63rd ( 2nd Northumbrian ) Division The 63rd ( 2nd Northumbrian ) Division of the British Army was a second - line Territorial Force division , formed in 1914 , which served on home defence duties during the First World War . The division was formed as a duplicate of the 50th ( Northumbrian ) Division in 1914 , composed primarily of soldiers recruited in north - eastern England . It remained on home defence and training duties in the north - east and eastern England until 1916 , when it was disbanded . Several of its constituent units would later serve overseas , deployed for support and garrison duties in almost every theatre of the war . History . The division was created as the " 2nd Northumbrian Division " , a second - line formation of the Northumbrian Division at the end of August 1914 . At this time , Territorial Force soldiers could not be deployed overseas without their consent , and the existing Territorial units were accordingly split into a " first line " , with men who had volunteered for overseas service , and a " second line " , which was intended for home service only . The second line units also served to absorb the large number of new , untrained , recruits who had joined the Territorial Force following the outbreak of war . The division ' s units formed through late 1914 , and assembled in the Sunderland - Newcastle area , where it was responsible for coastal defences . As with the original Northumbrian Division , the 2nd Northumbrian was organised into three infantry brigades . These were later numbered as the 188th , composed of the 2 / 4th , 2 / 5th , 2 / 6th , and 2 / 7th Northumberland Fusiliers ; the 189th , composed of the 2 / 4th East Yorkshire Regiment , the 2 / 4th and 2 / 5th Yorkshire Regiment ( Green Howards ) , and the 2 / 5th Durham Light Infantry ; and the 190th , composed of the 2 / 6th , 2 / 7th , 2 / 8th , and 2 / 9th Durham Light Infantry . The 188th Brigade recruited from Newcastle and Northumberland ; the 189th from the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire ; and the 190th entirely from County Durham . The division also raised second - line Territorial artillery , medical signal and engineer units , from the same areas . While it did not contain any organic mounted units , it had two cavalry brigades attached at formation - the first - line 1st Scottish Horse Mounted Brigade and the second - line 2nd Welsh Border Mounted Brigade - as well as the first - line 1 / 1st East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry . The division ' s commanding officer was Andrew Cracroft Becher , who had commanded a brigade of the original Northumbrian Division before the war . Through the next two years , the 2nd Northumbrian , numbered as the 63rd Division in 1915 , would provide drafts of trained men for the 50th Division as well as carrying out home defence duties . On 20 May 1915 it was paraded at Newcastle to be inspected by King George V and Queen Mary . The following day , the East Yorkshire Yeomanry was moved south to join 1st Mounted Division , In July the strength of its infantry battalions was set at a maximum of 600 men , with any more than this being transferred overseas ; shortly afterwards , in August , the Scottish Horse Brigade was shipped to Gallipoli , where it would serve as dismounted infantry . The division moved south to Nottinghamshire in November , and began to break up in May 1916 . The division itself ceased to exist in July , with some units remaining independent for several months before being broken up or transferred to new divisions . Four battalions were posted to overseas garrison duties - the 2 / 7th Northumberland Fusiliers to Egypt , the 2 / 4th East Yorkshires to Bermuda , and the 2 / 5th and 2 / 9th Durham Light Infantry to Salonika . The remaining infantry units were transferred to the newly formed 71st Division , 72nd Division , and 73rd Division , all home - service units . One of these battalions - the 2 / 7th Durham Light Infantry - later served with the Allied force in the North Russia Intervention . The artillery was transferred to the Royal Naval Division in France , the engineers to the 15th Indian Division in Mesopotamia , and the medical units to Salonika . The division ' s number was almost immediately reused for the 63rd ( Royal Naval ) Division , which was formed from the un - numbered Royal Naval Division on 19 July 1916 ; its constituent brigades were also renumbered , as the 188th , 189th , and 190th Brigades . The division was not reformed during the Second World War , and the numbers for the subsidiary brigades were also not reused .