British Army Order of Battle (September 1939)

The structure of the British Army in 1939, at the outbreak of the Second World War, is listed below.

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.

Aldershot Command
The Aldershot Command was stationed in the areas around Aldershot. The command controlled units based from the River Loddon to Swallowfield.
 * Headquarters at Aldershot under Lieutenant General Sir John Greel Dill KCB CMG DSO
 * Aldershot Command Signals Detachment
 * A Corps Signals Detachment
 * No. 2 General Headquarters Signals Company
 * No. 4 Tank Signals Detachment
 * No. 1 Artillery Signals Detachment
 * No. 3 Artillery Signals Detachment
 * No. 6 Artillery Signals Detachment
 * No. 11 Artillery Signals Detachment
 * 12th (Prince of Wales') Royal Lancers (Light Armoured Reconnaissance)
 * 2nd Medium Regiment Royal Artillery at Longmoor
 * 137th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery at Farnborough
 * 8th Railway Engineer Company at Longmoor
 * 10th Railway Engineer Company at Longmoor
 * Mechanized Experimental Establishment at Farnborough
 * Motor Transport Depot
 * Railway Training Centre at Longmoor
 * 5th Royal Artillery Training Depot at Arborfield
 * 6th Royal Artillery Training Depot at Arborfield
 * 1st Army Tank Brigade
 * Brigade Headquarters at Aldershot under Brigadier John Alan Lyde Caunter MC
 * 4th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 7th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 8th Royal Tank Regiment
 * 1st Anti-Aircraft Brigade
 * Brigade Headquarters at Blackdown
 * 1st Anti-Aicraft Brigade Signals Detachment
 * 6th Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery
 * 1st Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Engineers
 * 1st Light Anti-Aircraft Battery
 * Service Units
 * Royal Army Medical Depot, Aldershot (A, B, C Companies) at Crockham Camp
 * 1st Ordnance Section at Aldershot
 * 5th Ordnance Section at Bramlay
 * 1st Medical Company at Aldershot
 * 2nd Medical Company at Bramlay
 * 2 Aldershot Command Pay Platoons at Aldershot and Woking
 * 2nd Veterinary Platoon at Aldershot

1st Infantry Division

 * Divisional Headquarters at Aldershot under Major General Harold Alexander
 * 1st Divisional Signals Regiment
 * 13th/18th Royal Hussars
 * 1st Guards Infantry Brigade
 * Brigade Headquarters at Aldershot under Brigadier Merton Beckwith Beckwith-Smith MB DSO MC
 * 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards
 * 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards
 * 2nd Battalion The Hampshire Regiment
 * 1st Guards Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company
 * 2nd Infantry Brigade
 * Brigade Headquarters at Aldershot under Brigadier Charles Edward Hudson DSO M
 * 1st Battalion The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment
 * 2nd Battalion The Prince of Wales's North Staffordshire Regiment
 * 1st Battalion The Gordon Highlanders
 * 2nd Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company
 * 3rd Infantry Brigade
 * Brigade Headquarters at Bordon Camp under Brigadier Henry Osborne Curtis DSO MC
 * 1st Battalion The Duke of Wellington's Regiment
 * 2nd Battalion The Sherwood Foresters
 * 1st Battalion The King's Shropshire Light Infantry
 * 3rd Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company
 * Commander Royal Artillery, 1st Division
 * Brigade Headquarters at Aldershot under Brigadier Christopher Peter Westby Perceval DSO
 * 2nd Field Regiment Royal Artillery
 * 19th Field Regiment Royal Artillery
 * 24th Field Artillery Regiment Royal Artillery
 * 21st Anti-Tank Regiment Royal Artillery
 * Commander Royal Engineers, 1st Division
 * Brigade Headquarters at Aldershot under Lieutenant Colonel William Arthur Macdonald Stawell MC
 * 17th Field Engineer Company
 * 23rd Field Engineer Company
 * 26th Field Engineer Company
 * 6th Engineer Park
 * Commanders Services, 1st Division
 * Brigade Headquarters at Aldershot under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Vere Bennett OBE
 * No. 7 Transportation Company
 * No. 40 Transportation Company
 * No. 42 Transportation Company
 * No. 1 Military Police Company

