British Army lists |
---|
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars |
Victorian era |
First World War |
Second World War |
Regiments |
Officers |
Other |
The article lists British Army reserve brigades in World War I. At the start of the war volunteers in the vast majority of cases joined their local infantry regiment's reserve battalion. As the army expanded rapidly, further reserve battalions and brigades were formed. After conscription was introduced in 1916 the existing regimental system could not cope with the large influx of recruits and the existing reserve brigades were incorporated into the Training Reserve, with an official complement of over 209,000 soldiers, in addition to the regimental training units.
On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular British Army, and the newly-appointed Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. This group of six divisions with supporting arms became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'. 'K2' and 'K3', followed shortly afterwards. [1] In addition, recruits flooded into the drill halls of the part-time Territorial Force (TF), which had largely volunteered for overseas service. [2] The flood of volunteers overwhelmed the ability of the army to absorb and organise them, and by the time the Fifth New Army ('K5') was authorised on 10 December 1914, many of the units were being organised as 'Pals battalions' under the auspices of mayors and corporations of towns up and down the country. Many of these pals who had lived and worked together, joined up and trained together and were allocated to the same units. The policy of drawing recruits from amongst the local population ensured that, when the Pals battalions suffered casualties, whole towns, villages, neighbourhoods and communities back in Britain were to suffer disproportionate losses. [3] [4] [5]
By the end of August 1914, 300,000 men had signed up to fight, and another 450,000 had joined up by the end of September. [6] Voluntary recruitment remained fairly steady through 1914 and early 1915, but it fell dramatically thereafter. Conscription for single men was introduced in January 1916. Four months later, in May 1916, it was extended to all men aged 18 to 41. [7] The Military Service Act March 1916 specified that men from the ages of 18 to 41 were liable to be called up for service in the army, unless they were married (or widowed with children), or served in one of a number of reserved occupations, which were usually industrial but which also included clergymen and teachers. This legislation did not apply to Ireland, despite its then status as part of the United Kingdom (but see Conscription Crisis of 1918). [8] By January 1916, when conscription was introduced, 2.6 million men had volunteered for service, a further 2.3 million were conscripted before the end of the war; by the end of 1918, the army had reached its peak strength of 4 million men. [5]
Before the war I British Army infantry regiments trained their recruits at their home depots from where they were drafted to one of their regiment's Regular Army battalions. On the outbreak of the war the part-time Special Reserve (SR; formerly Militia) battalions were mobilised to supply these reinforcement drafts from Reservists, Special Reservists, returning wounded, and new recruits. The voluntary TF was also mobilised, and after its units volunteered for overseas service in August 1914 they began forming 2nd Line battalions to train their own recruits. By May 1915 the 2nd Line was also being prepared for overseas service, and the TF began forming 3rd Line (in some cases 4th Line) units for training. Meanwhile, the battalions of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd New Armies ('K1', 'K2' and 'K3' of 'Kitchener's Army') were quickly formed at the regimental depots. The SR battalions also swelled with new recruits and were soon well above their establishment strength. By the autumn the depots were overwhelmed, and on 8 October 1914 each SR battalion at its coast defence station was ordered to use its surplus to form a service battalion of the 4th New Army ('K4'). These were organised into six new divisions (30th–35th) divided into 18 brigades (89th–106th). However, on 10 April 1915 the War Office decided to convert the K4 battalions into reserve units, to provide drafts for the K1–K3 battalions in the same way that the SR was doing for the Regular battalions. The K4 divisions were scrapped and their brigades renumbered as 1st–18th Reserve Brigades (the original brigade and division numbers were re-allocated to the 'Pals battalions' of K5). Later the depot companies of the K5 battalions were combined into reserve battalions, and grouped into 19th–26th Reserve Brigades. [2] [9] [10] [11]
On 1 September 1916 the whole training system was centralised with the formation of the Training Reserve (TR). The K4 and K5 reserve battalions lost their regimental affiliation and were redesignated as 1st–112th TR battalions, to which all recruits not required for the regimental reserves (SR and TF) were posted. They were issued with 'General Service' badges and could be drafted to any regiment, but the training officers and non-commissioned officers remained part of their parent regiments. The reserve brigades had now been concentrated at large training camps, and the TR had a total establishment of 209,537 men. Reserve brigades for the Machine Gun Corps were introduced in 1918. [12] [11] [13] [14] There was no change to the status or organisation of the SR battalions, but on 1 September 1916, the 3rd Line TF battalions (referred to as reserve battalions since 1 April) were amalgamated into only one, two or at most three per infantry regiment, and grouped into new reserve brigades bearing the titles of the TF divisions they were reinforcing. [15]
