The history of 30th Division
On 10 December the War Office authorised the formation of the Fifth New Army. Like the other Kitchener Armies, it comprised six Divisions, in this case numbered 37 to 42. What eventually became 30th Division was originally numbered 37th. In April 1915, the original Fourth New Army was broken up and its units converted for training and draft-finding purposes. When this took place the Fifth New Army became Fourth New Army and its Divisions were renumbered to 30th – 35th: thus what we remember as 30th Division was born.
As the Earl of Derby (Lord Stanley) was a driving force behind the raising of many of the units in this Division, when asked he gave permission for his family crest to be used as the Divisional symbol. In fact the symbol used by the Division was a slight variation: the eagle looks down on a swaddled child in the Stanley crest, but here the child is replaced by a cap.
After in most cases commencing training near home, the units were moved to concentrate near Grantham in April 1915. There were severe shortages of arms, ammunition and much equipment – for example there was only one gun carriage available even by mid July and even that was for funerals! It was not until October that the artillery was in a position to commence firing practice, a few weeks after the Division had moved to the area of Larkhill on Salisbury Plain.
On 4 November the Division was inspected by Lord Derby, and entrainment began two days later. The Division sailed to Le Havre and Boulogne and all units concentrated near Ailly le Haut Clocher (near Amiens) by 12 November 1915. The 30th Division subsequently remained in France and Flanders and took part in these actions:
1916
The Battle of Albert* including the Division’s capture of Montauban and subsequent fighting in Trones Wood
The Battle of the Transloy Ridges*
* the battles marked * are phases of the Battles of the Somme 1916
1917
The pursuit of the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line
The First Battle of the Scarpe**
The Second Battle of the Scarpe**
** the battles marked ** are phases of the Arras Offensive 1917
The Battle of Pilkem Ridge, a phase of the Third Battles of Ypres 1917
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 First Battle of Kemmel Ridge^^
The Second Battle of Kemmel Ridge^^
The Battle of the Scherpenberg^^
^^ the battles marked ^^ are phases of the Battles of the Lys
The army reorganisation in February 1918 and follwoing the Battles of the Somme and Lys completely changed the face of 30th Division. Largely gone were the original “pals” battalions of Liverpool and Manchester, replaced in part by the London Regiment.
The capture of Neuve Eglise+
The capture of Wulverghem+
+ the battles marked + are phases of the Advance in Flanders
The Battle of Ypres++
The Battle of Courtrai++
++ the battles marked ++ are phases of the Final Advance in Flanders
The Division’s advance across Flanders continued after the fighting at Courtrai on 14-19 October. On 9 November, 89th Brigade forced a crossing of the River Scheldt ; by that night elements of the Division were at Renaix. At the time when the Armistice came into effect, 11am on 11 November, the advanced units had reached the line Ghoy – la Livarde, north west of Lessines.
Relieved by 29th Division, the 30th began a series of westwards moves and by 4 December was in billets at Renescure. In early January, units of the Division moved for duty at the Base Ports of Dunkirk, Calais, Boulogne and Etaples. Here, men began to be demobilised. The first unit to have been demobilised down to a cadre left for England in May 1919; others were disbanded in France. The Division ceased to exist on 1 september 1919.
The Great War had cost 30th Division a total of 35182 men killed, wounded or missing.
The order of battle of the 30th Division
| 89th Brigade | |
| 17th Bn, the King’s (Liverpool Regiment) | left June 1918 |
| 18th Bn, the King’s (Liverpool Regiment) | left December 1915, rejoined February 1918, left June 1918 |
| 19th Bn, the King’s (Liverpool Regiment) | |
| 20th Bn, the King’s (Liverpool Regiment) | disbanded February 1918 |
| 2nd Bn, the Bedfordshire Regiment | joined December 1915, left February 1918 |
| 89th Machine Gun Company | joined 13 March 1916, moved to 30th Bn MGC 1 March 1918 |
| 89th Trench Mortar Battery | joined by 16 June 1916 |
| 7th Bn, the Bedfordshire Regiment | cadre joined May 1918, left June 1918 |
| 2nd Bn, the South Lancashire Regiment | joined June 1918 |
| 7/8th Bn, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers | joined July 1918 |
| 2/17th Bn, the London Regiment | joined July 1918 |
| 90th Brigade | |
| 16th Bn, the Manchester Regiment | left as cadre June 1918 |
