The history of 6th Division
Under command of Major-General J. L. Keir
This peacetime division of the pre-war army was quartered in Ireland and England at the outbreak of war, and was ordered on mobilisation to concentrate near Cambridge. By early September it was fully equipped and trained. On the 10 September 1914 it landed at St Nazaire and proceeded to the Western Front, where it remained throughout the war. The division arrived in time to reinforce the hard-pressed British Expeditionary Force on the Aisne front, before the whole BEF was moved north into Flanders. The division is fornmally recognised as participating in the followng battles and engagements:
1914
- The actions on the Aisne heights (only 18th Infantry Brigade, 20 September)
- The Battle of Armentières (only 19th Infantry Brigade, 13 October – 2 November)
1915
Under command of Major-General W. N. Congreve VC (newly promoted from command of 18th Infantry Brigade), who replaced Keir (who had been promoted to take command of VI Corps) on 27 May 1915
- The action at Hooge (9 August)
Under command of Major-General C. Ross (newly promoted from command of 61st Infantry Brigade), who replaced Congreve VC (who had been promoted to take command of XIII Corps) on 14 November 1915
1916
- The Battles of the Somme 1916, in phases:
- The Battle of Flers-Courcelette (15-22 September)
- The Battle of Morval (25-28 September)
- The Battle of Le Transloy (1-18 October)
1917
- The Battle of Hill 70 (15-25 August)
Under command of Major-General T. O. Marden (newly promoted) who replaced Ross (who had been ordered to England) on 21 August 1917.
- The Cambrai operations (Battle of Cambrai 1917) in phases:
- The tank attack (20-21 November)
- The capture of Bourlon Wood (23-28 November)
- The German counter-attacks (30 November-3 December)
1918
- The First Battles of the Somme 1918 (fighting against German Operation “Michael” or “Kaiserschlacht”) in phase:
- The Battle of St Quentin (21-23 March)
- The Battles of the Lys (fighting agansit German Operation “Georgette) in phases:
- The Battle of Bailleul (only 71st Infantry Brigade, 13-15 April)
- The First Battle of Kemmel (only 71st Infantry Brigade, 17-19 April)
- The Second Battle of Kemmel (only 71st Infantry Brigade, 25-26 April)
- -he Battle of the Scherpenberg (29 April)
- The Advance in Flanders (18 August – 6 September)
- The Battles of the Hindenburg Line, in phases:
- The Battle of Epehy (18 September)
- The Battle of the St Quentin Canal (29 September – 2 October)
- The Battle of Beaurevoir (3-5 October)
- The Battle of Cambrai 1918 (8-9 October)
- The pursuit to the Selle (9-12 October)
- The Final Advance in Pcardy, in phase:
- The Battle of the Selle (17-25 October)
The 6th Division was billeted around Bohain at the Armistice on 11 November 1918. It was selected to march into Germany as part of the occupation force and began to move on 14-18 November to assemble near Solre-le-Chateau. The division crossed the German border on 13 December and reached its destination at Bruehl on 23 December.
The order of battle of the 6th Division
| Units and sub-formations | Dates |
|---|---|
| Divisional Headquarters | |
| 16th Infantry Brigade | |
| 1st Bn, Buffs (East Kent Regiment) | Throughout |
| 1st Bn, Leicestershire Regiment | From start, moved to 71st Infantry Brigade 17 November 1915 |
| 1st Bn, King’s Shropshire Light Infantry | Throughout |
| 2nd Bn, York & Lancaster Regiment | Throughout |
| 1/5th Bn, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment | Joined 15 February 1915, left for 51st (Highland) Division 11 June 1915 |
| 8th Bn, Bedfordshire Regiment | Joined from 71st Infantry Brigade 17 November 1915, disbanded 16 February 1918 |
| 16th Machine Gun Company | Formed in February 1916, left to move into 6th MG Battalion 1 March 1918 |
| 16th Trench Mortar Battery | Formed 3 April 1916 |
| 17th Brigade | Transferred to 24th Division in exchange for 71st Infantry Brigade on 14 October 1915 |
| 1st Bn, Royal Fusiliers | |
| 1st Bn, North Staffordshire Regiment | |
| 2nd Bn, Leinster Regiment | |
| 3rd Bn, Rifle Brigade | |
| 1/2nd Bn, London Regiment | Joined 21 February 1915 |
| 18th Infantry Brigade | |
| 1st Bn, West Yorkshire Regiment | Throughout |
| 1st Bn, East Yorkshire Regiment | From start, left for 21st Division 26 November 1915 |
| 2nd Bn, Sherwood Foresters | From start, moved to 71st Infantry Brigade 27 October 1915 |
