Western Command (United Kingdom)

Western Command
Active 1905–1972
Country  United Kingdom
Branch British Army
Type Command
Garrison/HQ Chester

Western Command was a command of the British Army.

History

Watergate House, Chester, command headquarters from 1907 to 1938
Capital House, Chester, command headquarters from 1938 to 1972

Western Command was established in 1905 and was originally called the Welsh & Midland Command before changing its name in 1906.[1] In 1907 Western Command relocated to Watergate House in Chester.[2] In 1938, after a brief stay in temporary accommodation at Boughton, it moved to a new purpose-built neo-Georgian property known as Capital House at Queen's Park in Chester.[3]

First World War

Army Order No 324, issued on 21 August 1914, authorised the formation of a 'New Army' of six Divisions, manned by volunteers who had responded to Earl Kitchener's appeal (hence the First New Army was known as 'K1'). Each division was to be under the administration of one of the Home Commands, and Western Command formed what became the 13th (Western) Division.[4] It was followed by 19th (Western) Division of K2 in September 1914.[5]

Second World War

In 1939, under Lieutenant General Robert Haining, the command consisted of Welsh, West Lancashire, and East Lancashire Areas, each commanding two divisions plus other troops.[6] It covered Wales and the Counties of Cumberland, Westmorland, Lancashire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Cheshire, and Beachley, Gloucestershire as well as the Isle of Man and the coast defence garrisons of Berehaven, Queenstown and (for the purpose of technical training only) Lough Swilly.[7]

Regular Troops reporting to the Command included:[7]

During 1943–44, the 80th Infantry (Reserve) Division was assigned to the Command as its training formation. On 1 September 1944, the division was replaced by the 38th Infantry (Reserve) Division, which took over the training role.[8][9]

Post War

The Command was merged into HQ UK Land Forces (HQ UKLF) in 1972[10] and the property handed over to the Royal Army Pay Corps.[3]

General Officers Commanding-in-Chief

GOCs and GOCinCs have included:[11][12][13]
General Officer Commanding North Western District

General Officer Commanding in Chief Western Command

References

  1. Whitaker's Almanack 1907
  2. Langtree, Stephen; Comyns, Alan, eds. (2001), 2000 Years of Building: Chester's Architectural Legacy, Chester: Chester Civic Trust, p. 144, ISBN 0-9540152-0-7
  3. 1 2 Chester Walls
  4. "13th Division". The long, long trail. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  5. "19th Division". The long, long trail. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  6. Leo Niehorster, Western Command, orbat.com, accessed December 2008
  7. 1 2 Patriot Files
  8. Forty 2013, Reserve Divisions.
  9. Joslen 2003, pp. 65, 103.
  10. "Army Command Structure (United Kingdom)". Hansard. 17 December 1970. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  11. Whitaker's Almanacks 1905 – 1972
  12. Western Command at Regiments.org
  13. "Army Commands" (PDF). Retrieved 21 November 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/5/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.