The history of 9th (Scottish) Division
The Division came into existence as a result of Army Order No. 324, issued on 21 August 1914, which authorised the formation of the six new Divisions of K1. It was formed of volunteers, under the administration of Scottish Command. Having been in training at home since late August 1914, although only gradually were arms and equipment obtained, the recruits were judged to be ready for war by May 1915. The 9th Division served on the Western Front throughout the war, and was regarded by many as one of the best fighting formations of 1914-18.
Training locations:
August 1914: Salisbury Training Centre
September 1914: Bordon
The units of the Division crossed to France 9-12 May 1915 and then took part in the following actions:
1915
The Battle of Loos
1916
The Battle of Albert*
The Battle of Bazentin* in which the Division captured Longueval
The Battle of Delville Wood*
The Battle of Le Transloy*
The battles marked * are phases of the Battles of the Somme 1916
1917
The First Battle of the Scarpe**
The Second Battle of the Scarpe**
The battles marked ** are phases of the Arras Offensive 1917
The First Battle of Passchendaele+
The battle marked + is a phase of the Third Battle of Ypres
The action of Welsh Ridge (the last phase of the Cambrai operations 1917)
1918
The Battle of St Quentin***
The First Battle of Bapaume**
The battles marked ** are phases of the First Battles of the Somme 1918
The Battle of Messines+
The Battle of Bailleul+
The First Battle of Kemmel+
The Second Battle of Kemmel+
The battles marked + are phases of the Battles of the Lys
The Advance in Flanders in which the Division captured the Outtersteene Ridge
The Final Advance in Flanders in which the Division fought in the Battle of Courtrai and the action of Ooteghem
The Division was withdrawn for rest on 26-27 October 1918 and was still in billets at the Armistice. It was seleected to advance to the Rhine as part of the occupation force and crossed into Germany on 4 December 1918, taking up a position in the Cologne brideghead. In late February 1919, the original units left and were demobilised, being replaced by others. The Division was renamed as the Lowland Division and the fine history of the 9th (Scottish) Division was at an end.
52.055 officers and men of the Division were killed, wounded or captured during the war.
The order of battle of the 9th (Scottish) Division
| 26th Brigade (Highland) | |
| 8th Bn, the Black Watch | |
| 7th Bn, the Seaforth Highlanders | |
| 8th Bn, the Gordon Highlanders | left May 1916 |
| 5th Bn, the Cameron Highlanders | |
| 1/5th Bn, the Loyal North Lancashire Regt | joined December 1915, left January 1916 |
| 10th Bn, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders | joined from 27th Bde May 1916, left February 1918 |
| 26th Machine Gun Company | formed 29 January 1916 left to move into 9th MG Battalion 1 March 1918 |
| 26th Trench Mortar Battery | joined 15 June 1916 |
| 27th Brigade (Lowland) | |
| 11th Bn, the Royal Scots | |
| 12th Bn, the Royal Scots | |
| 6th Bn, the Royal Scots Fusiliers | left May 1916 |
| 10th Bn, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders | left for 26th Bde May 1916 |
| 6th Bn, the King’s Own Scottish Borderers | joined from 28th Brigade 6 May 1916 |
| 9th Bn, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) | joined May 1916, left February 1918 |
| 27th Machine Gun Company | formed 23 December 1915 left to move into 9th MG Battalion 1 March 1918 |
| 27th Trench Mortar Battery | joined July 1916 |
| 28th Brigade | |
| This Brigade was broken up on 16 May 1916 and replaced by the South African Brigade. Reformed as a three-battalion brigade in September 1918 | |
| 6th Bn, the King’s Own Scottish Borderers | left for 27th Brigade 6 May 1916 |
| 9th Bn, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) | returned September 1918 |
| 10th Bn, the Highland Light Infantry | see South African Brigade |
| 11th Bn, the Highland Light Infantry | see South African Brigade |