2nd Infantry Division

 * Divisional Headquarters at Aldershot under Major General Henry Charles Loyd DSO MC
 * 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards (Armoured Reconnaissance)
 * 4th Infantry Brigade
 * Brigade Headquarters at Aldershot under Brigadier James Andrew Harcourt Gammell DSO MC
 * 1st Battalion The Royal Scots
 * 2nd Battalion The Royal Norfolk Regiment at Bordon
 * 1st Battalion The Border Regiment
 * 4th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company
 * 5th Infantry Brigade
 * Brigade Headquarters at Aldershot under Brigadier Gerald Ion Gartland DSO MC
 * 2nd Battalion The Royal Warwickshire Regiment
 * 2nd Battalion The Dorsetshire Regiment
 * 1st Battalion The Cameronians
 * 5th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company
 * 6th Infantry Brigade
 * Brigade Headquarters at Blackdown under Brigadier Noel Mackintosh Stuart Irwin DSO MC
 * 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh Fusiliers
 * 1st Battalion The Royal Berkshire Regiment
 * 2nd Battalion The Durham Light Infantry at Woking
 * Commander Royal Artillery, 2nd Division
 * Brigade Headquarters at Aldershot under Brigadier Charles Bannatyne Findlay MC ADC
 * 10th Field Regiment Royal Artillery
 * 16th Field Regiment Royal Artillery
 * 18th Field Regiment Royal Artillery
 * 13th Anti-Tank Regiment Royal Artillery
 * Commander Royal Engineers, 2nd Division
 * Brigade Headquarters at Aldershot under Lieutenant Colonel Rawdon Briggs DSO MC
 * 5th Field Engineer Company
 * 11th Field Engineer Company
 * 38th Field Engineer Company
 * 21st Engineer Park
 * Commander Services, 2nd Division
 * Brigade Headquarters at Aldershot under Major Harold Montague Hinde OBE
 * No. 8 Transportation Company
 * No. 24 Transportation Company
 * No. 29 Transportation Company
 * No. 2 Military Police Company

Eastern Command
The Eastern Command controlled the areas of; Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Middlesex, Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Woolwich (Only TA units based there).
 * Command Headquarters at Horse Guards under Lieutenant General Sir Guy Williams CB CMG DSO
 * Eastern Command Signals Detachment
 * Signal Experimental Establishment at Woolwich
 * No. 8 Artillery Signals Detachment at Canterbury
 * No. 10 Artillery Signals Detachment at Canterbury
 * No. 13 Artillery Signals Detachment at Canterbury
 * 1st Infantry Training Group at Colchester
 * 2nd Infantry Training Group at Lydd
 * Non-Combatant Labour Corps Depot at Colchester
 * 17th/21st Lancers (Cavalry) at Colchester
 * 2nd Battalion The Essex Regiment at Brentwood
 * 27th Field Regiment Royal Artillery at Colchester
 * 32nd Field Regiment Royal Artillery at Brighton
 * 5th Medium Regiment Royal Artillery at Shoeburyness
 * 2nd Heavy Regiment Royal Artillery at Shoeburyness
 * Detachment from The Survey Battalion Royal Artillery
 * Eastern Ports Artillery Fixed Defences
 * Headquarters at Sheerness
 * Dover Fire Command at Dover
 * Thames Fire Command at Shoeburyness
 * Medway Fire Command at Sheerness
 * Harwich Fire Command at Felixstowe
 * Eastern Command Supplementary Reserve
 * No. 25 Construction Signals Section
 * No. 61 Line Signals Section
 * No. 62 Line Signals Section
 * 108th Electrical and Mechanical Engineer Company at Chelmsford
 * Eastern Command Service Units
 * 7th Ordnance Section at Dover
 * 8th Ordnance Section at Colchester
 * 9th Medical Company at Colchester
 * 10th Medical Company at Shorncliffe
 * 12th Medical Company at Woolwich
 * 18th Medical Company at Millbank Barracks
 * Eastern Command Pay Section at Barnet
 * Eastern Command Pay Section at Canterbury
 * Eastern Command Pay Section at Chatham
 * Eastern Command Pay Section at Foots Cray
 * Eastern Command Pay Section at Hounslow
 * Eastern Command Pay Section at Warley
 * Eastern Command Pay Section at 60 Pall Mall
 * Eastern Command Veterinary Platoon at Woolwich
 * Eastern Command Veterinary Platoon at Colchester
 * Eastern Command Veterinary Platoon at Shorncliffe
 * 1st Veterinary Section at Woolwich

East Anglia Area
The East Anglian Area was one of the two "area" commands of the Eastern Command. It controlled the following areas: Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Middlesex, Herfordshire, Bedfordshire, Colchester, Purfleet and Rainham Rifle Ranges, Guards Barracks.
 * Area Headquarters at The Barracks, Herford under Colonel William Percy Buckley DSO
 * 1/7th Battalion The Middlesex Regiment (Machine-Gun) at Hornsey
 * 2/7th Battalion The Middlesex Regiment (Machine-Gun) at Southgate
 * 1/8th Battalion The Middlesex Regiment (Machine-Gun) at Hounslow
 * 2/8th Battalion The Middlesex Regiment (Machine-Gun) at Ruislip Manor

Army in 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.