It was temporarily disbanded in early 1918 but was reconstituted from dismounted Yeomanry regiments in time to take part in the final battles of the war.

On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular British Army.

The newly-appointed Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward.

These were deployed at their war stations in coastal defence where they were training and equipping reservists to provide reinforcement drafts to the Regular Army fighting overseas.

Initially the men of 94th Bde had to drill and provide working parties for the coast defences in old red coats with dummy rifles until uniforms and equipment arrived.

In early 1915 an outbreak of Cerebrospinal meningitis in the brigade caused the battalions to be scattered, the Suffolks to their regimental depot at Bury St Edmunds, the Bedfords to Mill Hill in Middlesex and the Loyals to White City, London.

After the brigades were renumbered, the new 94th Bde concentrated in May at Penkridge Camp on Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, where it was joined by the Accrington Pals in place of the Grimsby Chums.

[10][11][17][18][21][22][26][27][28] On 29 November 1915 the division received warning orders to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France, and advance parties set out for the embarkation ports of Folkestone and Southampton.

94th Brigade attacked on a two-battalion front with the 11th East Lancs and 12th Y&L leading, followed by a company of the divisional pioneer battalion, the 12th King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.

The troops left their trenches at 07.20, 10 minutes before Zero, when the nearby Hawthorn Ridge mine was exploded and the final intense bombardment of the German positions began.

Thus alerted, the enemy put down a heavy artillery barrage on the British line and their machine gun teams came out of their dugouts.

[38][39][40] The Somme Offensive was still continuing at the end of October when 31st Division returned to the sector for the Battle of the Ancre, which was to be the last big operation of the year.

The division made another attempt to capture Serre on 13 November, but 94th Bde was still not fit for active operations and although standing by it was not employed except to provide carrying parties and to rescue the wounded.

They disappeared from the Ancre Front on 24 February and 31st Division was ordered to send out strong patrols next day to regain touch with them.

On 9 April First Army captured Vimy Ridge, and next day 31st Division moved up in case it was required for exploitation as the offensive developed.

The assault was launched under a setting moon, and the three leading battalions of 93rd Bde made good progress towards Oppy Wood.

[10][11][50][51][52] Late in June First Army began a series of feint attacks to draw attention away from the Ypres Salient where the BEF was planning a new offensive.

The British covering artillery was so powerful that the assaulting troops met little resistance, taking Gavrelle Mill and Oppy Wood with very few casualties.

The Capture of Oppy Wood was a major success, carried out for minimal casualties and giving good observation over the German positions to the north and east.

31st Division was not committed to the Third Ypres Offensive, which culminated in the dreadful Battle of Passchendaele, possibly because it was not considered to have recovered from its ordeal on the Somme a year before.

This released three battalions that were assigned to 94th Bde, redesignated on 21 June as 94th (Yeomanry) Brigade:[10][11][64] 31st and 5th Divisions took part in Operation Borderland, a limited attack on La Becque and other fortified farms in front of the Forest of Nieppe on 28 June (the anniversary of the capture of Oppy Wood by the two divisions).

[10][11][65][66] Individual units continued to make small advances through aggressive patrolling and seizing strongpoints (so-called 'peaceful penetration') and this accelerated when the Allies launched a coordinated offensive on 8 August.

[10][11][67][68] Second Army carried out a formal attack on the morning of 28 September (the Fifth Battle of Ypres) and 31st Division was ordered to watch for opportunities and take advantage of enemy weakening.

That night 92nd and 94th (Y) Bdes occupied a line from le Quatre Rois Cabaret to Ultimo Crater, on the east side of Ploegsteert Wood which had been cleared during the afternoon.

All 92nd Bde could do was push a line of posts forward about 700 yards (640 m) in an attempt to suppress enemy machine gun fire.

German retaliation to the British barrage was weak, but machine gun teams in the farms and villages scattered across the country put up considerable fight.

The Germans had retired across the Schelde, and 94th (Y) Bde's patrols encountered no opposition, Having made contact with neighbouring French troops, 31st Division was withdrawn into reserve.

[10][11][75][76] The division began to pull back on 13 November, and by the end of the month was established in camps south of St-Omer and engaged in road repair.