The history of 8th Division
The 8th Division was formed in England during October 1914 by the bringing together of regular army units which had been stationed at various points around the British Empire. The Division moved to France in November 1914, a badly-needed reinforcement to the BEF. It remained on the Western Front throughout the rest of the war, taking part in the following actions:
1915
The Battle of Neuve Chapelle
The Battle of Aubers
The action of Bois Grenier (a diversionary attack coinciding with the Battle of Loos)
1916
The Battle of Albert (the first phase of the Battles of the Somme 1916)
1917
The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line
The Battle of Pilkem+
The Battle of Langemarck+
The battles marked + are phases of the Third Battle of Ypres
1918
The Battle of St Quentin**
The actions at the Somme crossings**
The Battle of Rosieres**
The actions of Villers-Bretonneux**
The battles marked ** are phases of the First Battles of the Somme 1918
The Battle of the Aisne 1918
The Battle of the Scarpe***
The battle marked *** is a phase of the Second Battles of Arras 1918
The Final Advance in Artois in which the Division captured Douai
The order of battle of the 8th Division
| 23rd Infantry Brigade | |
|---|---|
| 2nd Bn, the Devonshire Regiment | |
| 2nd Bn, the West Yorkshire Regt | |
| 2nd Bn, the Scottish Rifles | left February 1918 |
| 2nd Bn, the Middlesex Regt | |
| 1/6th Bn, the Scottish Rifles | joined March 1915, left June 1915 |
| 1/7th Bn, the Middlesex Regt | joined March 1915, left February 1916 |
| 23rd Machine Gun Company | formed 15 January 1916 left to move into 8th MG Battalion 20 January 1918 |
| 23rd Trench Mortar Battery | formed January 1916 |
| 24th Infantry Brigade | Brigade transferred to 23rd Division in exchange for 70th Brigade on 18 October 1915. Returned to 8th Division on 15 July 1916. |
| 1st Bn, the Worcestershire Regt | |
| 2nd Bn, the East Lancashire Regt | left February 1918 |
| 1st Bn, the Sherwood Foresters | |
| 2nd Bn, the Northamptonshire Regt | |
| 1/5th Bn, the Black Watch | joined November 1914, left while Bde was with 24th Division |
| 1/4th Bn, the Cameron Highlanders | joined February 1915, left April 1915 |
| 24th Machine Gun Company | formed 19 January 1916 left to move into 8th MG Battalion 20 January 1918 |
| 24th Trench Mortar Battery | formed January 1916 |
| 25th Infantry Brigade | |
| 2nd Bn, the Lincolnshire Regt | left February 1918 |
| 2nd Bn, the Royal Berkshire Regt | |
| 1st Bn, the Royal Irish Rifles | left February 1918 |
| 2nd Bn, the Rifle Brigade | |
| 1/13th Bn, the London Regt | joined November 1914, left May 1915 |
| 1/1st Bn, the London Regt | joined May 1915, left February 1916 |
| 1/8th Bn, the Middlesex Regt | joined August 1915, left October 1915 |
| 2nd Bn, the East Lancashire Regt | joined February 1918 |
| 25th Brigade Machine Gun Company | formed 10 January 1916 left to move into 8th MG Battalion 20 January 1918 |
| 25th Trench Mortar Battery | formed February 1916 |
| 70th Infantry Brigade | Brigade transferred from 23rd Division in exchange for 24th Brigade on 18 October 1915. Returned to 23rd Division on 17 July 1916. |
| 11th Bn, the Sherwood Foresters | |
| 8th Bn, the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry | |
| 8th Bn, the York & Lancaster Regt | |
| 9th Bn, the York & Lancaster Regt | |
| 1/8th Bn, the Middlesex Regt | joined October 1915, left February 1916 |
| 70th Machine Gun Company | joined 5 March 1916 |
| 70th Trench Mortar Battery | formed January 1916 |
| Divisional Troops | under direct command of Divisional HQ |
| 1/5th Bn, the Black Watch | joined as Divisional Pioneer Battalion October 1915, left January 1916 |
| 22nd Bn, the Durham Light Infantry | joined as Divisional Pioneer Battalion 2 July 1916 |
| 1/7th Bn, the Durham Light Infantry | joined 20 June 1918, absorbed 22nd DLI and replaced it as Pioneer Bn 3 July 1918 |
| 218th Company, the Machine Gun Corps | joined 23 March 1917 left to move into 8th MG Battalion 20 January 1918 |
| No 8 Battalion, the Machine Gun Corps | formed 20 January 1918 |
| 8th Divisional Train ASC | 42, 84, 85 and 87 Companies |
| 15th Mobile Veterinary Section AVC | |
| 211th Divisional Employment Company | joined May 1917 |
| 8th Divisional Motor Ambulance Workshop | joined 20 October 1914, transferred to Divisional Train 9 April 1916 |
| Divisional Mounted Troops | under direct command of Divisional HQ |
| 1/1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry | left April 1915 |
| C Sqn, the 1/1st Northumberland Hussars Yeomanry | joined April 1915, left 13 May 1916 |
| 8th Company, Army Cyclist Corps | left 12 May 1916 |
| Divisional Artillery | |
| V Brigade, RHA | left January 1917 |
| XXXIII Brigade, RFA | |
| XLV Brigade, RFA | |
| CXXVIII (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA | joined August 1915, left May 1916 |
| 8th Divisional Ammunition Column RFA | |
| No 7 Mountain Battery RGA | attached 13 to 24 December 1914 |
| No 5 Mountain Battery RGA | attached 3 to 26 March 1915 |
| U.8 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery RFA | formed 5 June 1916, disbanded 8 August 1916 |
| W.8 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery RFA | formed May 1916, left February 1918 |
| X.8, Y.8 and Z.8 Medium Mortar Batteries RFA | joined May 1916; on 3 February 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each |
| Royal Engineers | |
| 2nd Field Company | |
| 15th Field Company | |
| 1st (Home Counties) Field Company | joined February 1915, later renamed 490th Field Company RE |
| 8th Divisional Signals Company | |
| Royal Army Medical Corps | |
| 24th (1st Wessex) Field Ambulance | |
| 25th (2nd Wessex) Field Ambulance | |
| 26th (3rd Wessex) Field Ambulance | |
| 14th Sanitary Section | joined 9 January 1915, left 16 April 1917 |
Divisional histories
Divisional memorials
This memorial to the 8th Division, unveiled in 1924 by General Sir Francis Davies, is on Maida Road at Aldershot. This image is courtesy of roll-of-honour.com with thanks .