The scheme was further developed to provide for the progressive training of recruits under 19 years old (when they could be sent overseas). Of the 112 TR battalions, 42 were selected: 14 became 'Young Soldier Battalions' and 28 became 'Graduated Battalions'. When a recruit had finished initial training in the Young Soldier Battalion he was sent to one of two associated Graduated battalions, in which the four companies were organised by age, for training in 3-monthly steps between 18 and 19 years. As a result, every 3 months, 28 companies of newly trained 19-year-old soldiers were ready for drafting to France. In due course the War Office decided that Graduated battalions could be used for home defence while the men completed their training (as was the case with the SR). The Graduated battalions then began to be transferred from the Reserve brigades to replace 2nd Line TF battalions in the Home Service divisions. They were renumbered from 201st upwards, but later were once again affiliated with a particular regiment and numbered as the 51st (G), 52nd (G) or 53rd (YS) battalions of their regiment. [13] [14] [16]
Reserve brigade [9] [10] | Training camp September 1916 [15] [17] | Original battalions [9] [14] | TR battalion number September 1916 [15] |
---|---|---|---|
1st Reserve Brigade (former 89th Brigade) | Rugeley | 16th (Reserve) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry | 1st |
17th (Reserve) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry | 2nd | ||
10th (Reserve) Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment | 3rd | ||
11th (Reserve) Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment | 4th | ||
10th (Reserve) Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment | 5th | ||
2nd Reserve Brigade (former 90th Brigade) | Brocton | 13th (Reserve) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment | 6th |
9th (Reserve) Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment | 7th | ||
11th (Reserve) Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry | 8th | ||
11th (Reserve) Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment | 9th | ||
15th (Reserve) Battalion, Green Howards | 10th | ||
3rd Reserve Brigade (former 91st Brigade) | Brocton | 9th (Reserve) Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment | 11th |
13th (Reserve) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters | 12th | ||
14th (Reserve) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters | 13th | ||
14th (Reserve) Battalion, Manchester Regiment | 14th | ||
13th (Reserve) Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers | 15th | ||
4th Reserve Brigade (former 92nd Brigade) | Seaford | 11th (Reserve) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment | 16th |
11th (Reserve) Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment | 17th | ||
14th (Reserve) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps | [lower-alpha 1] | ||
15th (Reserve) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps | 18th | ||
14th (Reserve) Battalion, Rifle Brigade | 19th | ||
15th (Reserve) Battalion, Rifle Brigade | 20th | ||
5th Reserve Brigade (former 93rd Brigade) | Shoreham | 9th (Reserve) Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) | 21st |
11th (Reserve) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment | [lower-alpha 2] | ||
16th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers | 22nd | ||
9th (Reserve) Battalion, Queens Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) | [lower-alpha 3] | ||
10th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment | 23rd | ||
14th (Reserve) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment | 24th | ||
15th (Reserve) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment | [lower-alpha 4] | ||
6th Reserve Brigade (former 94th Brigade) | Harwich | 10th (Reserve) Battalion, Norfolk Regiment | 25th |
10th (Reserve) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment | 26th | ||
9th (Reserve) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment | [lower-alpha 5] | ||
10th (Reserve) Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment | 27th | ||
8th (Reserve) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment | 28th | ||
7th Reserve Brigade (former 95th Brigade) | Dover | 9th (Reserve) Battalion, Buffs (East Kent Regiment) | 29th |
10th (Reserve) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment | 30th | ||
14th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers | 31st | ||
15th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers | 32nd | ||
8th Reserve Brigade (former 96th Brigade) | Wool | 13th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment | 33rd |
13th (Reserve) Battalion, Hampshire Regiment | 34th | ||
7th (Reserve) Battalion, Dorset Regiment | 35th | ||
9th (Reserve) Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry | 36th | ||
9th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment | 37th | ||
8th (Reserve) Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment | [lower-alpha 6] | ||
