The 1/5th, 1/6th, 1/7th and 1/8th battalions landed in France as part of the Sherwood Foresters Brigade in the North Midland Division (later 139th (Sherwood Foresters) Brigade and 46th (North Midland) Division respectively) in February 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 2nd-Line TF battalions formed on the outbreak of war, the 2/5th, 2/6th, 2/7th and 2/8th battalions, moved to Ireland as part of the 178th (2/1st Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) Brigade in the 59th (2nd North Midland) Division in April 1916. During the Easter Rising in Ireland, the 2/7th and 2/8th battalions lost over two hundred men killed or wounded at Mount Street on 26 April and at the South Dublin Union on 27 April. The 2/5th, 2/7th and the 2/8th battalions transferred to Le Havre in February 1917 for service on the Western Front while the 2/6th battalion transferred to Boulogne-sur-Mer in February 1917 also for service on the Western Front. 3rd-Line TF battalions (3/5h, 3/6th, 3/7th and 3/8th) were also formed to train drafts for the battalions overseas. The 21st Battalion was formed from Home Service men of the TF.