The Royal Naval Division 1914-1919

[The Sailor]

When the First World War began, the Reserves of the Royal Navy were found to have a surplus of thousands of sailors even though the warships were fully crewed. This war would be conducted mainly on land so there was an obvious solution.

Reserves, reserve personnel from the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Fleet Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and a brigade of Royal Marines, Royal Navy and army personnel were brought together at Crystal Palace to form the Royal Naval Division (RND) in September 1914.

The RND was commonly known as "Winston's Little Army" because it was founded by Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty.

The Royal Naval Division fought alongside the army but at first the Admiralty retained control. This contributed to tensions around the RND, as did their observance of naval traditions; for example, the RND used naval ranks, they flew the white ensign, they were allowed to grow beards and they remained seated during the toast to the King's health.

The names of the battalions reflected naval history. Initially they were:

1st Brigade: Collingwood, Hawke, Benbow, Drake
2nd Brigade: Howe, Hood, Anson, Nelson
3rd Brigade (Royal Marines): Portsmouth, Plymouth, Chatham, Deal
The RND transferred to France in May 1916. The following month the Division was transferred to Army control. From this time they were known as the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division and they were supplemented by army battalions:

188th Brigade: Anson, Howe, 1 and 2 (Royal Marine) Battalions
189th Brigade: Drake, Hood, Nelson, Hawke
190th Brigade: Honourable Artillery Company, 7 Battalion Royal Fusiliers, 4 Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment, 10 Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers
The Royal Naval Division was demobilised in France in April 1919 after an inspection and an address by the Prince of Wales. In June 1919 the Division took part in its final parade and was disbanded.

I'm afraid that joining the navy didn't work out as a way to avoid the slaughter on the Western Front. They went too.

Total casualties killed wounded and missing were 44829

[herakles]

And famously fought at Gallipoli alongside the 29th Div.

Using .303 rifles that took a different bullet to the .303 issued to the 29th Div.

Just another disastrous mistake made at Gallipoli.

[limey43]

through reading this post I have just found out what RFR finally means, thank you. I have my Grandfathers record and a lot of it is confusing. He joined the Navy as a boy2 in 1915 at aged 16. J46647 He trained on land and ships until he went to sea on the Berwick in June of 1916. He stayed with the ship till Aug 1918. Then went on the Attentive 2 (Morris) dont know what Morris means. He then changed to SS 120468 as a stoker and served on the Grafton and Tiger. Upon his release Dec 7th 1922 it says paid war gratuity HMS Europa and war gratuity HMS Grafton. Reccomended for R.F.R. and there is an Unemployment Ministry of Labour Stamp 25117. Does this mean he did not join the R.F.R.? and if he did is there a way of looking up these records too.
Kind of a long post for a first time but am so confused with these records.!
Any help would be appreciated.
Regards,
Dave Gee

[Batstiger]

Hello Limey

Interesting in as much as serving on the Berwick, she was the cruiser that rammed and sank the Destroyer HMS Tiger. I presume the Tiger he served on was her namesake the Battle cruiser Tiger.
Here are three of the ships that he served on. Also the destroyer Tiger thet was sunk by the Berwick.

Bob.

[bert-261]

My small contribution to this section is a picture of The Hood Battalion badge. bert.

[jainso31]

The Royal Naval Division fought throughout the Great War and was in F&F from 1916-1918 in all the major battles including the Somme,Arras,Passchendaele,the German Spring offensive of 1918 and the Final 100 Days to Victory.
The Division suffered almost 48000 casualties in that war.

jainso31

[KizmeRD]

The initial batch of RND comprising of RM, RFR & pre-war RNR & RNVR who mobilized in August 1914 were sent directly to camps in Walmer and Bettshanger in Kent where they waited under canvass for a call to action.
Following the Battle of the Aisne, attention turned to the Channel ports because their importance in supplying the BEF. On 2 Oct. 1914 the Germans broke through near to Antwerp, driving back the Belgian army and threatening to seize the port. In response Churchill (as First Lord of the Admiralty) sent the RND to support and reinforce Belgian forces in the defence of Antwerp.

The RND was in truth a slender military asset, hastily assembled without clear orders and lacking equipment. Following the disintegration of the Belgian defenders, the RND was ordered to retire to Zwyndrecht 14 miles west of Antwerp. However the situation was fairly chaotic and not all battalions received the order, and soon after all cohesion was lost.
The RND expedition to Belgium suffered the loss of 7 officers and 53 men. Another 37 officers & 1,442 men made it over the border to Holland (where they were interned for the duration) and a total of 5 officers & 931 men were taken prisoner by the enemy.

Meanwhile Crystal Palace had been established in mid-September 1914 as a training depot to deal with the surge in enlistment consequent on the outbreak of hostilities. Crystal Palace recruits were therefore used to rebuild the battalions lost and depleted in the abortive defence of Antwerp.

As we know, the RND then went on to serve in Galliopli in 1915, and then in May 1916 it transferred to France. The following month the Division was placed under Army control and from this time on they were known as the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division.

Michael