Many units of the West Lancashire Division went to France independently to provide reinforcements for the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), and by the end of March 1915 only the North Lancashire Brigade was left in England. The following month it was posted to 51st (Highland) Division at Bedford, which crossed to France at the beginning of May. The 1/4th Loyals disembarked at Boulogne on 4 May. Designated the 154th Brigade, the North Lancashire Brigade fought with the Highlanders for the rest of the year. The 1/4th Loyals first went into the line on 25 May in the closing stages of the Battle of Festubert.