The 9th (Scottish) Division, was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the

British Army during the First World War The British Army during the First World War fought the largest and most costly war in its long history. Unlike the French and German Armies, the British Army was made up exclusively of volunteers—as opposed to conscripts—at the beginning ...

, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener to serve on the Western Front during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the 1st South African Infantry Brigade Group joined in early 1916, the division was known

colloquial Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conver ...

ly as the '' Jock and

Springbok The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm v ...

s''.

History

Background

A 9th Division had been formed for service during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, and was commanded by

Henry Edward Colvile Major-General Sir Henry Edward Colvile, (10 July 1852 – 25 November 1907) was an English soldier. Biography Colvile was born at Kirkby Hall, Leicestershire, the son of Charles Robert Colvile and Hon. Katherine Sarah Georgina Russell. Colvi ...

. In 1902, a 9th Division was as formed and was commanded by

Edward Pemberton Leach General Sir Edward Pemberton Leach (2 April 1847 – 27 April 1913) was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth f ...

, but it was broken-up at some point prior to the start of the war.

First World War

In the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

, notable for being the first battle in which British forces used poison gas, the 9th (Scottish) Division assaulted the

Hohenzollern Redoubt The Hohenzollern Redoubt () was a strongpoint of the German 6th Army on the Western Front during the First World War, at Auchy-les-Mines near Loos-en-Gohelle in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Named after the House of Hohenzollern, ...

, the 5th Camerons suffered horrific casualties, and

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

James Dalgleish Pollock Captain James Dalgleish Pollock VC (3 June 1890 – 10 May 1958) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forc ...

gained a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for his actions. Bagpiper Battle of Bazentin Ridge 14-07-1916 IWM Q 4012

The 9th (Scottish) Division took part in major fighting during the Somme offensive. Notably it relieved the 30th Division at Montauban and later attacked German positions at Bernafay Wood, where it succeeded in capturing vital objectives and forcing a German withdrawal. In the Somme offensive, the 9th (Scottish) Division liberated the village of

Longueval Longueval () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Longueval is located northwest of Amiens on the D919 road, at the junction with the D8. Longueval is found in the north-east of the départeme ...

; the village now has a statue of a Scottish piper at its crossroads that commemorates this fact (see Caterpillar Valley Cemetery) and also other pipers who served in the

Order of battle

The division comprised the following brigades: ; 26th Brigade * 8th (Service) Battalion,

Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

* 7th (Service) Battalion,

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw servic ...

(

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of ...

Buffs,

Duke of Albany Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on the younger sons in the Scottish and later the British royal family, particularly in the Houses of Stuart and Hanover. History The Dukedom of Albany was first granted ...

's) * 8th (Service) Battalion,

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

(''transferred to 15th (Scottish) Division 7 May 1916'') * 5th (Service) Battalion,

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Al ...

* 1/5th Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment,

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

(TF) (''joined December 1915 left January 1916'') * 10th (Service) Battalion,

Argyll and 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 ...

(''transferred from 27th Brigade 6 May 1916, transferred to 32nd Division 17 February 1918'') *26th Machine Gun Company (''formed 29 January 1916 left to move into 9th Battalion

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks ...

(M.G.C.) 1 March 1918'') *26th Trench Mortar Battery (''joined 15 June 1916'') ; 27th Brigade * 11th (Service) Battalion,

Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) 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 ...

* 12th (Service) Battalion, Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) * 6th (Service) Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers (''transferred to 15th (Scottish) Division 7 May 1916'') * 10th (Service) Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (''transferred to 26th Brigade 7 May 1916'') * 6th (Service) 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 ...

(''transferred from 28th Brigade 6 May 1916'') * 9th (Service) Battalion,

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 ...

(''transferred from 28th Brigade 6 May 1916, transferred to the 14th (Light) Division in February 1918'') *27th Machine Gun Company (''formed 23 December 1915, left to move into 9th Battalion M.G. C. 1 March 1918'') *27th Trench Mortar Battery (''joined July 1916'') ; 28th Brigade (''The 28th Brigade was broken up in May 1916 and replaced with the 1st South African Brigade. It reformed in September 1918'') * 6th (Service) Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers (''transferred to 27th Brigade 6 May 1916'') * 9th (Service) Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (''transferred to 27th Brigade 6 May 1916, returned September 1918'') * 10th (Service) Battalion,

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fusi ...

(''transferred to South African Brigade 6 May 1916'') * 11th (Service) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (''transferred to South African Brigade 6 May 1916'') *2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers (''transferred from South African Brigade 13 September 1918'') * 1st Battalion,

Royal Newfoundland Regiment The Royal Newfoundland Regiment (R NFLD R) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. Predecessor units trace their origins to 1795, and since 1949 Royal N ...

(''joined September 1918'') *28th Machine Gun Company (''formed 3 January 1916 transferred to South African Brigade 6 May 1916'') *28th Trench Mortar Battery(''joined 11 September 1918'') ; 1st South African Brigade (''Replaced the 28th Brigade in May 1916 and was replaced in turn by a reformed 28th Brigade on 13 September 1918'') * 1st Regiment, South African Infantry (''merged with 2nd and 4th Battalions on 24 April 1918 as the South African (Composite) Regiment, regained separate identity on 1 September 1918'') * 2nd Regiment, South African Infantry (''merged with 1st Battalion, reformed 1 September 1918'') * 3rd Regiment, South African Infantry (''disbanded 18 February 1918'') * 4th Regiment, South African Infantry (''merged with 1st Battalion, reformed 1 September 1918'') * 10th (Service) Battalion,

(''transferred from 28th Brigade 6 May 1916, merged with 11th Battalion on 14 May 1916 forming 10/11th Battalion and transferred to 15th (Scottish) Division'') * 11th (Service) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (''transferred from 28th Brigade 6 May 1916 merged with 10th Battalion'') *3/4th Battalion,

Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Quee ...