| 17th Bn, the Manchester Regiment | left February 1918 |
| 18th Bn, the Manchester Regiment | disbanded February 1918 |
| 19th Bn, the Manchester Regiment | left December 1915 |
| 2nd Bn, the Royal Scots Fusiliers | joined December 1915 |
| 90th Machine Gun Company | joined 13 March 1916, moved to 30th Bn MGC 1 March 1918 |
| 90th Trench Mortar Battery | formed by 16 June 1916 |
| 2nd Bn, the Bedfordshire Regiment | joined February 1918, left May 1918 |
| 14th Bn, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders | joined April 1918, left June 1918 |
| 2/14th Bn, the London Regiment | joined July 1918 |
| 2/15th Bn, the London Regiment | joined July 1918 |
| 2/16th Bn, the London Regiment | joined July 1918 |
| 91st Brigade | |
| Brigade transferred to 7th Division on 20 December 1915 in exchange for 21st Division | |
| 20th Bn, the Manchester Regiment | |
| 21st Bn, the Manchester Regiment | |
| 22nd Bn, the Manchester Regiment | |
| 24th Bn, the Manchester Regiment | |
| 21st Brigade | |
| Brigade joined from 7th Division on 20 December 1915 in exchange for 21st Division | |
| 2nd Bn, the Bedfordshire Regiment | moved to 89th Brigade soon after joining Division |
| 2nd Bn, the Yorkshire Regiment | left May 1918 |
| 2nd Bn, the Royal Scots Fusiliers | moved to 90th Brigade soon after joining Division |
| 2nd Bn, the Wiltshire Regiment | left May 1918 |
| 18th Bn, King’s (Liverpool Regiment) | joined from 89th Brigade in exchange for 2nd Bedfords |
| 19th Bn, Manchester Regiment | joined from 90th Brigade in exchange for 2nd RSF |
| 21st Machine Gun Company | joined 8 March 1916, moved to 30th Bn MGC 1 March 1918 |
| 21st Trench Mortar Battery | formed by 5 July 1916 |
| 17th Bn, Manchester Regiment | joined February 1918, left as cadre June 1918 |
| 2/5th Bn, the Lincolnshire Regiment | joined May 1918, left June 1918 |
| 7th Bn, the Royal Irish Regiment | joined July 1918 |
| 1/6th Bn, Cheshire Regiment | joined July 1918 |
| 2/23rd Bn, the London Regiment | joined July 1918 |
| Divisional Troops | |
| 11th Bn, the South Lancashire Regiment | joined as Divisional Pioneer Battalion May 1915, left as cadre June 1918 |
| 7th Bn, the Sherwood Foresters | joined as cadre May 1918, left June 1918 |
| 13th Bn, the Yorkshire Regiment | joined and left as cadre, June 1918 |
| 6th Bn, the South Wales Borderers | joined as Divisional Pioneer Battalion July 1918 |
| 226th Machine Gun Company | joined 19 July 1917, moved to 30th Bn MGC 1 March 1918 |
| 30th Battalion MGC | formed 1 March 1918, reduced to cadre 13 May 1918 (540 men moved to 31st Bn), being replaced on 29 June 1918 by “A” Bn, MGC which was then redesignated as 30th Bn |
| 19th Motor Machine Gun Battery | joined 10 February 1916, left 6 June 1916 |
| Divisional Mounted Troops | |
| D Sqn, the Lancashire Hussars | left 10 May 1916 |
| 30th Divisional Cyclist Company, Army Cyclist Corps | left 21 May 1916 |
| Divisional Artillery | |
| CXLVIII Brigade, RFA | |
| CXLIX Brigade, RFA | |
| CL Brigade, RFA | left 2 January 1917 |
| CLI (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA | broken up 26 August 1916 |
| 30th Divisional Ammunition Column RFA | |
| 11 (Hull) Heavy Battery, RGA | joined June 1915, left March 1916 |
| 125 Heavy Battery, RGA | raised with the Division but moved independently to France on 29 April 1916 |
| V.30 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery, RFA | joined by 7 October 1916, left by 11 February 1918 |
| X.30, Y.30 and Z.30 Medium Mortar Batteries, RFA | by 11 February 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each |
| Royal Engineers | |
| 200th (County Palatine) Field Company | |
| 201st (County Palatine) Field Company | |
| 202nd (County Palatine) Field Company | |
| 30th Divisional Signals Company | |
| Royal Army Medical Corps | |
| 111th Field Ambulance | left September 1915 |
| 112th Field Ambulance | left September 1915 |
| 113th Field Ambulance | left September 1915 |
| 70th Sanitary Section | left 2 April 1917 |
| 96th (County Palatine) Field Ambulance | joined at Larkhill November 1915 |
| 97th (County Palatine) Field Ambulance | joined at Larkhill November 1915 |
| 98th (County Palatine) Field Ambulance | joined at Larkhill November 1915. Formerly 2nd West Lancashire Field Ambulance (TF) |
| Other Divisional Troops | |
| 30th Divisional Train ASC | 186, 187, 188 and 189 Companies ASC joined from 22nd Division in France in November 1915 |
| 40th Mobile Veterinary Section AVC | |
| 227th Divisional Employment Company | joined 24 May 1917 |
| 30th Divisional Motor Ambulance Workshop | merged into Divisional workshops 7 April 1916 |
Divisional histories
“A brief history of the 30th Division from its reconstitution in July, 1918 to the Armistice, 11th November 1918” by R. Flenley