34th Division (United Kingdom)

34th Division
Formation patch of the 34th Division.
Active	April 1915 – 1919
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Engagements	First World War

The 34th Division was an infantry division of the British Army formed during the First World War in April 1915 as part Kitchener's Army, part of the K4 Army Group. The division landed in France in January 1916 and spent the duration of the war in action on the Western Front.

The division was originally made up of Pals battalions, notably the 10th Lincolns, known as the Grimsby Chums, and two brigades of the Northumberland Fusiliers; the Tyneside Scottish and Tyneside Irish. The division's first major action was the attack at La Boisselle on the first day of the Battle of the Somme during which the division suffered heavy casualties and many of the original Pals were killed.

The original Tyneside Scottish battalions were:

In February 1918 the 20th and 21st Battalions were disbanded and in June, the 22nd Battalion (3rd Tyneside Scottish) joined the 48th Brigade, 16th (Irish) Division while the 23rd Battalion (4th Tyneside Scottish) joined the 116th Brigade, 39th Division.

The original Tyneside Irish battalions were:

In February 1918, the 24th, 26th and 27th Battalions were disbanded and the 25th Battalion (2nd Tyneside Irish) transferred to the 116th Brigade, 39th Division. For the remainder of the war, the brigade structure was:

On the First day on the Somme, the division had the largest number of casualties of the British divisions, the 102nd Brigade had 2,324 casualties and the 103rd Brigade incurred 1,968 losses. From 6 July – 22 August, the brigades were swapped with the 111th and 112th brigades of the 37th Division, which was holding the line on a quiet sector at Vimy Ridge.