9th Reserve Brigade (former 97th Brigade) | Dunfermline | 11th (Reserve) Battalion, Black Watch | 38th |
10th (Reserve) Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders | 39th | ||
8th (Reserve) Battalion, Cameron Highlanders | 40th | ||
13th (Reserve) Battalion, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders | 41st | ||
11th (Reserve) Battalion, Gordon Highlanders | 42nd | ||
10th Reserve Brigade (former 98th Brigade) | Wareham | 10th (Reserve) Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) | 43rd |
11th (Reserve) Battalion, Devonshire Regiment | 44th | ||
9th (Reserve) Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry | 45th | ||
13th (Reserve) Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment | 46th | ||
10th (Reserve) Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment | 47th | ||
11th Reserve Brigade (former 99th Brigade) | Prees Heath | 9th (Reserve) Battalion, Shropshire Light Infantry | 48th |
15th (Reserve) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) | 49th | ||
16th (Reserve) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) | [lower-alpha 7] | ||
14th (Reserve) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment | 50th | ||
10th (Reserve) Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment | 51st | ||
12th Reserve Brigade (former 100th Brigade) | Kinghorn | 13th (Reserve) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry | 52nd |
9th (Reserve) Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers | 53rd | ||
14th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Scots | 54th | ||
9th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers | 55th | ||
12th (Reserve) Battalion, Scottish Rifles | 56th | ||
13th Reserve Brigade (former 101st Brigade) | Kinmel Park | 9th (Reserve) Battalion, South Wales Borderers | 57th |
12th (Reserve) Battalion, Welsh Regiment | 58th | ||
13th (Reserve) Battalion, South Wales Borderers | 59th | ||
20th (Reserve) Battalion (3rd Rhondda), Welsh Regiment | 60th | ||
21st (Reserve) Battalion, Welsh Regiment | 61st | ||
14th Reserve Brigade (former 102nd Brigade) | Kinmel Park | 12th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers | 62nd |
18th and 20th (Reserve) Battalions, Royal Welsh Fusiliers | 63rd | ||
21st and 22nd (Reserve) Battalions, Royal Welsh Fusiliers | 64th | ||
14th (Reserve) Battalion, South Wales Borderers | 65th | ||
22nd (Reserve) Battalion, the Welsh Regiment | 66th | ||
15th (Ulster) Reserve Brigade (former 103rd Brigade) | Ireland | 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers | – |
4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers | – | ||
12th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers | [lower-alpha 8] | ||
3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles | – | ||
4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles | – | ||
5th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles | – | ||
3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers | – | ||
4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers | – | ||
16th Reserve Brigade (former 104th Brigade) | Altcar | 21st (Reserve) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) | 67th |
22nd (Reserve) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) | 68th | ||
25th (Reserve) Battalion, Manchester Regiment | 69th | ||
26th (Reserve) Battalion, Manchester Regiment | 70th | ||
27th (Reserve) Battalion, Manchester Regiment | 71st | ||
17th Reserve Brigade (former 105th Brigade) | Prees Heath | 21st (Reserve) Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers | 72nd |
22nd (Reserve) Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers | 73rd | ||
17th (Reserve) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment | 74th | ||
12th (Reserve) Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment | 75th | ||
12th (Reserve) Battalion, King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) | 76th | ||
18th Reserve Brigade (former 106th Brigade) | Dundee | 18th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Scots | 77th |
19th (Reserve) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry | 78th | ||
20th (Reserve) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry | 79th | ||
19th Reserve Brigade | Newcastle upon Tyne | 32nd (Reserve) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers | 80th |
14th (Reserve) Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment | 81st | ||
11th (Reserve) Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment | 82nd | ||
12th (Reserve) Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment | 83rd | ||
20th Reserve Brigade (1st Training Brigade, MGC, early 1918) [14] | Hornsea | 29th (Reserve) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers re-designated "A" Battalion, MGC | 84th |
30th (Reserve) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers re-designated "B" Battalion, MGC | 85th | ||
31st (Reserve) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers re-designated "C" Battalion, MGC | 86th | ||
21st (Reserve) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry re-designated "D" Battalion, MGC | 87th | ||
23rd (Reserve) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry | [lower-alpha 9] | ||
21st Reserve Brigade | Blyth, Northumberland | 19th (Reserve) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment | 88th |
20th (Reserve) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment | 89th | ||
