History of the British 1st Division during the World Wars

1st Division 1st Infantry Division 1st Mixed Division 1st British Infantry Division
Divisional insignia during the Second World War.
Active	1809 – present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Anniversaries	Peninsular Day[1]
Engagements	First World War Second World War
Website	Official website
Insignia
Identification symbol	The divisional insignia, which was adopted during the First World War.

The 1st Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was formed and disestablished numerous times between 1809 and the present. It was raised by Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley for service in the Peninsular War (part of the Coalition Wars of the Napoleonic Wars). It was disestablished in 1814 but re-formed the following year for service in the War of the Seventh Coalition and fought at the Battle of Waterloo. It remained active in France until 1818, when it was disbanded. It was subsequently raised for service in the Crimean War, the Anglo-Zulu War, and the Second Boer War. In 1902, it was re-raised in the UK. This latter event saw the division raised as a permanent formation, rather than being formed on an ad hoc basis for any particular crisis.

In 1914, the First World War broke out and the division fought on the Western Front throughout the entire period. In 1919, it was used to form the Western Division as part of the British Army of the Rhine occupation force in Germany. The 1st Division was reformed a few months later in the UK. In the inter-war period, it dispatched troops to take part in the Irish War of Independence, to take part in the Occupation of Constantinople, to oversee the 1935 Saar status referendum, and for service during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. In the Second World War, the division fought in the Battle of France, was evacuated at Dunkirk in 1940 and fought in the Tunisian and Italian campaigns. It ended the war in the Middle East.

During the Cold War, it was garrisoned in various locations across Africa and the Middle East before it returned to the UK. It was then disbanded and reformed in Germany, where it became the 1st Armoured Division in the 1970s. It latter fought in the Gulf War, served in Bosnia, took part in the Iraq War, and in 2014 was renamed the 1st (United Kingdom) Division.