Regular Army
There was one Regular Army formation stationed in Northern Command, namely the 5 Infantry Division, which was based at Catterick Camp in North Yorkshire. This formation had been disbanded in Ireland in 1922 with the creation of the Irish Free State, and was reformed in 1929 with the withdrawal of the British Army of the Rhine. The division comprised only infantry brigades, no artillery and one engineer unit. The third brigade of the division, the 14 Infantry Brigade, was stationed in Palestine.

Territorial Army

Each of the three Areas contained one Territorial Army formation, the:

46 (North Midland) Division;
49 (West Riding) Division;
50 (Northumbrian) Division.

Each of the Area Commanders also acted as divisional commander for their respective formations.

The 46 Division and North Midland Area were disbanded in 1936, to allow the expansion of anti-aircraft defences in the United Kingdom. The headquarters of the area formed the headquarters of the 2 Anti-Aircraft Division, with several units from all three areas being converted into anti-aircraft units. The remaining units were absorbed by the 49 Division.

In April 1939, when the order was given to expand the Territorial Army, the 49 Division formed a second-line division that took the designation of the previous 46 Division; and the 50 Division duplicated to form the 23 Division. Both the 50 and 23 Divisions consisted of only two brigades and were designated as motor divisions. The 50 and 23 Infantry Divisions were both deployed to France in early 1940, the latter for training and labour duties. The 49 Infantry Division was used to garrison Iceland whilst also sending two brigades to Norway. In addition, the 46 Infantry Division was sent to France for training and labour duties in early 1940.