The division was raised from volunteers for Lord Kitchener's New Armies, that was originally made up of infantry battalions raised by public subscription or private patronage.

It served in France and Belgium in the trenches of the Western Front for the duration of the war.

The division's insignia was the "double-three" from a set of dominoes.

The Division was one of the six created for the Fourth New Army on 10 December 1914.

[1] Major-General Herman Landon took command of the division on its arrival.