Introduction
Southern Command encompassed the counties of Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire (except Windsor for Regular troops and the portion of the county in Aldershot Command), Cornwall, Devonshire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, and Hampshire (except the portion of the county in Aldershot Command).

The headquarters of the Command were located at Tidworth on Salisbury Plain from 1909, but prior to 1930, they moved to Government House in Churchfields, Salisbury. It was a Lieutenant General’s (or General’s) appointment.

Areas

The Command was divided into three Areas, namely the:

Salisbury Plain Area;
Wessex Area;
South Midland Area.

The Salisbury Plain Area comprised all the War Department land on or about Salisbury Plan, including the city of Salisbury, Trowbridge and Chiselden. The South Midland Area comprised the counties of Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. The Wessex Area comprised the counties of Cornwall, Devonshire, Somerset, Wiltshire (except the Salisbury Plain Area), Hampshire (except Tidworth and the portion of the county in the Aldershot Command) and Dorset.

Formations
There was one Regular Army divisional formation stationed in the Command. This was the 3 Infantry Division, which was based on Salisbury Plain, and Devonport, Plymouth and Portsmouth. The General Officer Commanding 3 Division also acted as the Area Commander for Salisbury Plain. The 2 Cavalry Brigade was stationed at Tidworth on Salisbury Plain, and there were other Regular Army units stationed across the Command.

There were two Territorial Army formations in the Command, the:

43 (Wessex) Division, with its headquarters at Devonport (later moving to Salisbury);
48 (South Midland) Division with its headquarters at Oxford.

In both cases, the General Officer Commanding the division was also the Area Commander.