ROYAL NAVAL DIVISION

Men were seconded to the Royal Naval Division from two services: firstly the naval reservists such as the Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, the former made up of men who had seagoing experience as trawlermen or merchant seamen or fishermen. Secondly from the Royal Marines, which were initially a separate brigade. The Royal Naval Division was trained and equipped to fight as infantry on land

The Royal Naval Division was formed into two brigades consisting of eight infantry battalions named after admirals rather than being given battalion numbers as in the army.

They were initially under the command of the Admiralty, not the War Office. Each battalion was drawn from the major naval ports of Chatham, Portsmouth, Plymouth, alongside the depot at Deal. It was envisaged that the division could be used by the Admiralty to help secure and defend forward ports for naval forces

1st Royal Navy Brigade

Drake                                    

Hawke                                   

Benbow                                  

Collingwood        

2nd Royal Navy Brigade

Nelson

Howe

Hood

Anson

Although enlisting in the Royal Navy, those who were seconded to the Royal Naval Division never saw sea service.

The division fought on land at Ostend and Antwerp in Belgium early in the war, as well as the Dardanelles campaign (Gallipoli) in 1915. However, this campaign ended in failure with more than 130,000 men from Britain and its allies losing their lives, as well as around 400,000 men wounded. The effect of the campaign on the Royal Naval Reserve was extreme resulting in the Benbow and Collingwood battalion being disbanded because of heavy losses.

In 1916, the command of the Royal Naval Division was transferred to the War Office and redesignated as the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division which reflected its full integration into the army command structure with extra men joining from army battalions.

Naval reserves still accounted for many servicemen, but it is important to be aware of the three different resources for recruitment, namely the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines and the Army, because this affects where you need to research to find your ancestor’s service records.

The division fought on the Western Front from 1916 onwards, including battles such as Passchendaele, Arras, the Somme and Welsh Ridge. At the same time it kept many of its naval traditions. They had their own versions of the army uniform, employing ships’ bells to tell the time, growing beards, using nautical slang and the right to sit down when toasting the King. They also had a more casual approach to discipline than their army counterparts.

The Royal Naval Division was disbanded at the end of the First World War.

The memorial is located on Horse Guards Parade in London and dedicated to members of the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division killed whilst on active service during the First World War.