36th (Ulster) Division
| 36th (Ulster) Division | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Active | September 1914 – January 1919 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
|
| Branch |
 British Army
|
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | |
The 36th (Ulster) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Lord Kitchener's New Army, formed in September 1914. Originally called the Ulster Division, it was made up of members of the Ulster Volunteer Force, who formed thirteen additional battalions for three existing regiments: the Royal Irish Fusiliers, the Royal Irish Rifles and the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. The division served on the Western Front as a formation of the British Army during the Great War.
The division's insignia was the Red Hand of Ulster.
The Ulster Volunteers were a unionist militia founded in 1912 to block Home Rule for Ireland. In 1913 they organised themselves into the Ulster Volunteer Force to give armed resistance to the prospective Third Home Rule Act (enacted in 1914). With a rival Irish Volunteers being formed by nationalists in response, outright civil war in Ireland seemed possible. However, the outbreak of World War I intervened: the Act was put in abeyance until after what was expected to be a short war.
The 36th Division was commanded by Major-General Oliver Nugent from 1915 to 1918.
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