[2] It was commanded by Maj. Gen. James Melville Babington, who was at first hampered by a lack of clerks, cooks and a means of communicating orders, other than verbally.

Together with other New Army divisions, uniforms of any description were not received until mid October, by which time many of the civilian clothes the men wore were reduced to rags.

Initial weapons training was carried out with small numbers of Lee-Metford rifles and French 90mm guns.

Khaki uniforms were received at the end of February and the division moved to the Shorncliffe area in March and continued training.

They (the 23rd) were never happier unless they were patrolling No Man's Land, sniping or arranging some special 'hate' in the form of trench mortaring or rifle-grenading.

On the night of the last day of the year the division launched its first trench raid with 116 officers and men of the 10th Northumberland Fusiliers and a party of Royal Engineers.

The position, a trench called '26th Avenue' was occupied by 70th Brigade on 27 September after a German withdrawal, after an earlier attack failed when it was occupied, the subsequent advance and occupation of Destremont Farm on 29 September just outside the village of Le Sars was heavily contested.

[25] The village and positions around it, were captured by 68th and 69th brigades on 7/8 October, earning praise from III Corps, 50th and 15th division commanders.

Eric Poole, of the 11th (Service) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment, who had been sentenced to death by a court martial for desertion from his unit during the Somme Offensive.

These preparation were observed by the Germans on the higher ground who assaulted the line on 13 May, which was repulsed, this attracted counter raiding by the 70th Brigade on 16 and 20 May.

During this time the division's easily observed artillery attracted heavy German counter battery fire with serious casualties resulting.

After the artillery bombardment and the detonation of 19 mines on 7 June, the 69th and 70th brigades (the 69th reinforced with the 11th Northumberland Fusiliers and 12th Durham Light Infantry) advanced over the ridge and down each side of the valley on the southern flank of the Klein-Zillebeke spur, with fresh battalions leap-frogging the others when the second phase line had been reached.

[32] The division returned to the line between 26 and 28 June in the area of Battle wood and Mt Sorrel and began preparations for the next phase of the planned assault.

[34] The battle to deny the Germans the heights east and north of Ypres began on 31 July, while the division was still in training.

[41] Required only to hold the line the division was subject to heavy shelling and lost 275 killed and 954 injured before relief on 14 October.

[43] The division arrived in Italy and concentrated around Mantua, South of Verona as part of XIV Corps on 11 November, 16 days after the Battle of Caporetto.

[51] To their left the 70th Brigade's front line was partly overrun, it was restored by headquarters details and some Italian trench mortar-men led by Lt. Col. Charles Hudson of the 11th Sherwood Foresters for which he received the V.C.

One of these consisting of over 360 officers and men of 10th Duke of Wellington's Regiment failed to achieve surprise and was strongly opposed, despite this, 70 prisoners were taken for the loss of 2 dead, 48 injured and 6 missing.

[a][58] The planned move to France was cancelled and an attack on the Piave front was to be mounted in its place with the 7th and 23rd British divisions, for which the training remained appropriate.

[62] Early on 28 October the river Monticano was crossed by the 69th brigade, and in securing the bridgehead (amongst other actions) Sgt William McNally of the 8th Yorkshire Regiment won the division's ninth and last V.C.. Stiffening resistance meant the day's advance was much less than expected.

[63] By the afternoon of 31 October the 69th brigade was in the town of Sacile some 15 miles from the Piave, where the last shot was fired by the division.

[64] The advance continued through the remains of Austrian columns attacked by aircraft, until the armistice signed on 3 November came into effect the next day, by which time the division was east of the river Tagliamento.

[75] The 23rd (Northumbrian) Division was a 2nd Line Territorial Army duplicate of the 1st Line 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division that was formed shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War and was disbanded in July 1940 after suffering heavy losses in France before the Battle of Dunkirk.