Down. This deployment was used for training. This deployment lasted until December 1943, when the division was again placed directly under the command of Home Forces and returned to the mainland. The division's moves to and from Northern Ireland were leaked through double agents as part of Operation Fortitude. The division then moved to Sussex, and started to supply drafts of men to higher establishment divisions. By mid-1944, the five lower establishment divisions allocated to home defence duties (the 38th (Welsh), the 45th, the 47th (London), the 55th (West Lancashire), and the 61st) had a combined total of 17,845 men. Of this number, around 13,000 were available as replacements for the 21st Army Group fighting in France. The remaining 4,800 men were considered ineligible at that time for service abroad for a variety of reasons, including a lack of training or being medically unfit. Over the following six months, up to 75 per cent of these men were deployed to reinforce 21st Army Group following the completion of their training and certification of fitness. On 15 August, what was left of the division was dispersed. This process took until the end of the month, at which point the division and its brigades were disbanded. Holding Division and end of the war During 1944, the British Army suffered a severe shortage of manpower. In an effort to downsize the army, while efficiently maintaining as many formations as possible at full strength, the War Office began disbanding divisions. As part of this restructure, the decision was made to retain division numbers familiar to the British public due to their potential recruiting value. As a result, the 77th (Holding) Division was disbanded. Its GOC Major-General Godwin Michelmore and his staff reformed the division as the 45th (Holding) Division on 1 September. As part of this re-establishment, the 45th Division's brigades were reformed. The 134th Brigade was reformed from the redesignation of the 203rd Infantry Brigade, and the 135th Brigade was recreated from the 209th Infantry Brigade. Lieutenant-Colonel H.F. Joslen wrote that the division's role was now "for sorting, retraining and holding personnel temporarily – due to disbandments, medical and other causes." For example, the 14th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry maintained a rehabilitation centre. Ex-prisoners of war, repatriates, troops who were suffering from morale issues or of low physique were sent to the battalion where they underwent medical, physical, and military tests. These tests