The 34th Division was an infantry division of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

that was raised in 1914, during the First World War. The division was raised from volunteers for Lord Kitchener's

New Armies The New Armies (Traditional Chinese: 新軍, Simplified Chinese: 新军; Pinyin: Xīnjūn, Manchu: ''Ice cooha''), more fully called the Newly Created Army ( ''Xinjian Lujun''Also translated as "Newly Established Army" ()), was the modernised a ...

, that was originally made up of infantry

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

s raised by public subscription or private patronage. The division was taken over by the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from t ...

in September 1915. It served in France and Belgium in the

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from eros ...

of the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

for the duration of the war.

Unit history

The Division was one of the six created for the Fourth New Army on 10 December 1914. The division was originally made up of

Pals battalion The Pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who had enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbou ...

s, and two brigades of the Northumberland Fusiliers; the

Tyneside Scottish Tyneside Scottish is an honour title which has been held by a variety of British Army units since 1914. The Regiments which have held the title are the Northumberland Fusiliers, Durham Light Infantry, Black Watch and Royal Artillery. The Tynesi ...

and

Tyneside Irish Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as published i ...

. Major-General

Edward Ingouville-Williams Major-General Edward Charles Ingouville-Williams (13 December 1861 – 22 July 1916) was a British Army officer of the First World War. He was killed in action while serving as commander of the 34th Division. Early life and military career In ...

took command of the division in June 1915. It landed in France in January 1916. The division's first major action was the attack at

La Boisselle Ovillers-la-Boisselle is a Communes of France, commune in the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune of Ovillers-la-Boisselle is situated northeast of Amiens and ...

on the first day of the Battle of the Somme during which the division suffered heavy casualties and many of the original Pals were killed. It went on to suffer further losses at the Battle of the Lys in April 1918.

Order of Battle

The following units served with the division: ; 101st Brigade: * 15th (Service) Battalion (1st Edinburgh),

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

(''left May 1918'') * 16th (Service) Battalion (2nd Edinburgh), (

McCrae's Battalion McCrae's Battalion was the affectionate name given by the people of Edinburgh to the 16th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Scots in World War I, raised from volunteers in 1914 as part of the New Armies called to the Colours by Lord Kitchener. Th ...

), Royal Scots (''left May 1918'') * 10th (Service) Battalion (

Grimsby Chums The Grimsby Chums was a British First World War Pals battalion of Kitchener's Army raised in and around the town of Grimsby in Lincolnshire in 1914. When the battalion was taken over by the British Army it was officially named the 10th (Service) ...

Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiments ...

(''transferred to 103rd Brigade February 1918'') * 11th (Service) Battalion,

The Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bei ...

(''left May 1918'') *101st Machine Gun Company (''joined 27 April 1916, moved to 34th Battalion Machine Gun Corps (M.G.C.) 26 February 1918'') *101st Trench Mortar Battery (''joined 18 February 1916, broken up 16 May 1918'') After reorganisation in July 1918: * 2/4th Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) ( Territorial Force (T.F.)) (''joined June 1918'') *

4th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment The 2nd Sussex Rifle Volunteers was a part-time unit of the British Army first raised from the county of Sussex in 1859. It later became the 4th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment. A detachment served in the Second Boer War. During the First World W ...

(T.F.) (''joined June 1918'') * 2nd Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (Regular) (''joined June 1918'') *101st Trench Mortar Battery (''reformed 2 July 1918'') ; 102nd (Tyneside Scottish) Brigade : * 20th (Service) Battalion, (1st Tyneside Scottish), Northumberland Fusiliers (''disbanded February 1918'') * 21st (Service) Battalion, (2nd Tyneside Scottish), Northumberland Fusiliers (''disbanded February 1918'') * 22nd (Service) Battalion, (3rd Tyneside Scottish), Northumberland Fusiliers (''left June 1918'') * 23rd (Service) Battalion, (4th Tyneside Scottish), Northumberland Fusiliers (''left June 1918'') * 25th (Service) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (''from February 1918 until June 1918'') * 25st (Service) Battalion, (2nd Tyneside Irish), Northumberland Fusiliers (''joined February left June 1918'') *1/4th (T.F.) Battalion,

(''joined and left June 1918'') *7/8th (Service) Battalion

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

(''joined June left July 1918'') *102nd Machine Gun Company (''joined 27 April 1916, moved to 34th Battalion M.G.C. 26 February 1918'') *102nd Trench Mortar Battery (''joined 18 February 1916, broken up 16 May 1918'') After reorganisation in July 1918: * 1/1st Battalion,

Herefordshire Regiment The Herefordshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1861 to 1967. The regiment had no lineal connection with the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. History Formation The 1st Administrative Battali ...

(''joined June 1918'') * 1/4th Battalion,

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. Th ...

(''joined July 1918'') * 1/7th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (''joined July 1918'') *102nd Trench Mortar Battery (''reformed 10 July 1918'') ;

103rd (Tyneside Irish) Brigade The Tyneside Irish Brigade was a British First World War infantry brigade of Kitchener's Army, raised in 1914. Officially numbered the 103rd (Tyneside Irish) Brigade, it contained four Pals battalions from Newcastle upon Tyne, largely made up of m ...

