page_title: 55th (West Lancashire) Division
section_title: Early years
hierarchical_section_title: 55th (West Lancashire) Division / First World War / Early years
caption_attribution_description: English: Men of the King's Liverpool Regiment moving along a communication trench near Blairville Wood, 16th April 1916. The King's Liverpool Regiment, 55th Division, moving along a communication trench leading to the front line near to Blairville Wood, Wailly, 16th April 1916.
context_page_description: The West Lancashire Division was an infantry division of the British Army, active during both the First and Second World Wars. The division was raised in 1908 following the creation of the Territorial Force. Following the outbreak of the First World War, the majority of the division's men volunteered for overseas service. Through 1915, the division was slowly wound down as entire units were dispatched overseas. Those who did not volunteer, were used to form new reserve units and eventually the 2nd West Lancashire Division.
  In 1916, the division was reformed in France as the 55th (West Lancashire) Division, and was reassigned the units that had been transferred. During the Battle of the Somme, the division fought several actions at Guillemont, Ginchy, and Morval. In 1917, the division fought at Pilckem and Menin Road Ridges during the Battle of Passchendaele, gaining an excellent reputation. Late in 1917, the division fought in the Battle of Cambrai. Towards the end of the battle, the division was forced back around 1 mile by a large German attack.
context_section_description: The pre-war deployment plan for the West and East Lancashire Divisions, due to their proximity, was to be deployed to Ireland to relieve regular army formations. On the outbreak of the First World War, the West Lancashire Division returned from its annual training in Wales, to barracks and depots in Lancashire. In turn, advanced elements departed for Ireland to establish billets at various locations, including Limerick. This move was called off on 5 August, and five days latter it was announced that local Irish reserve forces would ideally relieve the regular army formations instead. The cancellation largely surrounded the logistical difficulties of transporting inbound and outbound troops, as well as a lack of equipment and transport among the two Lancashire divisions. Mitchinson wrote an extra dimension existed, as "there was concern among the authorities that some of the King's Liverpool battalions might have rather too much sympathy with potentially rebellious sections of Irish society."
  With the move to Ireland cancelled, the division was immediately dispersed around the country. The South Lancashire Brigade went to bolster defences around the Firth of Forth, Scotland; the Liverpool Brigade was assigned to Central Force and moved to Canterbury, Kent, and other elements of the division went to Oxfordshire. The men in England were used to guard vulnerable points, including railway lines, bridges, and tunnels. With popular enthusiasm for the war high, the division's regimental depots were flooded with potential recruits. The divisional historian, James Ogden Coop, wrote, "every existing vacancy was filled and could have been filled ten times over". Some of these recruits were used to bring the East Lancashire Division up to strength. The dispersion of the division impacted training, which for some units was impossible to undertake. Following the outbreak of the war, territorials were invited to volunteer for overseas service. Copp wrote "every unit in the division volunteered". On 13 August 1914, Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener signalled a willingness to deploy overseas territorial units in which 80 per cent of the men (reduced to 60 per cent at the end of the month) volunteered. Two days later, the division was ordered to separate those who had volunteered from those who had not. The latter were to be used to form reserve units. On 31 August, these reserve formations coalesced to become the 2nd West Lancashire Division, which was initially based at the West Lancashire Division's peacetime barracks and depots.
  The West Lancashire Division went through a succession of general officers commanding (GOC), before Major-General John Forster was given command on 3 September 1914. Due to the casualties suffered by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) during the opening months of fighting on the Western Front, the division's volunteers were used as reinforcements. Between October 1914 and May 1915, the division was steadily drained; companies of engineers, artillery, medical personnel and battalions of infantry were removed from the division to reinforce other divisions. The Commander-in-Chief, Home Army, General Ian Hamilton questioned the wisdom of using the division this way, as he believed the men were "'fully 20% behind the rest' in efficiency and training". However, he believed the deployment of intact battalions would not effect their esprit de corps, as he perceived there being a loyalty greater to the battalion than the division. As battalions departed, they were replaced by reserve units from the 2nd West Lancashire Division. After the North Lancashire Brigade, the division's last remaining infantry formation of volunteers, transferred to the 51st (Highland) Division in April 1915, the remainder of the division were amalgamated with 2nd West Lancashire Division that was now based around Canterbury. The divisional artillery was sent to France in October, and attached to the 2nd Canadian Division.
  In November 1915, the Army Council authorised the reformation of the West Lancashire Division in France. The divi
caption: Men of the King's Liverpool Regiment, moving along a communication trench leading to the front line near Wailly, 16 April 1916
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