List of Provisional Battalions of the Territorial Force facts for kids

The Territorial Force (TF) was a group of part-time volunteer soldiers in Britain, formed in 1908. Their main job was to defend Britain at home. This was important because the main British Army, called the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), would be sent to fight overseas.

When World War I began on 4 August 1914, the Territorial Force was called into action. Soon after, on 10 August, soldiers in the TF were asked if they would volunteer to serve overseas. Most of them said yes!

However, some soldiers either did not volunteer or were not healthy enough to go abroad. These soldiers were separated on 15 August. They formed new reserve units. Their job was to train the many new volunteers who were joining the army. By 31 August, these training units were called '2nd Line' units. They were like a second version of the original '1st Line' units, and their names often started with '2/'. This is how many duplicate army groups were created.

What Were Provisional Units?

By May 1915, the army decided to get the '2nd Line' Territorial Force units ready for fighting overseas. At the same time, new '3rd Line' training units were created. Their job was to provide new soldiers to both the '1st Line' and '2nd Line' units.

The soldiers who were still only serving at home, or who were not fit for overseas duty, were then grouped together. They formed special groups called 'provisional brigades'. The infantry battalions (smaller groups of soldiers) within these brigades were given numbers, from 1 to 108 (though some numbers were skipped). Other support groups, like those from the Royal Field Artillery or Royal Engineers, took the number of the provisional brigade they belonged to.

Later, in 1916, a new law called the Military Service Act 1916 changed everything. This law meant that all Territorial Force soldiers, if they were healthy enough, could be sent to fight overseas. Because of this, the provisional brigades were no longer needed in the same way. So, on 1 January 1917, the remaining infantry units from these brigades were given new names. They became numbered battalions (groups of soldiers) within regular army regiments.

List of Provisional Battalions

The table below shows some of the provisional battalions that were formed. It also shows which original units they came from and what their final name was, if they received one.

See also

• List of units of the British Army Territorial Force (1908)