74th ( Yeomanry ) Division The 74th ( Yeomanry ) Division was a Territorial Force infantry division formed in Palestine in early 1917 from three dismounted yeomanry brigades . It served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I , mostly as part of XX Corps . In May 1918 it was sent to the Western Front where it remained until the end of the war . The division ' s insignia was a broken spur to signify that its units were once mounted but now served as infantry . Formation . On 14 January 1917 , Egyptian Expeditionary Force ( EEF ) Order No . 26 instructed that the 2nd , 3rd and 4th Dismounted Brigade s ( then with the Suez Canal Defences ) be reorganized as the 229th , 230th and 231st Brigade s . On 23 February 1917 , the General Officer Commanding the Egyptian Expeditionary Force , Lieutenant General Sir A . J . Murray , sought permission from the War Office to form the 229th , 230th and 231st Brigades into a new division . On 25 February , the War Office granted permission and the new 74th ( Yeomanry ) Division started to form . It was acknowledged that it would take some time for artillery , engineers and auxiliary services to complete the division . The Division began to assemble from 4 March at el Arish . 229th Brigade joined at el Arish by 9 March , 231st Brigade joined at Khan Yunis by 6 April , and 230th Brigade joined by 13 April at Deir el Balah . The other divisional units ( cavalry squadron , engineer field companies , veterinary section , and the train ) , had joined by April . However , the artillery did not become a part of the division until July and August ( i . e . after the division had already been committed to action in the Second Battle of Gaza ) . Palestine 1917 - 18 . The 74th Division took part in the invasion of Palestine in 1917 and 1918 . The division was not fully formed when it participated in the Second Battle of Gaza between 17 and 19 April 1917 . It acted as reserve to the Eastern Force and was not engaged . Thereafter , the division was assigned to XX Corps where it remained for the rest of its time in Palestine . In October and November 1917 , the division took part in the Third Battle of Gaza ( including the capture of Beersheba on 31 October and the Sheria Position on 6 November ) . At the end of 1917 , it took part in the capture and defence of Jerusalem and in March 1918 in the Battle of Tell ' Asur . On 3 April 1918 , the Division was warned that it would move to France and by 30 April 1918 had completed embarkation at Alexandria . Before departure for France , the 4th ( of 229th Brigade ) , 209th ( of 230th Brigade ) , 210th ( of 231st Brigade ) and 261st MG Companies formed 74th Battalion , Machine Gun Corps . It concentrated at Alexandria between 17 and 30 April and departed for France with the division on the latter date . The artillery was also restructured in March and April 1918 before departing for France . On 21 March , ' A ' Battery of CCLXVIII Brigade , RFA ( A / CCLXVIII ) returned to 60th ( 2 / 2nd London ) Division where it resumed its original identity as B / CCCI . It was replaced by 425 Battery which was redesignated A / CCLXVIII . Then , between 11 and 21 April , the artillery was reorganized as two brigades at Lydda : Each brigade now consisted of three batteries of six 18 pounders and a battery of four 4 . 5 " howitzers . Each of the howitzer batteries were later made up to six 4 . 5 " howitzers in France ( on 21 May 1918 at Noulette ) . France and Flanders 1918 . In May 1918 , the 74th ( Yeomanry ) Division landed at Marseilles , France . It served in France and Flanders for the rest of the war . By 18 May , the division had concentrated around Rue in the Abbeville area . Here the dismounted Yeomanry underwent training for service on the Western Front , particularly gas defence . Due to a lack of replacements , infantry divisions on the Western Front had been reduced from 12 to nine battalions in January and February 1918 . To conform with this new structure , on 21 June , 12th Royal Scots Fusiliers ( of 229th Brigade ) , 12th Norfolk Regiment ( of 230th Brigade ) and 24th Royal Welsh Fusiliers ( of 231st Brigade ) left the 74th ( Yeomanry ) Division . They were used to reconstitute 94th Brigade of 31st Division which was renamed the 94th ( Yeomanry ) Brigade on that date . On 16 May , the Pioneer Battalion , 1 / 12th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment , was reduced from a 4 - company to a 3 - company organization . On 14 July 1918 the 74th ( Yeomanry ) Division went into the line for the first time , near Merville on the right of XI Corps . From September 1918 , as part of III Corps of Fourth Army , it took part in the Hundred Days Offensive including the Second Battle of the Somme ( Second Battle of Bapaume ) and the Battles of the Hindenburg Line ( Battle of Épehy ) . In October and November 1918 , it took part in the ' Final Advance ' on Artois and Flanders . By the Armistice it was in the area of Tournai , Belgium . With the end of the war , the troops of 74th Division were engaged in railway repair work and education was undertaken while demobilisation began . The division and its subformations were disbanded on 10 July 1919 . Commanders . 74th ( Yeomanry ) Division was commanded throughout its existence by Major General E . S . Girdwood .