, TF (''joined 6 June 1917, left 15 June 1917'') * 3/10th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, TF (''joined 6 June 1917, left 23 July 1917'') *2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers (''joined 26 April 1918, transferred to 28th Brigade 13 September 1918'') *9th (Service) Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (''joined 21 April 1918, transferred to 28th Brigade 12 September 1918'') *28th Machine Gun Company (''transferred from 28th Brigade 6 May 1916 left to move into 9th Battalion M.G.C. 1 March 1918'') *South African Trench Mortar Battery (''joined 13 June 1916'') Divisional Troops *6th (Service) Battalion,

Bedfordshire Regiment The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was the final title of a Line infantry, line infantry regiment of the British Army that was originally formed in 1688. After centuries of service in many conflicts and wars, including both the World War ...

(''left March 1915'') *6th (Service) Battalion,

Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both W ...

(''left April 1915'') *9th (Service) Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders (''joined December 1914, became Divisional Pioneer Battalion early 1915'') *10th Motor Machine Gun Battery (''joined 30 April 1915, left 11 June 1916'') *197th Company, M.G.C. (''joined 19 December 1916, left to move into 9th Battalion M.G.C. 1 March 1918'') *9th Battalion, M.G.C. (''formed 1 March 1918 absorbing the brigade MG companies'') *11th Motor Machine Gun Battery (''joined 7 October 1918, left 7 November 1918'') *Divisional Mounted Troops **B Squadron, 1/1st Glasgow Yeomanry (''joined 15 May 1915, left 10 May 1916'') **9th 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 ...

(''formed 1 December 1914, left 26 June 1916'') *9th Divisional Train Army Service Corps **104th, 105th, 106th and 107th Companies *21st 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 ...

*212th Divisional Employment Company (''formed by 23 June 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 ...

*L 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.) *LI Brigade, R.F.A. *LII Brigade, R.F.A. (''left 8 January 1917'') *LIII (Howitzer) Brigade, R.F.A. (''broken up 11 September 1916'') *9th Divisional Ammunition Column R.F.A. *

9th Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery The 9th Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, was one of the first British Army units recruited for ' Kitchener's Army' in the First World War. It served on the Western Front from 1915 to 1918, supporting different formations of the British ...

(''left 16 May 1915'') *V.9 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery R.F.A. (''joined May 1916, left February 1918'') *X.9, Y.9 and Z.9 Medium Mortar Batteries R.F.A. (''joined April 1916; on 13 February 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 heade ...

*63rd Field Company *64th Field Company *90th Field Company (''joined January 1915'') *9th 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 ...

*27th Field Ambulance *28th Field Ambulance *29th Field Ambulance (''left May 1916'') *South African Field Ambulance (''joined May 1916, left 13 September 1918'') *2/1st (East Lancashire) Field Ambulance (''joined 26 September 1918'') *20th Sanitary Section (''left 29 March 1917'')

General Officers Commanding

Commanders have included:Army Commands
* 27 August – 11 October 1914 Major-General

Colin Mackenzie Colonel Colin Mackenzie CB (1754–8 May 1821) was Scottish army officer in the British East India Company who later became the first Surveyor General of India. He was a collector of antiquities and an orientalist. He surveyed southern India, ...

* 11 October – 26 October 1914 Brigadier-General Spencer Scrase-Dickens (acting) * 26 October – 31 December 1914 Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Fergusson * 31 December 1914 – 21 January 1915 Brigadier-General Spencer Scrase-Dickens (acting) * 21 January – 8 September 1915 Major-General Herman Landon * 9 September – 27 September 1915 Major-General

George Thesiger Major-General George Handcock Thesiger (6 October 1868 – 27 September 1915) was a senior officer in the British Army during the First World War who was killed in action during the Battle of Loos by German shellfire. His career had encompa ...

* 27 September 1915 Major-General

Edward Bulfin Sir Edward Stanislaus Bulfin (6 November 1862 − 20 August 1939) was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British General officer, general during World War I, where he established a reputation as an excellent commander at the brigade, ...

(temporary) * 28 September 1915 – 2 December 1916 Major-General William Furse * 2 December 1916 – 4 March 1918 Major-General

Henry Lukin Major General Sir Henry Timson Lukin (24 May 1860 – 15 December 1925) was a South African military commander. He fought in the Anglo-Zulu War (1879) and the Basutoland Gun War (1880–1881), the Bechuanaland Campaign (1897), and the Anglo ...

* 4 March – 13 March 1918 Brigadier-General

Henry Hugh Tudor Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Hugh Tudor, KCB, CMG (14 March 1871 – 25 September 1965) was a British soldier who fought as a junior officer in the Second Boer War (1899–1902), and as a senior officer in the First World War (1914–18), b ...

(acting) * 13 March – 16 March 1918 Major-General

Cyril Blacklock Major General Cyril Aubrey Blacklock & Bar (26 September 1880 – 14 October 1936) was a British Army officer who commanded several divisions on the Western Front during the First World War. Early life Blacklock was the son of Joseph Herbert ...

* 16 March – 24 March 1918 Brigadier-General Henry Hugh Tudor (acting) * 24 March – 28 March 1918 Major-General Cyril Blacklock * 28 March 1918 – 1919 Major-General Henry Hugh Tudor

References

External links

The British Army in the Great War: The 9th (Scottish) Division

{{DEFAULTSORT:09 Infantry Division Infantry divisions of the British Army in World War I Kitchener's Army divisions Military units and formations of Scotland Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 1914 establishments in the United Kingdom 1919 disestablishments in the United Kingdom