8th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)

8th Division
8th Infantry Division
Insignia of the 8th Division, First World War[1]
Active1914–19
1938–40
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsBattle of Neuve Chapelle
Battle of Aubers Ridge
Battle of the Somme
Battle of Passchendaele
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Bernard Montgomery
Reade Godwin-Austen
William Heneker

The 8th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was active in both the First and Second World Wars. The division was first formed in October 1914 during the First World War, initially consisting mainly of soldiers of the Regular Army and served on the Western Front throughout the war, sustaining many casualties, before disbandment in 1919. The division was reactivated in Palestine, under the command of Major-General Bernard Montgomery, in the late 1930s in the years running up to the Second World War before being disbanded in late February 1940. It was briefly reformed in Syria in an administrative role during 1942-3.

  1. ^ Chappell pps. 24, 42