The British 51st (Highland) Division was a Territorial Army division that fought during the Second World War. The division was referred to as the "Highway Decorators" by other divisions who became used to discovering the 'HD' insignia painted wherever the Highlanders had passed through.

 

The 51st Division formed part of the British Expeditionary Force at the start of World War 2. With the capture of two of its brigades in France the division effectively ceased to exist. The Highland 9th Division was renumbered to replace the 51st which then served in the North Africa campaign.

 

The new 51st Highland Division was at El Alamein (October-November 1942) where it played a Major Part in Operation Lightfoot , where it was in the center of the Northern Push, between the Australian 9th Division and the 2nd New Zealand Division. It faced the 21st Panzer Division and some Italian units. Initially unsuccessful during Lightfoot, the minefields it cleared were key in achieving a breakout during Operation Supercharge. It was involved in the battle at Wadi Akarit, Tunisia in early April 1943.

 

 By D-Day, the 51st had been in constant demand for nearly 2 years. As it was, the warning bells had been rung in Italy, when a group of recuperating wounded soldiers of the 51st returning from their North African hospital base to rejoin the division in Italy, were split up instead and ordered to various units and formations totally unrelated to the 51st Division or its component regiments. The Jocks regarding this as heartless administrative high-handedness and refused to follow these orders. A mutiny was taking place. That members of such such a prime, proud formation as the 51st were prepared to mutiny reflects the total disregard for efficiency and unit pride and subservience to numbers displayed by the British military authorities in that theatre of war at that time. The mutineers, having made their point, were distributed to various units regardless, while ringleaders were jailed. It is one of the less-proud moments of British military history and leadership and was swept under the carpet until recently.

 

Monty changed his order of battle in the Brittany region to allow the 51st (Highland) Division to liberate Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, the scene of the division's surrender in June 1940. The division relished the moment and made it into a mini-media event, with pipes and drums and veterans of the 1940 campaign who had escaped capture and were with the 51st in 1944.

 

Late in 1944, in the Netherlands it was involved in the Battle of the Scheldt. Later it was a reserve unit on the Meuse during the Battle of the Bulge. It did not take part in much heavy fighting, and was only deployed as a stopgap in case the Germans broke through. It was later part of Operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine.

 

The 51st ended its war in the Bremerhaven area of Northern Germany

 

Order of Battle at formation

152nd Brigade

 2nd Battalion,

Seaforth Highlanders 5th Battalion,

Seaforth Highlanders 5th Battalion,

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders

 

153rd Brigade 5th Battalion,

Black Watch 1st Battalion,

 Gordon Highlanders 5/7th Battalion,

 Gordon Highlanders

 

154th Brigade

1st Battalion, Black Watch

 7th Battalion, Black Watch

7th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

 

Support Units
1/7th Battalion, The Middlesex Regiment

2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry,

 Royal Armoured Corps

126th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery

127th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery

128th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery

61st Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery

274th Field Company, Royal Engineers

275th Field Company, Royal Engineers

276th Field Company, Royal Engineers