: * 24th (Service) Battalion, (1st Tyneside Irish), Northumberland Fusiliers (''merged with 27th Battalion to form 24/27th Battalion N.F. on 10 August 1917, disbanded February 1918'') * 25th (Service) Battalion, (2nd Tyneside Irish), Northumberland Fusiliers (''left February 1918'') * 26th (Service) Battalion, (3rd Tyneside Irish), Northumberland Fusiliers (''disbanded February 1918'') * 27th (Service) Battalion,(4th Tyneside Irish), Northumberland Fusiliers (''merged with 27th Battalion to form 24/27th Battalion N.F. on 10 August 1917'') *9th (Service) Battalion, the Northumberland Fusiliers (''joined August 1917, left 26 May 1918'') * 1st Battalion,

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59th (2nd Notting ...

(''joined February 1918 left May 1918'') * 10th (Service) Battalion (

), Lincolnshire Regiment (''transferred from 101st Brigade February 1918 left June 1918'') *103rd Machine Gun Company (''joined 27 April 1916, moved to 34th Battalion M.G.C. 26 February 1918'') *103rd Trench Mortar Battery (''joined 18 February 1916, broken up 16 May 1918'') After reorganisation in July 1918: * 1/5th (Dumfries and Galloway) (T.F.) Battalion,

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own ...

(''joined June 1918'') * 1/8th Battalion, (T.F.)

Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Reg ...

(''joined June 1918'') * 1/5th (Renfrewshire) (T.F.) Battalion,

Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

(''joined June 1918'') *103rd Trench Mortar Battery (''reformed 1 July 1918'') On the

First day on the Somme The first day on the Somme, 1 July 1916, was the beginning of the Battle of Albert the name given by the British to the first two weeks of the 141 days of the Battle of the Somme () in the First World War. Nine corps of the French Sixth ...

, the division had the largest number of casualties of the British divisions, the 102nd Brigade had and the 103rd Brigade incurred From the brigades were swapped with the 111th and 112th brigades of the 37th Division, which was holding the line on a quiet sector at

Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

. Divisional Troops *18th (Service) Battalion, the Northumberland Fusiliers (''joined as Divisional Pioneer Battalion July 1915, left June 1918'') *2/4th (T.F.) Battalion, the Somerset Light Infantry (''joined as Divisional Pioneer Battalion June 1918'') ''Thirteen other infantry battalions joined the Division for short periods during its reorganisation in mid 1918, all had left by July 1918'') *19th Motor Machine Gun Battery (''joined November 1915 left 6 February 1916'') *240th Machine Gun Company (''joined 18 July 1917, moved to 34th Battalion M.G.C. 26 February 1918'') *34th Battalion M.G.C. (''formed 26 February 1918 absorbing the brigade M.G. companies'') *Divisional Mounted Troops **E Squadron, North Irish Horse (''left May 1916'') **34th Divisional Cyclist Company,

Army Cyclist Corps The Army Cyclist Corps was a corps of the British Army active during the First World War, and controlling the Army's bicycle infantry. History Formation Volunteer cyclist units had been formed as early as the 1880s, with the first complete bicy ...

(''left 11 May 1916'') *34th Divisional Train Army Service Corps **229th, 230th, 231st and 232nd Companies. *44th Mobile Veterinary Section

Army Veterinary Corps The Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC), known as the Army Veterinary Corps (AVC) until it gained the royal prefix on 27 November 1918, is an administrative and operational branch of the British Army responsible for the provision, training and ca ...

*231st Divisional Employment Company (''joined 25 May 1917'')

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

The Divisional artillery was placed under temporary command of 5th Division while the infantry was being reorganised in mid 1918. *CLII Brigade,

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

(R.F.A.) *CLX Brigade, R.F.A. *CLXXV Brigade, R.F.A. (''left 26 January 1917'') *CLXXVI (Howitzer) Brigade, R.F.A. (''broken up 28 August 1916'') *130th Heavy Battery

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA). ...

(R.G.A.) (''raised with Division but moved independently to France'') *516th Heavy Battery R.G.A. (''joined CLXXV Brigade 7 October 1916'') *34th (Nottingham) Divisional Ammunition Column R.F.A. *V.34 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery, R.F.A. (''formed by 16 August 1916; left for

VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to: France * VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army du ...

6 March 1918'') *X.34, Y.34 and Z.34 Medium Mortar Batteries, R.F.A. (''formed by 18 June 1916; on 6 March 1918, Z broken up and distributed among X and Y batteries'')

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the '' Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

*105th Field Company (''left February 1915'') *106th Field Company (''left February 1915'') *207th (Norfolk) Field Company (''joined February 1915'') *208th (Norfolk) Field Company (''joined February 1915'') *209th (Norfolk) Field Company (''joined February 1915'') *34th Divisional Signals Company

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

*102nd Field Ambulance *103rd Field Ambulance *104th Field Ambulance *74th Sanitary Section (''left 31 March 1917'')

Commanders

* Major-General

1915 – 22 July 1916 * Major-General

Lothian Nicholson Lieutenant-General Sir Lothian Nicholson (19 January 1827 – 27 June 1893) was Governor of Gibraltar. History He was the son of George Thomas Nicholson and his wife Anne Elizabeth Smith, daughter of William Smith. Educated at Mr Malleson ...

22 July 1916 – March 1919

Footnotes

References

* *

External links