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British 53rd (Welsh) Division

53rd (Welsh) Division Army Territorial Army Formed 1908 Demobilised British First World War divisions Previous Next 52nd (Lowland) 54th (East Anglian)

The British 53rd (Welsh) Division was a Territorial Army division. During the First World War the division fought at Gallipoli and in the Middle East.

Unit history

The division landed at Suvla on August 9.

On March 26, 1917, the 53rd Division bore the brunt of the First Battle of Gaza where the three brigades, along with the 161st Brigade of the 54th Division, had to advance across exposed ground, withstanding shrapnel, machine gun and rifle fire, to capture the Turkish fortifications. Despite gaining the advantage towards the end of the day, the British commander called off the attack so that the division's casualties, close to 3,500, were suffered in vain.

Formation

The division comprised three infantry brigades. Some original battalions were detached early in the war to reinforce other divisions.

158th (North Wales) Brigade 

• 1/5th (Flintshire) Battalion, the Royal Welch Fusiliers
• 1/6th (Caernarvonshire and Anglesey) Battalion, the Royal Welch Fusiliers
• 1/7th (Merioneth and Montgomery) Battalion, the Royal Welch Fusiliers
• 1/1st Battalion, the Herefordshire Regiment

159th (Cheshire) Brigade 

• 1/4th Battalion, the Cheshire Regiment
• 1/5th Battalion, the Cheshire Regiment (until February 1915)
• 1/7th Battalion, the Cheshire Regiment
• 2/5th Battalion, the Cheshire Regiment (until April 1915)
• 2/6th Battalion, the Cheshire Regiment (until April 1915)
• 1/4th Battalion, the Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment
• 1/4th Battalion, the Royal Sussex Regiment
• 2/4th Battalion, the Royal West Kent Regiment
• 2/10th Battalion, the Middlesex Regiment
• 1/1st Battalion, the Monmouthshire Regiment (until February 1915)
• 1/3rd Battalion, the Monmouthshire Regiment (until February 1915)

Battles

• Battle of Gallipoli
  • Battle of Sari Bair
• First Battle of Gaza