18th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 18th (East Anglian) Division


caption=
dates= World War II
country= United Kingdom
allegiance=
branch= Territorial Army
type=Infantry
role=
size=
command_structure=
current_commander=
garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles= France (1940)
Battle of Muar (53rd Infantry Brigade)
Singapore (1942)
notable_commanders=Bernard Paget
anniversaries="For the First World War unit, see British 18th (Eastern) Division."

The 18th (East Anglian) Infantry Division was a Division of the British Army in World War II, a duplicate of the 54th (East Anglian) Division using mostly units with connections to East Anglia .

History

The 18th (East Anglian) Infantry Division was landed at Singapore a few weeks before the fall of the island. Its units went into Japanese POW camps after the brief but violent week long Battle of Singapore. Other units, such as the 2nd Battalion, The Cambridgeshire Regiment and the 5th and 6th battalions, The Royal Norfolk Regiment—which had arrived before the rest of the Division—fought strong rearguard actions on the Malayan mainland. This division was not reformed.

General Officer Commanding (G.O.C)

*30.09.1939 Maj-Gen.T.G. McArthur
*30.11.1939 Maj-Gen. Bernard Charles Tolver Paget
*20.04.1940 (Acting) Maj-Gen.E.H.W.Backhouse
*14.05.1940 Maj-Gen. Bernard Charles Tolver Paget
*27.05.1940 (Acting) Brig.G.E.W.Franklyn
*01.06.1940 Maj-Gen.T.R.Eastwood
*09.06.1940 Maj-Gen. L.H.K. Finch
*14-07-1940 Maj-Gen. Merton Beckwith-Smith (P.O.W 15.02.1942)

Order of Battle

In January 1942 before the surrender in Singapore

18th Division H.Q.

*135th (Hertfordshire Yeomanry)Field Regt, Royal Artillery
*198th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps
*118th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
*287th Field Company, Royal Engineers
*125th Anti Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
*148th Field Regt, Royal Artillery
*288th Field Coy, Royal Engineers
*560th Field Coy, Royal Engineer
*251st Battalion, The Recce Regt (5th Battalion, The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) )
*9th Battalion, The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers , M.G. - Lieut.Col.Lechmere Thomas/Henry (Flossie) Flower

53rd Infantry Brigade

*Brigadier C.L.B.Duke
*2nd Battalion, The Cambridgeshire Regiment - Lieut.Col.Thorne
*5th Battalion, The Royal Norfolk Regiment
*6th Battalion, The Royal Norfolk Regiment - Lieut.Col.Ian Lywood (Hospitalised with malaria but killed during the massacre at Alexandra Hospital)

54th Infantry Brigade

*Brigadier E.K.W.Backhouse
*4th Battalion, The Royal Norfolk Regiment
*4th Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment
*5th Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment

55th Infantry Brigade

*Brigadier J.B.Coates
*1st Battalion, The Cambridgeshire Regiment - Lieut.Col.Gerald Carpenter
*5th Battalion, The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
*1st/5th Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters - Lieut.Col.Harold Lilly

References

*'Singapore Burning', Colin Smith. Penguin Books 2006. England. ISBN 978-0-14-101036-6

ee also

*British Divisions in World War II
*Battle of Singapore

External links

* [http://orbat.com/site/ww2/drleo/index.htm Order of Battle]
* [http://www.unithistories.com/units_british/18InfDiv.html Unit History]
* [http://niehorster.orbat.com/017_britain/39_org/div_inf.html#div-08 Order of Battle Data Base]
* [http://www.britain-at-war.org.uk/Cambridgeshires_in_the_Far_East/html/singapore.htm Cambrigeshire Regt. Site]
* [http://orbat.com/site/history/historical/malaysia/malayan1941.html History of Malayan Campaign]