The history of 20th (Light) Division
This Division was established in September 1914 as part of the Army Orders authorising Kitchener’s Second New Army, K2. Early days were somewhat chaotic, the new volunteers having very few trained officers and NCOs to command them, no organised billets or equipment. The units of the Division first assembled in the Aldershot area with brigades at Blackdown, Deepcut and Cowshott. Artillery was particularly hard to come by; 12 old guns arrived from India in February 1915! When in the same month the Division moved to Witley, Godalming and Guildford, the artillery had to go by train as there was insufficient harness for the horses. Another move was made, to Salisbury Plain, in April 1915.
The Division was inspected by King George V at Knighton Down on 24 June 1915, by which time all equipment had arrived and the Division was judged ready for war.
On 26 July 1915 the Division completed concentration in the Saint-Omer area, all units having crossed to France during the preceding few days. Early trench familiarisation and training took place in the Fleurbaix area.
The Division served on the Western Front for the remainder of the war, taking part in many of the significant actions:
1916
The Battle of Mount Sorrel, a local operation in which the Division recaptured the height with the Canadians
The Battle of Delville Wood*
The Battle of Guillemont*
The Battle of Flers-Courcelette*
The Battle of Morval*
The Battle of Le Transloy*
The battles marked * are phases of the Battles of the Somme 1916
1917
The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line
The Battle of Langemarck**
The Battle of the Menin Road Ridge**
The Battle of Polygon Wood**
The battles marked ** are phases of the Third Battles of Ypres
The Cambrai Operations
1918
The Battle of St Quentin+
The actions at the Somme crossings+
The Battle of Rosieres+
The battles marked + are phases of the First Battles of the Somme 1918
The Division was withdrawn after the heavy fighting of the Somme battles, moving on 20 April 1918 to an area south west of Amiens. During the summer months it received many new drafts of men.
The Battle of the Selle^^
The Battle of Valenciennes^^
The Battle of the Sambre^^ and the passage of the Grand Honelle
The battles marked ^^ are phases of the Final Advance in Picardy
The Division was in the area between Bavay and Maubeuge when the Armistice came into effect at 11am on 11 November. Late in the month the units moved to the Toutencourt-Marieux area. demobilisation began on 7 January 1919 and the final cadres crossed to England on 28 May..
In all the 20th (Light) Division had suffered the loss of 35470 killed, wounded and missing.
The order of battle of the 20th (Light) Division
| 59th Brigade | |
| 10th Bn, the King’s Royal Rifle Corps | disbanded February 1918 |
| 11th Bn, the King’s Royal Rifle Corps | |
| 10th Bn, the Rifle Brigade | disbanded February 1918 |
| 11th Bn, the Rifle Brigade | |
| 59th Machine Gun Company | joined 3 March 1916 left to move into 20th MG Battalion 15 March 1918 |
| 59th Trench Mortar Battery | formed by 16 July 1916 |
| 2nd Bn, the Cameronians | joined February 1918 |
| 60th Brigade | |
| 6th Bn, the Ox & Bucks Light Infantry | left February 1918 |
| 6th Bn, the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry | |
| 12th Bn, the King’s Royal Rifle Corps | |
| 12th Bn, the Rifle Brigade | |
| 60th Machine Gun Company | joined 3 March 1916 left to move into 20th MG Battalion 15 March 1918 |
| 60th Trench Mortar Battery | formed by 16 July 1916 |
| 61st Brigade | |
| 7th Bn, the Somerset Light Infantry | |
| 7th Bn, the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry | |
| 7th Bn, the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry | left February 1918 |
| 11th Bn, the Durham Light Infantry | left January 1915 |
| 12th Bn, the King’s (Liverpool Regiment) | joined January 1915 |
| 61st Machine Gun Company | joined 3 March 1916 left to move into 20th MG Battalion 15 March 1918 |
| 61st Trench Mortar Battery | formed by 16 July 1916 |
| Divisional Troops | |
| 12th Bn, the King’s (Liverpool Regiment) | left January 1915 |
| 9th Bn, the Devonshire Regiment | left April 1915 |
| 11th Bn, the Durham Light Infantry | joined as Pioneer Bn January 1915 |
| 14th Motor Machine Gun Battery | joined 26 January 1915, left 22 April 1916 |
| 217th Company, MGC | joined March 1917, moved into 20 MG Bn 15 March 1918 |
| 20th Battalion Machine Gun Corps | formed 15 March 1918 |
| Divisional Mounted Troops | |
| HQ, D Sqn and MG Section, the Westmorland & Cumberland Yeomanry | joined 24 June 1915, left 29 April 1916 |
| 20th Divisional Cyclist Company, Army Cyclist Corps | formed 22 December 1914, left 17 May 1916 |
| Divisional Artillery | |
| XC Brigade, RFA | broken up 30 August 1916 |
| XCI Brigade, RFA | |
| XCII (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA | left 8 January 1917 |
| XCIII Brigade, RFA | broken up 8-9 September 1916 |
| 20th Divisional Ammunition Column RFA | |
| 20th Heavy Battery, RGA | raised with the Division but moved independently to France in August 1915 |
| V.20 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery RFA | formed by 24 May 1916, broken up 2 February 1918 |
| X.20, Y.20 and Z.20 Medium Mortar Batteries RFA | formed by 24 May 1916; on 2 February 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each |
| Royal Engineers | |
| 83rd Field Company | |
| 84th Field Company | |
| 96th Field Company | joined from 26th Division in January 1915 |
| 20th Divisional Signals Company | |
| Royal Army Medical Corps | |
| 60th Field Ambulance | |
| 61st Field Ambulance | |
| 62nd Field Ambulance | |
| 33rd Sanitary Section | left 24 April 1917 |
| Other Divisional Troops | |
| 20th Divisional Train ASC | 158, 159, 160 and 161 Companies |
| 32nd Mobile Veterinary Section AVC | |
| 221st Divisional Employment Company | joined 30 June 1917 |
| 20th Divisional Motor Ambulance Workshop | disbanded 31 March 1916 |
Divisional histories
“The history Of The Twentieth (Light) Division” by Captain V. E. Inglefield
Divisional memorials
Memorial to the 20th (Light) Division near Guillemont on the Somme, France. There is another (obelisk) memorial at Langemarck near Ypres.