Back to mainROYAL NAVAL DIVISION 1914-19
This peice isn't intended to give a history of the RND (63rd RN Division), but a summary of facts and figures etc. For me the RND was in the top few British Divisions in WW1, it is also rated as such by other non biased experts. The reason why it was successful was of it's unique nature of Naval personnel which meant that they were fighting the Army bias as well as the Germans, mongrels make good fighters, and these were. It had a high morale, partly due to the fact that when you joined a battalion yu stayed with it for life, it had it's own reinforcement / training depot, in these two respects the RND was similar to the Guards. Like the Royal Navy, it was an aggresive force, and always more than punched it's weight. The original officers were of an artistic nature, often called the latin table, but men of real ability, with the likes of Bernard Freyburg and Arthur Asquith standing out. The factor of good leadship, feirce brotherhood/identity made the RND a force that was always highly regarded and as such was selected for many difficult tasks that are associated with being a "Storming Division", and with it the casualties also.
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