The British 66th Division was raised as a second-line Territorial Force

Territorial Force

The Territorial Force was the volunteer reserve component of the British Army from 1908 to 1920, when it became the Territorial Army.-Origins:...

 division

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

 in August 1914 shortly after the commencement of the First World War. It went on to serve as a full-fledged frontline division on the Western Front

Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

 in 1917 and 1918. It fought in the Third Battle of Ypres (1917),
the Second Battle of the Somme (1918)

Second Battle of the Somme (1918)

During the First World War, the Second Battle of the Somme of 1918 was fought on the Western Front from the end of the summer, in the basin of the Somme River...

, and the Battle of Cambrai (1918)

Battle of Cambrai (1918)

The Battle of Cambrai was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle took place in and around the French city of Cambrai, between 8 and 10 October 1918...

.

The division was moved into Germany after the Armistice with Germany to take part in the occupation of the Rhineland. The division's final billeting area was Dinant - Huy - Marche - Rochefort. "Demobilisation began here and at midnight 24–25 March 1919 the 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division, the "Clickety Clicks", ceased to exist."

The division's general from March 1918 was Hugh Keppel "Beetle" Bethell (1882-1947), the youngest British divisional commander in both world wars.

Organisation (March 1917)

197th Brigade (2nd Lancashire Fusiliers)

• 2/6th Battalion, the Northumberland Fusiliers
• 2/7th Battalion, the Northumberland Fusiliers
• 2/8th Battalion, the Northumberland Fusiliers
• 3/5th Battalion, the Northumberland Fusiliers
• 202nd Brigade Machine Gun Company
  Machine Gun Corps
  The Machine Gun Corps was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in World War I. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tanks in combat, and the branch was subsequently turned into the Tank...
  
  
• 197th Trench Mortar Battery

198th Brigade (2nd East Lancashire)

• 2/4th Battalion, the East Lancashire Regiment
  East Lancashire Regiment
  The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, an infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of two 30th and 59th Regiments of Foot with the militia and rifle volunteer units of eastern Lancashire...
  
  
• 2/5th Battalion, the East Lancashire Regiment
• 2/9th Battalion, the Manchester Regiment
• 2/10th Battalion, the Manchester Regiment
• 203rd Brigade Machine Gun Company
• 198th Trench Mortar Battery

199th Brigade (2nd Manchester)

• 2/5th Battalion, the Manchester Regiment
• 2/6th Battalion, the Manchester Regiment
• 2/7th Battalion, the Manchester Regiment
• 2/8th (Ardwick
  Ardwick
  Ardwick is a district of the City of Manchester, in North West England, about one mile east of Manchester City Centre.By the mid-19th century Ardwick had grown from being a village into a pleasant and wealthy suburb of Manchester, but by the end of that century it had become heavily industrialised...
  
  ) Battalion, the Manchester Regiment
• 204th Brigade Machine Gun Company
• 199th Trench Mortar Battery

Royal Engineers

Royal Engineers

The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....

• 430th (2/1st East Lancashire Regiment) Field Company
• 431st (2/2nd East Lancashire Regiment) Field Company
• 432nd (2/3rd East Lancashire Regiment) Field Company
• 66th (2/1st East Lancashire Regiment) Divisional Signal Company

Royal Artillery

Royal Artillery

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...

• CCCXXX (2/I East Lancashire Regiment) Brigade, Royal Foot Artillery
• CCCXXXI (2/II East Lancashire Regiment) Brigade, Royal Foot Artillery
• CCCXXXII (2/III East Lancashire Regiment) Brigade, Royal Foot Artillery
• 66th (2/1st East Lancashire Regiment) Divisional Ammunition Column
• V.66 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery Royal Foot Artillery
• X.66 Medium Mortar Battery Royal Foot Artillery
• Y.66 Medium Mortar Battery Royal Foot Artillery
• Z.66 Medium Mortar Battery Royal Foot Artillery

Royal Army Medical Corps

Royal Army Medical Corps

The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...

• 2/1st East Lancashire Field Ambulance
• 2/2nd East Lancashire Field Ambulance
• 2/3rd East Lancashire Field Ambulance

Other

• 66th (2/1st East Lancashire Regiment) Divisional Train Army Service Corps
• 1/1st East Lancashire Regiment Mobile Veterinary Section

External links

• PB Chappell, 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division Battles & Units