yeomanry (Sherwood Foresters)

Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment)

Shropshire Yeomanry

Ayrshire Yeomanry (Earl of Carrick's Own)

Cheshire Yeomanry (Earl of Cheshire's)

Yorkshire Dragoons (Queen's Own)

Leicestershire Yeomanry (Prince Albert's Own)

North Somerset Yeomanry

Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry

Lanarkshire Yeomanry

Northumberland Yeomanry (Hussars)

Nottinghamshire Yeomanry (South Nottinghamshire Hussars)

Denbighshire Yeomanry

Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry

Pembroke Yeomanry (Castlemartin)

Royal East Kent Yeomanry (Duke of Connaugh's Own) (Mounted Rifles)

Hampshire Yeomanry (Carabiniers)

Buckinghamshire Yeomanry (Royal Buckinghamshire Hussars)

Derbyshire Yeomanry

Dorsetshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own)

Gloucestershire Yeomanry (Royal Gloucestershire Hussars)

Hertfordshire Yeomanry

Berkshire Yeomanry (Hungerford)

1st County of London Yeomanry (Middlesex, Duke of Cambridge's Hussars)

Royal First Devon Yeomanry

Suffolk Yeomanry (Duke of York's Own Loyal Suffolk Hussars)

Worcestershire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars)

West Kent Yeomanry (Queen's Own)

West Somerset Yeomanry

Oxfordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars)

Lothian and Border Horse

Queen's Own Royal Glasgow Yeomanry

Lancashire Hussars Yeomanry

Surrey Yeomanry (Queen Mary's Regiment)

Fife and Forfar Yeomanry

Norfolk Yeomanry (King's Own Royal Regiment)

Sussex Yeomanry

Glamorgan Yeomanry

Lincolnshire Yeomanry

City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders)

2nd County of London Yeomanry (Westminster Dragoons)

3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters)

Bedfordshire Yeomanry

Essex Yeomanry

Northamptonshire Yeomanry

East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry

First Lovat Scouts Yeomanry

Scottish Horse

Welsh Horse Yeomanry

King Edwards Horse

North Irish Horse

South Irish Horse

Territorial Force, Territorials and Service Batallions
4th & 5th Bns, Royal Scots (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) TF

5thB Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) TF

5th, 7th & 9th Bns King's (Liverpool Regiment) TF

6th (Rifle) Bn King's (Liverpool Regiment) TF

4th & 5th Bns Leicestershire Regiment TF

5th to 8th Bns Lancashi re Fusiliers TF

1st to 3rd Brecknockshire Bns South Wales Borderers TF

5th Bn Camonians (Scottish Rifles) TF

4th (City of Bristol), 5th & 6th Bns Gloucestershire Regiment TF

4th & 5th Bn East Lancashire Regiment TF

6th Bn East Surrey Regiment TF

4th (Cumberland & Westmorland) & 5th (Cumberland) Bns Border Regiment TF

5th (Cinque Ports) Bn Royal Sussex Regiment TF

6th (Duke of Connsught's Own) Bn Hampshire Regiment TF

8th (Ilse of Wight Princess Beatrice's) Bn Hampshire Regiment TF

9th (Cyclist) Bn Hampshire Regiment TF

6th Bn Dorsetshire Regiment TF

4th & 5th Bns Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) TF

7th (Cyclist) Bn Welsh Regiment TF

4th (City of Dundee), 5th (Angus & Dundee), 6th (Perthshire) & 7th (Fife0 Bns Black Watch TF

1st to 3rd Buckingham Bns Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry TF

4th to 7th Bns & 8th (Cylist) Bn Essex Regiment TF

7th (Sherwood Foresters) Bn Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derbyshire) TF

4th Bn Nottingshire Regiment TF

7th to 10th Bns Duke of Cambridge Own (Middlesex Regiment) TF

4th Bn Duke of Edinburgh's Wiltshire Regiment TF

8th (Argyllshire) Bn Princess Louise's (A rgyll & Sutherland Highlanders) TF

Northern Cyclist Bn TF

Highland Cyclist Bn TF

Kent Cyclist Bn TF

Huntingdonshire Cyclist Bn TF

Hertfordshire Regiment

Monmouthshire Regiment

Herefordshire Regiment

Cambridgeshire Regiment

20th to 25th (Service) Bns Northumberland Fusiliers (1st to 4th Tyneside Scottish)

14th to 16th (Service) Bns Royal Warwickshire Regiment (1st to 3rd Birmingham)

25th (Service) Bn Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) (Frontiersmen)

38th to 40th (Service) Bns Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)

17th to 20th (Service) Bns King's (Liverpool0 Regiment (1st to 4th City)

15th & 17th (Service) Bns Princess of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) (1st & 2nd Leeds)

13th (Service) Bn East Surrey Regiment (Wandsworth)

11th (Service) Bn Border Regiment (Lonsdale)

18th (Service) Bn Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) (1st Public Works pioneers)

16th to 23rd (Service) Bns Manchester Regiment (1st to 7th City)

14th (Service) Bn Royal Irish Rifles (Young Citizens)

5th (City of London) Bn London Rifle Brigade)

6th (City of London) Bn (City of London Rifles)

7th (City of London) Bn

8th (City of London) Bn (Post Office Rifles)

9th (County of London) Bn (Queen Victoria's Rifles)

10th (County of London) Bn (Hackney) s| 11th (County of London) Bn (Finsbury Rifles)

12th (County of London) Bn (The Rangers)

13th (County of London) Bn Kensington Rifles(Princess Louise's Kensington)

14th (County of London) Bn (London Scottish)

15th (County of London) Bn (Prince of Wales's Own Civil Service Rifles)

16th (County of London) Bn (Queen's Westminster Rifles)

17th (County of London) Bn (Poplar & Stepney Rifles)

18th (County of London) Bn (London Irish Rifles)

19th (County of London) Bn (St Pancras)

20th (County of London) Bn (Blackheath & Woolwich)

21st (County of London) Bn (1st Surrey Rifles)

22nd (County of London) Bn (The Queen's)

23rd (County of London) Bn

25th (County of London) Bn (Cyclist)

28th (County of London) Bn (Artists Rifles)

Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey

Royal Guernsey Light Infantry

Honourable Artillery Company