| 2nd Bn, Durham Light Infantry | Throughout |
| 1/16th Bn, London Regiment | Joined 12 November 1914, left for 56th (London) Division 9 February 1916 |
| 11th Bn, Essex Regiment | Joined from 71st Infantry Brigade 27 October 1915 |
| 14th Bn, Durham Light Infantry | Joined from 21st Division 28 November 1915, disbanded 1 February 1918 |
| 18th Brigade Machine Gun Company | Formed in February 1916, left to move into 6th MG Battalion 1 March 1918 |
| 18th Trench Mortar Battery | Formed 16 April 1916 |
| 19th Infantry Brigade | Brigade joined from GHQ Troops on 12 October 1914 and left to join 27th Division on 31 May 1915 |
| 2nd Bn, Royal Welsh Fusiliers | |
| 1st Bn, Cameronians | |
| 1st Bn, Middlesex Regiment | |
| 2nd Bn, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders | |
| 1/5th Bn, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) | Joined 19 November 1914 |
| 71st Infantry Brigade | Brigade transferred from 24th Division in exchange for 17th Infantry Brigade on 11 October 1915 |
| 9th Bn, Norfolk Regiment | |
| 9th Bn, Suffolk Regiment | Disbanded 16 February 1918 |
| 8th Bn, Bedfordshire Regiment | Moved to 16th Infantry Brigade 17 November 1915 |
| 11th Bn, Essex Regiment | Moved to 18th Infantry Brigade 27 October 1915 |
| 2nd Bn, Sherwood Foresters | Joined from 18th Infantry Brigade 18 October 1915 |
| 1st Bn, Leicestershire Regiment | Joined from 16th Infantry Brigade 17 November 1915 |
| 71st Machine Gun Company | Formed 14 March 1916, left to move into 6th MG Battalion 1 March 1918 |
| 71st Trench Mortar Battery | Formed April 1916 |
| Divisional Troops | Units that were under direct command of Divisional HQ |
| 11th Bn, Leicestershire Regiment | Joined as Divisional Pioneer Battalion 1 April 1916 |
| 192nd Machine Gun Company | Joined 15 December 1916, left to move into 6th MG Battalion 1 March 191 8 |
| 6th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps | Formed 1 March 1918 |
| Divisional Mounted Troops | Units that were under direct command of Divisional HQ |
| C Squadron, the 19th Hussars | From start, left for 9th Cavalry Brigade 14 April 1915 |
| B Sqn, the 1/st Northamptonshire Yeomanry | Joined 14 April 1915, left for VI Corps 9 May 1916 |
| 6th Company, Army Cyclist Corps | From start, left for XIV Corps 26 May 1916 |
| Divisional Artillery | Units that were under orders of Divisional Commander Royal Artillery |
| II Brigade, Royal Field Artillery | |
| XII (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA | left May 1916 |
| XXIV Brigade, RFA | |
| XXXVIII Brigade, RFA | left January 1917 |
| 6th Divisional Ammunition Column, RFA | |
| 24th Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery | left April 1915 |
| 2 Pom-Pom (Anti-Aircraft) Section, RGA | Attached 4 October 1914 to 16 December 1914 |
| V.6 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery, RFA | Formed 20 July 1916, left 6 March 1918 |
| X.6, Y.6 and Z.6 Medium Mortar Batteries, RFA | Joined on 1 April 1916; on 15 March 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each |
| Royal Engineers | Units that were under orders of Divisional Commander Royal Engineers |
| 12th Field Company | Throughout |
| 38th Field Company | Left for 28th Division 7 April 1915 |
| 1st (London) Field Company | Joined 23 December 1914, later renamed 509th Field Company RE |
| 2/2nd (West Riding) Field Company | Joined 13 October 1915, later renamed 459th Field Company RE |
| 6th Divisional Signal Company | Throughout |
| Royal Army Medical Corps | |
| 16th Field Ambulance | Throughout |
| 17th Field Ambulance | Throughout |
| 18th Field Ambulance | Throughout |
| 8th Sanitary Section | Joined 9 January 1915, left for First Army 5 April 1917 |
| Other Divisional Troops | |
| 6th Divisional Train, Army Service Corps | Throughout. Comprised numbers 17, 19, 23 and 24 (Horse Transport) Companies ASC |
| 6th Mobile Veterinary Section, Army Veterinary Corps | Throughout |
| 209th Divisional Employment Company, Labour Corps | Joined 20 May 1917 at which time it was named 11th Divisional Employment Company; renamed in June 1917 |
| 6th Divisional Motor Ambulance Workshop | Joined by 10 June 1915, transferred to Divisional Supply Column 9 April 1916 |
Divisional histories
A free PDF copy of Sir T. O.Marden’s “A short history of the 6th Division Aug. 1914- March 1919” can be downloaded from archive.org: here
Divisional memorials
There appears to be no memorial to the 6th Division