The history of 1st Division

One of the first British formations to move to France, the 1st Division remained on the Western Front throughout the war. It took part in most of the major actions, including:

1914
The Battle of Mons and the subsequent retreat, including the Rearguard Affair of Etreux
The Battle of the Marne
The Battle of the Aisne including participation in the Actions on the Aisne heights and the Action of Chivy
First Battle of Ypres

On 31 October 1914, at the climax of the First Battle of Ypres, Divisional headquarters at Hooge was hit by enemy shellfire, whereupon the Divisional Commander (Major-General Lomax) was severely wounded and the GSO1 (Col. F.W.Kerr) was killed.

1915
Winter Operations 1914-15
The Battle of Aubers
The Battle of Loos

1916
The Battle of Albert*
The Battle of Bazentin*
The Battle of Pozieres*
The Battle of Flers-Courcelette*
The Battle of Morval*
The battles marked * are phases of the Battles of the Somme 1916

1917
The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line
The Division was warned to prepare for an operation along the Belgian coast (Operation Hush) in Summer 1917 and several mobile units were attached in readiness. The operation was cancelled when the initial assaults in the Third Battle of Ypres failed to progress as expected.
The Second Battle of Passchendaele**
The battles marked ** are phases of the Third Battle of Ypres

1918
The Battle of Estaires***
The Battle of Hazebrouck***
The Battle of Bethune***
The battles marked *** are phases of the Battles of the Lys
The Battle of Drocourt-Queant+
The battle marked + is a phase of the Second Battles of Arras 1918
The Battle of Epehy++
The Battle of the St Quentin Canal++
The Battle of Beaurevoir++
The battles marked ++ are phases of the Battles of the Hindenburg Line
The Battle of the Selle
The Battle of the Sambre, in which the Division fought the Passage of the Sambre-Oise Canal

The Division was selected to advance into Germany and form part of the Occupation Force at Bonn.

The order of battle of the 1st Division

1st Guards Brigade
On the formation of the Guards Division in August 1915, this Brigade lost its two Guards battalions and was redesignated as the 1st Brigade.
1st Bn, the Coldstream Guards	left August 1915
1st Bn, the Scots Guards	left August 1915
1st Bn, the Black Watch
2nd, the Royal Munster Fusiliers	left August 1915 after the Rearguard Affair of Etreux
1st Bn, the Cameron Highlanders	joined September 1914
1/14th Bn, the London Regiment	joined November 1914, left February 1916
10th (Service) Bn, the Gloucestershire Regt	joined August 1915, disbanded February 1918
8th (Service) Bn, the Royal Berkshire Regt	joined August 1915, left February 1918
1st Bn, the Loyal North Lancashire Regt	joined February 1918
1st Brigade Machine Gun Company	formed on 26 January 1916 left to move into 1st MG Battalion 28 February 1918
1st Trench Mortar Battery	joined by 27 November 1915
2nd Brigade
2nd Bn, the Royal Sussex Regt
1st Bn, the Loyal North Lancashire Regt	left February 1918
1st Bn, the Northamptonshire Regt
2nd Bn, the King's Royal Rifle Corps
1/5th Bn, the Royal Sussex Regt	joined February 1915, left August 1915
1/9th Bn, the King's (Liverpool Regt)	joined March 1915, left November 1915
1/5th Bn, the King's Own (Lancaster)	joined October 1915, left January 1915
2nd Machine Gun Company	formed on 26 January 1916 left to move into 1st MG Battalion 28 February 1918
2nd Trench Mortar Battery	joined by 27 November 1915
3rd Brigade
1st Bn, the Queen's	left November 1914
1st Bn, the South Wales Borderers
1st Bn, the Gloucestershire Regiment
2nd Bn, the Welsh Regiment
2nd, the Royal Munster Fusiliers	joined November 1914, left February 1918
1/4th Bn, the Royal Welsh Fusiliers	joined November 1914, left September 1915
1/6th Bn, the Welsh Regiment	joined October 1915, left May 1916
1/9th Bn, the King's (Liverpool Regt)	joined November 1915, left January 1916
3rd Brigade Machine Gun Company	formed on 26 January 1916 left to move into 1st MG Battalion 28 February 1918
3rd Trench Mortar Battery	joined by 27 November 1915
Divisional Troops
1/6th Bn, the Welsh Regiment	joined as Divisional Pioneer Battalion May 1916
216th Company, the Machine Gun Corps	joined 22 March 1917 left to move into 1st MG Battalion 28 February 1918
No 1 Battalion, the Machine Gun Corps	formed 28 February 1918
Divisional Mounted Troops
C Squadron, the 15th (King's) Hussars	left April 1915
B Sqn, 1/1st Northumberland Hussars	joined 13 April 1915, left 18 April 1916
1st Company, Army Cyclist Corps	left 15 June 1916
Divisional Artillery
XXV Brigade, RFA
XXVI Brigade, RFA	left January 1917
XXXIX Brigade, RFA
LXI (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA	broken up 14 November 1916
1st Divisional Ammunition Column
26th Heavy Battery RGA	left April 1915
V.1 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery RFA	formed 30 January 1917, broken up 9 February 1918
X.1, Y.1 and Z.1 Medium Mortar Batteries RFA	joined by 16 March 1916; on 9 February 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each
Royal Engineers
23rd Field Company
26th Field Company
1st (Lowland) Field Company	joined December 1914, later renamed 409th Field Company
1st Divisional Signals Company
Royal Army Medical Corps
1st Field Ambulance
2nd Field Ambulance
3rd Field Ambulance	left 25 August 1915
142st Field Ambulance	joined 24 August 1915
13th Sanitary Section	joined by 30 January 1915, left 2 April 1916
Other Divisional Troops
1st Divisional Train ASC	6, 13, 16 and 36 Companies
2nd Mobile Veterinary Section AVC
204th Divisional Employment Company	joined 19 May 1917 at which time it was 6th Divisional Employment Company; renamed 14 June 1917
1st Divisional Motor Ambulance Workshop	joined by 30 January 1915, transferred to Divisional Train 7 April 1916

There is no published history of this Division.

This page is dedicated to the memory of men like
Thomas Leonard Morris, who landed in France as a ranker with the 1st Queen's. Believed to have been wounded during the First Battle of Ypres, he was commissioned as an officer of the regiment on 29 November 1917.
Thomas was researched in detail for a private client by fourteeneighteen|research