Glossary
There are so many words used when speaking of the Great War that it is often difficult to keep track of what they all mean. Indeed, many words were invented during the war, or as a result of it; 'Funky' for example, when used to describe a fusty or musky smell derived from the smell synonymous with the so-called 'funk-holes' which were small enclaves dug out of the side of a trench, which men would bed down in when time and Fritz allowed, where 'Funk hole' itself meant a place of safety or refuge.
Here we try to list out as many of the less-common or confusing words as we can. If you have a suggestion for other words to add in, please let us know by using the Contact Us page, or the social options in the footer.
Portion of the overall British Army, which sits underneath each GHQ. At the beginning of the war there was just one army within the BEF. At the end of 1914 this was expanded to 2, and by the end of the war there were 5 armies on the Western Front.
Army
Military unit which sits between a Brigade and a Company. Commanded by a Colonel or Lieutenant Colonel, and comprising of roughly 1000 men. Four Battalions made up a Brigade.
Battalion
Military unit which sits beneath a division, and above a battalion. Around 5,000 men per brigade, and around 3 divisions per division. Commanded by a Brigadier General.
Brigade
British Expeditionary Force (BEF)
Portion of the British Army which fought on the Western Front.
Portion of the army which sits beneath a battalion and above a platoon. Around 230 men per company, and normaly 4 per battalion, called A, B, C and D Companies. Each company commanded by a Major or a Captain. Each brigade also would have a Quartermaster Sergeant (QMS) and a Sergeant Major.
Company (Coy)
Concentration
The act of moving graves from smaller satellite cemeteries or lone, individual locations into larger cemeteries after the Armistice. Some cemeteries are entirely concentrations, whereas others are a mixture. Not all cemeteries contain concentration graves, however a quick read of the cemetery register will identify the original and concentration plots of each cemetery, if any exist.
Portion of the British Army which sits beneath an Army and above a Division. Typically 2 per army, commanded by a Lieutenant General. Comprised of around 3 divisions. Term also applied (with different meaning) to some infantry regiments and other parts of the army such as the Royal Army Medical Corps and so on.
Corps
Portion of the British Army which sits beneath a corps and above a brigade. Commanded by a Major General. Around 18,000 men per division, and around 3 divisions per corps. Each division also had around 76 artillery pieces.
Division
The uppermost level of the British Army (barring the War Council itself), commanded by the Field Marshall. In WW1 Sir John French began as the Field Marshall, and was replaced by Sir Douglas Haig (who had previously commanded the First Army) in December 1915. There was one GHQ for each 'arena of war'; for example, one for the BEF on the Western Front, one for the EEF (Egyptian Expeditionary Force), the MEF (Mediterranean Expeditionary Force) and so on. Had responsibility for overseeing all activity undertaken by that portion of the British Army.
General Head Quarters (GHQ)
Military unit which sat beneath a company. Around 50 men per platoon, commanded by a Lieutenant. Comprised of sections.
Platoon
Military 'organisation' comprising of battalions, to which men belonged. Different to a brigade in that an entire regiment would not be physically deployed into the field in its entirety, but would be split up across brigades. For example, during the Great War the 1st Battalion KOYLI were attached to 83rd Brigade of the 28th Division, and later the 151st Brigade of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division, while the 2nd Battalion was initially part of the 13th Brigade of the 5th Division and later transferred to the 97th Brigade of the 32nd Division.
Examples of regiments: York and Lancaster Regiment, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, Durham Light Infantry.
Regiment
Smallest unit of the British Army, which sat beneath a platoon. Around 12 men per section, commanded by a Corporal. A man's first loyalty would be to his section.
Section