British Army Order of Battle (September 1939)

The organisation of Divisions and Brigades of 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.

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.
 * 5th Infantry Division


 * Northumbrian Area (HQ in Darlington).
 * 23rd Motorised Division
 * 50th (Northumbrian) Motor Division
 * 25th Army Tank Brigade


 * West Riding Area (HQ in York).
 * 46th Infantry Division
 * 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division
 * 5th Cavalry Brigade

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.
 * 4th Infantry Division


 * East Anglia Area (HQ in Hereford).
 * 18th Infantry Division
 * 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division


 * Home Counties Area (HQ in Woolwich).
 * 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division
 * 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division
 * 21st Tank Brigade


 * Chatham Area (HQ in Chatham).
 * No divisions or brigades.

Western Command
The Western Command, under Lieutenant General Sir Robert Haining, had its HQ in Chester.


 * Welsh Area (HQ in Shrewsbury).
 * 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division
 * 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division


 * West Lancashire Area (HQ in Liverpool).
 * 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division
 * 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division
 * 6th Cavalry Brigade
 * 23rd Army Tank Brigade


 * East Lancashire Area (HQ in Manchester).
 * 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division
 * 66th Infantry Division
 * 24th Army Tank Brigade

Southern Command
The Southern Command, under Lieutenant General Sir Bertie Fisher, with its HQ in Salisbury.
 * 3rd Infantry Division
 * 1st Armoured Division


 * South-Western Area (HQ in Devonport).
 * 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division
 * 45th Infantry Division


 * South Midland Area (HQ in Oxford).
 * 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division
 * 61st Infantry Division
 * 20th Light Armoured Brigade


 * Southern Area (HQ in Salisbury).
 * No divisions or brigades.


 * Salisbury Plain Area (HQ in Salisbury).
 * No divisions or brigades.

Aldershot Command
Aldershot Command, under Lieutenant General Sir John Dill, with its HQ in Aldershot.
 * 1st Infantry Division
 * 2nd Infantry Division
 * 1st Army Tank Brigade

Scottish Command
The Scottish Command, under General Sir Charles Grant, with its HQ in Edinburgh.


 * Highland Area (HQ in Perth).
 * 9th (Highland) Infantry Division
 * 51st (Highland) Infantry Division


 * Lowland Area (HQ in Darlington).
 * 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division
 * 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division

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.
 * 1st (London) Motorised Division
 * 2nd (London) Motorised Division
 * 22nd Heavy Armoured Brigade

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.
 * 1st Anti-Aircraft Division
 * 2nd Anti-Aircraft Division
 * 3rd Anti-Aircraft Division
 * 4th Anti-Aircraft Division
 * 5th Anti-Aircraft Division
 * 6th Anti-Aircraft Division
 * 7th Anti-Aircraft Division

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.


 * British Troops in Egypt (HQ in Cairo).
 * Mobile Division
 * 7th Infantry Division


 * Mandate Palestine (HQ in Jerusalem).
 * 8th Infantry Division
 * 14th Infantry Brigade
 * 16th Infantry Brigade


 * The Sudan (HQ in Khartoum).
 * Brigadier commanding British Troops in the Sudan:
 * 1 Worcs
 * 2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
 * 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (machine-gun battalion)

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.