Formation On 14 January 1917,
Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) Order No. 26 instructed that the
2nd,
3rd and
4th Dismounted Brigades (then with the
Suez Canal Defences) be reorganized as the
229th,
230th and
231st Brigades. On 23 February 1917,
Lieutenant General Sir
Archibald Murray, the
General Officer Commanding EEF, 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. 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). Due to a lack of replacements, British 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. On 16 May, the Pioneer Battalion, 1/12
Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, was reduced from a 4-company to a 3-company organization. on 10 November 1918. 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 of 11 November 1918 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==