| 28th Machine Gun Company | formed 3 January 1916 |
| 2nd Bn, the Royal Scots Fusiliers | joined September 1918 |
| 1st Bn, the Royal Newfoundland Regt | joined September 1918 |
| 28th Trench Mortar Battery | joined 11 September 1918 |
| South African Brigade | History of the South African forces in WW1 |
| Brigade joined Division on 22 April 1916 and left on 13 September 1918. | |
| 1st Regt, the South African Infantry | |
| 2nd Regt, the South African Infantry | |
| 3rd Regt, the South African Infantry | disbanded 18 February 1918 |
| 4th Regt, the South African Infantry | |
| On 24 April 1918, after suffering very heavy casualties, the 1st, 2nd and 4th SA Regiments were amalgamated, temporarily becoming the SA (Composite) Regiment. They were re-formed by 1 September 1918. | |
| 10th Bn, the Highland Light Infantry | under command of Brigade for 8 days in May 1916 |
| 11th Bn, the Highland Light Infantry | under command of Brigade for 8 days in May 1916 |
| 28th Machine Gun Company | joined 6 May 1916 left to move into 9th MG Battalion 1 March 1918 |
| South African Trench Mortar Battery | joined 13 June 1916 |
| 3/4th Bn, the Royal West Kent Regt | joined 6 June 1917, left 15 June 1917 |
| 3/10th Bn, the Middlesex Regt | joined 6 June 1917, left 23 July 1917 |
| 2nd Bn, the Royal Scots Fusiliers | joined 26 April 1918, left 13 September 1918 |
| 9th Bn, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) | joined 21 April 1918, left 12 September 1918 |
| Divisional Troops | |
| 6th Bn, the Bedfordshire Regt | left March 1915 |
| 6th Bn, the Leicestershire Regt | left April 1915 |
| 9th Bn, the Seaforth Highlanders | joined December 1914, became Divisional Pioneer Battalion early 1915 |
| 10th Motor Machine Gun Battery | joined 30 April 1915, left 11 June 1916 |
| 197th Company, the Machine Gun Corps | joined 19 December 1916 left to move into 9th MG Battalion 1 March 1918 |
| No 9 Battalion, the Machine Gun Corps | formed 1 March 1918 |
| 11th Motor Machine Gun Battery | joined 7 October 1918, left 7 November 1918 |
| Divisional Mounted Troops | |
| B Sqn, the 1/1st Glasgow Yeomanry | joined 15 May 1915, left 10 May 1916 |
| 9th Divisional Cyclist Company, Army Cyclist Corps | formed 1 December 1914, left 26 June 1916 |
| Divisional Artillery | |
| L Brigade, RFA | |
| LI Brigade, RFA | |
| LII Brigade, RFA | left 8 January 1917 |
| LIII (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA | broken up 11 September 1916 |
| 9th Divisional Ammunition Column RFA | |
| 9th Heavy Battery RGA | left 16 May 1915 |
| V.9 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery RFA | joined May 1916, left February 1918 |
| X.9, Y.9 and Z.9 Medium Mortar Batteries RFA | joined April 1916; on 13 February 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each |
| Royal Engineers | |
| 63rd Field Company | |
| 64th Field Company | |
| 90th Field Company | joined January 1915 |
| 9th Divisional Signals Company | |
| Royal Army Medical Corps | |
| 27th Field Ambulance | |
| 28th Field Ambulance | |
| 29th Field Ambulance | left May 1916 |
| South African Field Ambulance | joined May 1916, left 13 September 1918 |
| 2/1st (East Lancashire) Field Ambulance | joined 26 September 1918 |
| 20th Sanitary Section | left 29 March 1917 |
| Other Divisional Troops | |
| 9th Divisional Train ASC | 104, 105, 106 and 107 Companies |
| 21st Mobile Veterinary Section AVC | |
| 212th Divisional Employment Company | formed by 23 June 1917 |
| 9th Divisional Motor Ambulance Workshop | transferred to Divisional Train 9 April 1916 |
Divisional histories
“The history of the Ninth (Scottish) Division 1914-1919” by Major John Ewing MC (free PDF download)
“Three Years with the 9th (Scottish) Division” by Lt-Col. W. D. Croft (free PDF download)
Divisional memorials
Note
An article in the “Guernsey Evening Press” of Friday 4 May 1917 mentioned that 381 Guernseymen had so far enlisted to serve with the 9th Divisional Ammunition Column of the Royal Field Artillery.