It was envisioned that the duplicating and recruiting processes would take no more than six months. Although some TA divisions had made little progress by the time the Second World War began, others completed this work within weeks. The 18th Infantry Division became active on 30 September 1939; prior to this its units had formed, and were administered by the parent 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division. The 18th Division was composed of the 53rd, 54th and 55th Infantry Brigades, and divisional support troops. The division was formed with men from the county of Essex and the East Anglian counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. According to the Imperial War Museums, its insignia (windmill sails) denotes "the association of the Division with East Anglia". The 53rd Brigade consisted of the 5th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment (5RNR), 6th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment (6RNR), and the 2nd Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment (2CR). The 54th Brigade controlled the 4th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment (4RNR), 4th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment (4SR), and the 5th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment (5SR). The 55th Brigade was made up of the 5th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (5BHR), 1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment (1CR), and the 1/5th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (1/5SF). The division's first general officer commanding (GOC) was Major-General Thomas Dalby, who had been brought out of retirement.