The 3rd Infantry Division was a pre-war Regular Army formation, based in Southern Command. It was mobilised and sent to France in late 1939 to join the British Expeditionary Force. After evacuation from Dunkirk, the division remained in the U.K.
The Division landed on SWORD Beach at Ouistreham on D Day with the objective of capturing Caen. It reached to within a mile of the outskirts of the city on D+1. It later took part in the capture of the city, 7th-9th July, and in Operation GOODWOOD, 18th-21st July. The Division was in action around Vire near the junction with the Americans, 2nd-6th August.
(Major General TG Rennie up to 13th Jun 44; Brigadier EEE Case, acting commander up to 22nd Jun 44; Major General LG Whistler after 23rd Jun 44. Rennie was wounded and later transferred to command 51st Highland Division).
8th Infantry Brigade.
1st Bn. The Suffolk Regiment.
2nd Bn. The East Yorkshire Regiment (The Duke of York’s Own).
1st Bn. The South Lancashire Regiment (The Prince of Wales’s Volunteers.
9th Infantry Brigade.
2nd Bn. The Lincolnshire Regiment.
1st Bn. The King’s Own Scottish Borderers.
2nd Bn. The Royal Ulster Rifles.
185th Infantry Brigade.
2nd Bn. The Royal Warwickshire Regiment.
1st Bn. The Royal Norfolk Regiment.
2nd Bn. The King’s Shropshire Light Infantry.
Divisional Troops.
3rd Reconnaissance Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps.
2nd Bn. The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge’s Own).
7th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (H.Q., 9th, 16th& 17th/43rd Field Batteries, Royal Artillery).
33rd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (H.Q., 101st, 109th & 113th/114th Field Batteries, Royal Artillery).
76th (Highland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery.
20th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery.
92nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery.
17th Field Company, Royal Engineers.
246th (Welsh) Field Company, Royal Engineers.
253rd (West Lancashire) Field Company, Royal Engineers.
15th Field Park Company, Royal Engineers.
2nd Bridging Platoon, Royal Engineers.
3rd Divisional Signals, Royal Corps of Signals.
23rd Company, Royal Army Service Corps.
47th Company, Royal Army Service Corps.
48th Company, Royal Army Service Corps.
172nd Company, Royal Army Service Corps.
8th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps.
9th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps.
223rd Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps.
10th Field Dressing Station, Royal Army Medical Corps.
11th Field Dressing Station, Royal Army Medical Corps.
8th Infantry Brigade Workshops, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers.
9th Infantry Brigade Workshops, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers.
185th Infantry Brigade Workshops, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers.
3rd Divisional Ordnance Field Park, Royal Army Ordnance Corps.
3rd Divisional Postal Unit, Royal Engineers.
3rd Divisional Provost Company, Corps of Military Police.
33rd Field Security Section, Intelligence Corps.