14th (Light) Division

The 14th (Light) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener during the First World War. All of its infantry regiments were originally of the fast marching rifle or light infantry regiments, hence the title "Light". It fought on the Western Front for the duration of the First World War.
The division was disbanded by March 1919, and was not reformed in the Second World War.

14th (Light) Division
Insignia of the division.
ActiveSeptember 1914 – March 1919
Country United Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsWorld War I
Memorial to the 14th (Light) Division at Hill 60 (Ypres) in Belgium.

Order of battle

The division comprised the following infantry brigades, which underwent major changes between February 1918 (the Army's brigade reorganisation from 4 to 3 infantry battalions) and June 1918 (rebuilt after the losses of the German spring offensive).[1]

41st Brigade
42nd Brigade
43rd Brigade
Divisional Troops
  • 11th Battalion The King's Regiment (Liverpool) (pioneers) (left June 1918)
  • 15th Battalion The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (pioneers) (joined June 1918)
  • 249th Machine Gun Company (joined July 1917, left October 1917)
  • 224th Machine Gun Company (joined November 1917, left to move into 14th MG Battalion March 1918')
  • 14th Battalion Machine Gun Corps (formed March 1918)
  • 14th Divisional Train ASC (100, 101, 102 and 103 Companies)
  • 26th Mobile Veterinary Section AVC
  • 215th Divisional Employment Company, Labour Corps (joined June 1917)

Artillery

  • XLVI Brigade RFA
  • XLVII Brigade RFA
  • XLVIII Brigade RFA (left January 1917)
  • XLIX (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA (broken up October 1916)
  • V.14 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery RFA (joined July 1916, left January 1918)
  • X.14, Y.14 and Z.14 Medium Mortar Batteries RFA (formed March 1916; Z broken up February 1918, redistributed to X and Y)
  • 14th Heavy Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery (left 8 June 1915)

Engineers

  • 61st, 62nd and 89th Field Companies
  • 14th Divisional Signals Company

Royal Army Medical Corps

  • 42nd, 43rd and 44th Field Ambulances
  • 25th Sanitary Section (left April 1917)

Battles

Second Battle of Ypres

  • Hooge (German Liquid Fire Attack) – 30 and 31 July 1915
  • Second Attack on Bellewaarde – 25 September 1915

Battle of the Somme

Battle of Arras (1917)

  • The First Battle of the Scarpe – 9–14 April 1917
  • The Third Battle of the Scarpe – 3–4 May 1917

Third Battle of Ypres

  • The Battle of Langemark – 22–27 August 1917
  • The First Battle of Passchendaele October 1917
  • The Second Battle of Passchendaele November 1917

First Battles of the Somme 1918

  • The Battle of St Quentin – 23–25 March 1918
  • The Battle of the Avre – 4 April 1918

Hundred Days Offensive

  • The Battle of Ypres 1918
  • The advance in Flanders

Commander
  • Major-General Thomas Morland (7 September – 17 October 1914)
  • Brigadier-General Francis Alexander Fortescue (17–22 October 1914) acting
  • Major-General General Victor Arthur Couper (22 October – 30 December 1914)
  • Brigadier-General Francis Alexander Fortescue (30 December 1914 – 3 January 1915) acting
  • Major-General Victor Arthur Couper (3 January 1915 – 22 March 1918)
  • Major-General Walter Howarth Greenly (22–27 March 1918)
  • Major-General Sir Victor Arthur Couper (27–31 March 1918)
  • Major-General Percy Cyriac Burrell Skinner (31 March 1918)

See also

References
  1. Baker, Chris. "The Long Long Trail". Retrieved 28 February 2015.
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