14th (Reserve) Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment (Hull) | 90th | ||
15th (Reserve) Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment | 91st | ||
15th (Reserve) Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment | [lower-alpha 10] | ||
22nd Reserve Brigade | Chiseldon | 17th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment | 92nd |
15th (Reserve) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment | 93rd | ||
16th (Reserve) Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment | 94th | ||
11th (Reserve) Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry | 95th | ||
16th (Reserve) Battalion, (Portsmouth), Hampshire Regiment | 96th | ||
23rd Reserve Brigade | Aldershot | 12th (Reserve) Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) | 97th |
14th (Reserve) Battalion, Essex Regiment | 98th | ||
12th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal West Kents | 99th | ||
24th (Reserve) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment | 100th | ||
27th (Reserve) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment | 101st | ||
28th (Reserve) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment | 102nd | ||
24th Reserve Brigade | Edinburgh | 27th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers | 103rd |
28th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers | 104th | ||
29th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers | 105th | ||
30th (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers | 106th | ||
31st (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers | 107th | ||
26th Reserve Brigade | Wimbledon | 13th (Reserve) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment (Cambridgeshire) | 108th |
19th (Reserve) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps | 109th | ||
22nd (Reserve) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps | 110th | ||
23rd (Reserve) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps | 111th | ||
17th (Reserve) Battalion, Rifle Brigade | 112th | ||
28th Reserve Brigade (Formed early 1918, became 2nd Training Brigade, MGC) [14] | "E" Battalion, MGC | 113th | |
"F" Battalion, MGC | 114th | ||
"G" Battalion, MGC | 115th | ||
"H" Battalion, MGC | 116th |
The Accrington Pals, officially the 11th (Service) Battalion (Accrington), East Lancashire Regiment, was a pals battalion of Kitchener's Army raised in and around the town of Accrington during the First World War.
The Public Schools Battalions were a group of Pals battalions of the British Army during World War I. They were raised in 1914 as part of Kitchener's Army and were originally recruited exclusively from former public schoolboys. When the battalions were taken over by the British Army they became variously the 16th (Service) Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment and the 18th–21st (Service) Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers. However, Kitchener's Army was faced with a dire shortage of officers and so 'young gentlemen'— public schoolboys and university graduates, including many of those who had enlisted in the Public Schools Battalions — were encouraged to apply for commissions. The battalions' depleted ranks were made up with ordinary volunteers and although they retained the Public Schools titles, their exclusive nature was doomed. Two battalions remained to serve on the Western Front: the original battalion was all but destroyed on the first day of the Somme. After hard service both battalions were disbanded in February 1918 before the end of the war.
The 94th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. It was raised as part of 'Kitchener's Army' and was assigned to the 31st Division. After the original formation was converted into a reserve brigade, the number was transferred to a brigade of 'Pals battalions' from Northern England. It was sent to Egypt at the end of 1915 but was recalled to France shortly afterwards and then served on the Western Front for the rest of the war. The brigade was shattered on the First day on the Somme, but later saw action at Arras and distinguished itself at the Capture of Oppy Wood. It was temporarily disbanded in early 1918 but was reconstituted from dismounted Yeomanry regiments in time to take part in the final battles of the war.
The 89th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. It was raised as part of 'Kitchener's Army' and was assigned to the 30th Division. After the original formation was converted into a reserve brigade, the number was transferred to the Earl of Derby's brigade of 'Liverpool Pals'. The brigade landed in France at the end of 1915 and then served on the Western Front for the rest of the war, seeing action at the Somme, Arras, and Ypres. Virtually destroyed during the German spring offensive of 1918, it was reconstituted in time to take part in the final battles of the war.
The 90th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. It was raised as part of 'Kitchener's Army' and was assigned to the 30th Division. After the original formation was converted into a reserve brigade, the number was transferred to a brigade of 'Manchester Pals'. The brigade landed in France at the end of 1915 and then served on the Western Front for the rest of the war, seeing action at the Somme, Arras, and Ypres. Virtually destroyed during the German spring offensive of 1918, it was reconstituted in time to take part in the final battles of the war.
