In World War II it provided two anti-tank artillery units, which served in Tunisia, Italy and North West Europe.

[8][9][10] Under the 'Localisation of the Forces' scheme introduced by the Cardwell Reforms of 1872, Volunteers were grouped into county brigades with their local Regular and Militia battalions.

The following year the Plymouth & Mannamead College Cadet Corps was transferred to the 2nd VB from the 2nd Devonshire Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers).

[6] The late Victorian era saw a craze for cycling and the Volunteer Force took a leading role in developing the new Safety bicycle for military use.

[9][22][23][24] The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 proposed a more comprehensive Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war.

[9][29][30][31] After Black Week in December 1899, the Volunteers were invited to send active service units to assist the Regulars in the Second Boer War.

Three days later, with the international situation deteriorating, the division was warned to take 'precautionary measures' and its units took up their war stations, with the infantry brigades at defended ports in South West England.

On 15 August 1914, the War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units.

In this way duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas, and absorbing the large numbers of volunteers coming forward.

[4][46][47][48] On 24 September, the 1st Wessex Division accepted liability for service in British India to relieve Regular units for the Western Front.

There was also a requirement to provide reinforcements for other theatres of war: the 1/5th sent a draft of 50 men to the 2nd Bn Dorsetshire Regiment who were lost at the Fall of Kut in Mesopotamia.

By 1916 it was clear that the complete 43rd (Wessex) Division could not be returned to the Western Front as intended, so instead training was pushed forwards in India, some drafts were received (including a contingent from 2/5th Devons, then in Egypt), and the remaining units prepared for service in Mesopotamia.

It arrived at Suez on 4 April, to join a new 75th Division that was being assembled for the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) largely from TF battalions sent from India.

1/5th Devons were brought up to fill this, and with 1/4th Wiltshire Regiment of 233rd Bde alongside, they drove the enemy off the ridge and captured three machine guns.

Although it raced over the open ground in 'artillery order', the battalion's attacking force was reduced to six officers and 120 men pinned down behind the stone walls of an old vineyard.

In March the Germans had launched their Spring Offensive on the Western Front and after heavy fighting the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was suffering a severe manpower crisis.

Progress along the wooded valley was slow: on 22 July two companies of 1/5th Devons were sent to help 186th (2/2nd West Riding) Brigade attacking troublesome German positions in the Bois du Petit Champ.

The fighting was at close range in the thick undergrowth and at one point a company of the 2/5th Duke of Wellington's Regiment was surrounded and the survivors had to cut their way out, but by nightfall the area had been cleared in what the West Riding historian described as a 'gallant little enterprise'.

However, 185th Bde's flank was open, and it suffered serious casualties in the advance, finally being pushed back by counter-attacks into the Hindenburg support trench.

The 1/5th Devon and 2/8th West Yorkshires formed the right wig and were threatened with being enveloped, but made good use of 40 Germans machine guns they had captured.

[63][64][73][80][81] The division's final action of the war came on 4 November during the Battle of the Sambre, when it came up from reserve to cross the Rhonelle stream, 185th Bde pushing on to exploit the success.

[4][44][46][47][87][88] In Egypt the battalion carried out garrison duties until in June 1916 it was disbanded and its personnel were distributed as reinforcements to the 1/4th, 1/5th and 1/6th Devons; 1/5th Bn was still in India (see above), the other two were by then serving in Mesopotamia.

[4][6][9][93] In the 1920s and 1930s the following cadet companies were affiliated to the battalion:[9] After the Munich Crisis in late 1938 the TA was doubled in size, and once again its units formed duplicates.

130th Brigade's attack on Maltot went badly; 9th RTR's Churchills and the M10s were caught in a crossfire coming from the uncaptured part of Hill 112 and from beyond Éterville and took heavy casualties; 7th Hampshire Regiment got into the village but was almost destroyed.

[120][121] XII Corps crossed the Seine near Louviers on 27 August and then advanced quickly to the Somme; by early September it was driving across Belgium towards Antwerp.

[122][123][124] After the failure of Market Garden, 43rd (Wessex) Division was reinforced and left to defend 'The Island', the low-lying ground that had been captured between the Waal and the Nederrijn.

[125] XII Corps launched Operation Pheasant in late October to clear the ground towards the Meuse (Dutch: Maas) before winter set in, involving all-arms set-piece battles at 's-Hertogenbosch, Tilburg and Blerick.

[126][127][128] XII Corps was given a leading role in the crossing of the Rhine (Operation Plunder), but large A/T guns and M10s could play no part until the Royal Engineers had established heavy ferries and bridges.

[130][131][132][133] The fighting ended with the German surrender at Lüneburg Heath, after which the units of 21st Army Group carried out occupation duties in Germany.

[139] As a 'spare' corps A/T unit in a theatre that saw little armoured combat, 87th (Devon) Anti-Tank Regiment was one of those selected: it was broken up in May and officially placed in suspended animation on 26 June 1944.