Western District (British Army)

Western District was a command of the British Army.

History Early formation Great Britain was divided into military districts on the outbreak of war with France in 1793.Robert Burnham and Ron McGuigan, The British Army Against Napoleon: Facts, Lists and Trivia, 1805–1815 (2010) p. 7. The role of Western District Commander, which was doubled hatted with that of Lieutenant-Governor of Plymouth, was based at Government House, Mount Wise in Devonport. In January 1876 a ‘Mobilization Scheme for the forces in Great Britain and Ireland’ was published, with the ‘Active Army’ divided into eight army corps based on the District Commands. This scheme disappeared in 1881, when the districts were retitled ‘District Commands.Army List 1876–1881. By the 1890s the command included the counties of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset and all of South Wales.

In 1901 Western District was grouped with South East District at Dover and Southern District at Portsmouth under Second Army Corps at Salisbury. 2nd Army Corps was renamed Southern Command in 1905.Col John K. Dunlop, The Development of the British Army 1899–1914, London: Methuen, 1938.

Reformation The district was formed from 48th (South Midland) Division as part of the Territorial Army Volunteer Reserve in 1967. It had its headquarters at Copthorne Barracks, and was placed under the command of HQ UK Land Forces in 1972. In the early 1980s West Midlands District became "Western District".Army List 1981 In 1991, the first of the minor districts to be amalgamated were North West District, the former West Midlands District (by then Western District) and Wales, to form a new Wales and Western District. It was disbanded again on the formation of HQ Land Command in 1995."Land Command Shapes Up", Jane's Defence Weekly, 15 July 1995.

General Officers Commanding General officers Commanding included: Western District 1793 – 1803 Colonel John Campbell 1803 – 1812 Major-General Richard England 1812 – 1819 Major-General Gore Browne 1819 – 1823 Major-General Sir Denis Pack 1823 – 1833 Major-General Sir John Cameron 1835 – 1840 Major-General Sir Willoughby Cotton 1840 – 1842 Major-General Robert Ellice 1842 – 1852 Major-General Sir Henry Murray 1853 – 1854 Major-General Sir Harry Smith 1855 – 1859 Major-General George Eden 1859 – 1865 Major-General William Hutchinson 1865 – 1866 Lieutenant-General Viscount Templetown 1866 – 1869 Lieutenant-General Sir Augustus Spencer 1869 – 1874 Major-General Sir Charles Staveley 1874 – 1877 Lieutenant-General Henry Smyth 1877 – 1880 Lieutenant-General the Hon. Leicester Smyth 1880 – 1883 Lieutenant-General Thomas Pakenham 1883 – 1885 Major-General James Sayer 1885 – 1889 Major-General Thomas Lyons 1889 – 1990 Major-General Sir Howard Elphinstone 1890 – 1895 General Sir Richard Harrison 1895 – 1899 Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Forestier-Walker 1899 – 1905 Lieutenant-General Sir William Butler

West Midlands District 1967–1968 Major-General Peter Gillett 1968–1970 Major-General Graham Mills 1970–1973 Major-General James Majury 1973–1976 Major-General Robert Britten 1976–1979 Major-General Peter Downward Western District 1979–1982 Major-General Anthony Ward-Booth 1982–1983 Major-General Richard Keightley 1983–1986 Major-General Brendan McGuinness 1986–1989 Major-General Robert Ward 1989–1991 Major-General Peter Bonnet Wales and Western District 1991–1994 Major-General Michael Regan 1994–1995 Major-General Ian Freer

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