The 91st Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. It was raised as part of 'Kitchener's Army' and was assigned to the 30th Division. After the original formation was converted into a reserve brigade, the number was transferred to a brigade of 'Manchester Pals'. The brigade landed in France at the end of 1915 and was transferred to the Regular 7th Division. It saw action at the Somme, Arras, and Ypres before being sent to the Italian Front, where it took part in the final Battle of Vittorio Veneto. The brigade's number was briefly revived during the 1950s.
The 92nd Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. It was raised as part of 'Kitchener's Army' and was assigned to the 31st Division. After the original formation was converted into a reserve brigade, the number was transferred to a brigade composed volunteer battalions raised in the city of Kingston upon Hull for 'Kitchener's Army'. It first served in Egypt defending the Suez Canal between January and March 1916. It then left for the Western Front where it was at Serre on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916, though its battalions escaped the worst of the disaster. It continued to serve on the Western Front for the rest of the war, including hard fighting at Oppy Wood, against the German spring offensive and in the final Hundred Days Offensive.
The 93rd Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. It was raised as part of 'Kitchener's Army' and was assigned to the 31st Division. After the original formation was converted into a reserve brigade, the number was transferred to a brigade of 'Pals battalions' from Northern England. The brigade was sent to Egypt at the end of 1915 but was recalled to France shortly afterwards and then served on the Western Front for the rest of the war. The brigade was shattered on the First day on the Somme, but later saw action at Arras, in the German spring offensive of 1918, and the final Hundred Days Offensive.
The 214th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. It was raised as a second line brigade of the Territorial Force and initially assigned to the 71st Division for coast defence. Later it was reorganised as an all-arms brigade group for service in North Russia, but this was cancelled and it was reassigned to the 67th Division, a training and home defence formation, until the end of the war.
The 206th Brigade was a formation of the British Army during World War I. It was raised as a 2nd-Line duplicate of the Essex Brigade of the Territorial Force and formed part of the 69th Division. It served as a training formation in the United Kingdom without going overseas.
98th Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army created to command 'Kitchener's Army' units during World War I. It served on the Western Front from 1916, seeing action on the Somme, at Arras and Ypres, during the German spring offensive and the final Allied Hundred Days Offensive.
The 123rd Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army during World War I. It was raised as part of the New Armies. After the original 123rd Bde was renumbered, a new brigade was formed and served with the 41st Division from 1916 to 1919 on the Western Front, in Italy, and with the British Army of Occupation in Germany.
71st Division was a short-lived infantry division of the British Army during the First World War. It served in the Home Defence forces and never went overseas.
The 2nd Home Counties Division was a 2nd Line Territorial Force division of the British Army in World War I. The division was formed as a duplicate of the 44th Division in November 1914. As the name suggests, the division recruited in the Home Counties, particularly Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. In August 1915, in common with all Territorial Force divisions, it was numbered as 67th Division. Between September 1917 and the end of the year, the division was extensively reorganized and lost its territorial identity; henceforth it was known as 67th Division.
The IV East Anglian Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery was a unit of Britain's Territorial Force (TF) from 1908 to 1919. It served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during World War I.
The Bolton Rifles, later the 5th Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, was a volunteer unit of the British Army from 1859 until 1967. It served on the Western Front during the First World War, and in the Far East during the Second World War, when one battalion was captured at the Fall of Singapore.
The Hull Pals were a brigade of four battalions of the East Yorkshire Regiment raised as part of Kitchener's Army in 1914. They served in 31st Division at Serre on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916, though they escaped the worst of the disaster. However, they suffered heavy casualties in the same area later in the year, and again at Oppy Wood in early 1917. They continued to serve on the Western Front for the rest of the war, including hard fighting against the German spring offensive and in the final Hundred Days Offensive.
The 6th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment was a Territorial Force (TF) unit of the British Army. Formed in 1908 from Volunteer units recruited in Cheshire since 1859, it was one of the first TF units to go to the Western Front in World War I. It had a wandering existence, moving frequently from one command to another, seeing a considerable amount of combat at the Somme, Ypres, during the German spring offensive and in the final Allied Hundred Days Offensive. After the war it was amalgamated into a local artillery regiment.