56th (London) Infantry Division

1st London Division
56th (1st London) Division
1st London Infantry Division
56th (London) Infantry Division
56th (London) Armoured Division
The Shoulder patch of the 56th (1st London) Division, First World War.
Active1908–1919
1920–1946
1947–1961
Country United Kingdom
Branch Territorial Army
TypeInfantry
Armoured warfare
SizeDivision
Garrison/HQNew Broad Street (1914)
Finsbury Barracks (1939)
Nickname(s)"The Black Cats"
EngagementsFirst World War
Second World War
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Sir Charles Amyatt Hull
Sir Claude Liardet
Sir Montagu Stopford
Douglas Graham
Sir Gerald Templer
Sir Harold Pyman
Insignia
Identification
symbol

The formation badge for the 56th Division during the Second World War featured Dick Whittington's black cat on a red background.

The 56th (London) Infantry Division was a Territorial Army infantry division of the British Army, which served under several different titles and designations. The division served in the trenches of the Western Front during the First World War. Demobilised after the war, the division was reformed in 1920 and saw active service again in the Second World War in Tunisia and Italy. The division was again disbanded in 1946 and reformed first as an armoured formation and then as an infantry division before final disbandment in 1961.