| G.O.C.—Major-General C. J. Mackenzie, C.B. | |
| G.S.O.I.—Lieut.-Colonel C. H. de Rougemont, M.V.O. | |
| A.A. & Q.M.G.—Colonel A. V. Payne. | |
| 26TH (HIGHLAND) BRIGADE. | |
| Brig.-General—H. R. Kelham, C.B. | |
| B.M.—Capt. H. W. B. Thorp. | |
| Commanded by | |
| 8th Bn. The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) | Lieut.-Col. Lord Sempill. |
| 7th Bn. Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany’s) | Lieut.-Col. W. T. Gaisford |
| 8th Bn. The Gordon Highlanders | Lieut.-Col. G. Staunton. |
| 5th Bn. The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders | Lieut.-Col. D. W. Cameron |
| of Lochiel. | |
| 27TH INFANTRY BRIGADE. | |
| Brig.-General—W. Scott Moncrieff. | |
| B.M.—Capt. A. I. R. Glasfurd. | |
| 11th Bn. The Royal Scots | Lieut.-Col. H. H. B. Dyson. |
| 12th Bn. The Royal Scots | Lieut.-Col. G. G. Loch. |
| 6th Bn. The Royal Scots Fusiliers | Lieut.-Col. H. H. Northey. |
| 10th Bn. Princess Louise’s (Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders) | Lieut.-Col. A. F. Mackenzie, M.V.O. |
| 28TH INFANTRY BRIGADE. | |
| Brig.-General—S. W. Scrase-Dickins. | |
| B.M.—Captain C. J. B. Hay. | |
| 6th Bn. The King’s Own Scottish Borderers | Lieut.-Col. H. D. N. Maclean, D.S.O. |
| 9th Bn. The Scottish Rifles (Cameronians) | Lieut.-Col. A. C. Northey. |
| 10th Bn. The Highland Light Infantry | Lieut.-Col. J. C. Grahame, D.S.O. |
| 11th Bn. The Highland Light Infantry | Lieut.-Col. H. C. Fergusson. |
| ROYAL FIELD ARTILLERY. | |
| C.R.A.—Brig.-General E. H. Armitage, C.B. | |
| B.M.—Captain K. P. Ferguson. | |
| Commanded by | |
| 50th Brigade, R.F.A. | Lieut.-Col. A. C. Bailward. |
| 51st Brigade, R.F.A. | Lieut.-Col. A. H. Carter. |
| 52nd Brigade, R.F.A. | Lieut.-Col. F. W. Boteler. |
| 53rd Brigade, R.F.A. | Lieut.-Col. C. N. Simpson. |
The first three brigades had four 18-pounder guns and the 53rd Brigade four 4·5 howitzers, and each brigade had a B.A.C.
| THE ROYAL ENGINEERS. | |
| C.R.E.—Lieut.-Colonel H. A. A. Livingstone, C.M.G. | |
| 63rd Field Company | Capt. C. Doucet. |
| 64th Field Company | Capt. W. E. Francis. |
| 90th Field Company | Major C. S. Montefiore. |
| PIONEERS. | |
| The 9th Bn. Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany’s)—Lieut.-Col. T. Fetherstonhaugh. | |
| THE ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS. | |
| A.D.M.S.—Colonel C. Cree. | |
| 27th Field Ambulance | Lieut.-Col. O. W. A. Elsner. |
| 28th Field Ambulance | Lieut.-Col. W. E. Hardy. |
| 29th Field Ambulance | Lieut.-Col. F. R. Buswell. |
| ARMY SERVICE CORPS.[1] | |
| 9th Divisional Train—Major R. P. Crawley, M.V.O. | |
| 9th Divisional Supply Column, Motor Transport | Major Dugmore. |
| 104th Company | Major H. MacDougal. |
| 105th Company | Capt. J. R. King. |
| 106th Company | Capt. F. K. Norman. |
| 107th Company | Capt. C. de M. Hutcheson. |
In addition to these units the Division was equipped with Ordnance and Veterinary Sections, D.A.D.O.S. being Major J. S. Brogden, and the A.D.V.S. Major W. H. Nicol. There were also a battery of R.G.A., a company of Cyclists, and a squadron of the Glasgow Yeomanry.
During the period of training several changes in command occurred. General Mackenzie went to France in October 1914 and was succeeded by Major-General Sir C. Fergusson, who had commanded the Fifth Division in the original Expeditionary Force. In March 1915 Sir C. Fergusson crossed to France to take over the II. Corps and his successor was Major-General H. J. S. Landon. In the 26th Brigade Brig.-General E. St G. Grogan, C.B., succeeded Brig.-General Kelham on the 16th November, while Lieut.-Colonel Harry Wright, D.S.O., a veteran of the famous Kandahar march, took over the command of the Gordons in February 1915; in the 27th Brigade, Brig.-General C. D. Bruce succeeded Brig.-General Scott Moncrieff in January, and Lieut.-Col. R. C. Dundas was appointed to the command of the 11th Royal Scots in October. Changes occurred also amongst the Gunners and the Sappers, and by the time the Ninth was ready to cross the Channel the 50th Brigade was commanded by Lieut.-Col. C. C. van Straubenzee, the 52nd by Lieut.-Col. A. M. Perreau, and the 53rd by Lieut.-Col. K. K. Knapp, while the 63rd Field Company was commanded by Major L. W. S. Oldham, and the 64th by Major G. R. Hearn.
After the various units were organised, training[2] was carried on with the utmost vigour. An average of eight hours a day was spent in fitting the men for the grim business of war; it was a heavy strain but their keenness and excellent physique enabled them to undergo the hardships without a murmur. The difficulties at this early stage were enormous owing to scarcity of instructors and lack of stores, clothing, and arms, but there was a sprinkling of Regular officers and N.C.Os., and with their skilled assistance the several units soon reached a very creditable state of efficiency.
The problems regarding stores and clothing were solved comparatively quickly, but at first the men in their civilian clothes with various types of headgear presented an appearance more ludicrous than martial. The training was on lines identical with those of the old army and a similar syllabus was carried out with satisfactory results. The hardest lot fell to the young recently commissioned officers; they went through exactly the same routine as the men but they were also obliged to spend their spare time learning their particular duties as officers. The parsimonious scrutiny to which in peace times all army estimates had been subjected now showed its crippling effects. The manual dealing with tactics and strategy, Field Service Regulations, was excellent in its statement of general principles but it did not give a young officer, unfamiliar with military terms, much assistance in such a matter as the handling of a platoon. In this respect the German Army was much better equipped than ours and possessed numerous pamphlets for the guidance of junior and non-commissioned officers in their profession. The war revealed the need of similar assistance for the British Army and a spate of unofficial publications flooded the book-shops, but none were as good or as useful as the official pamphlets, notably S.S. 143 and S.S. 135, which unfortunately did not appear until the war had been long in progress. The lack of such guidance in 1914 was almost as serious as the scarcity of munitions and added enormously to the difficulties of training.