A Machine Gun Company was attached to each Infantry Brigade and their subsequent Division.
| Brigade attached to: | 52nd Brigade |
| Division attached to: | 17th (Northern) Division |
| Formed from the Machine Gun Sections of: | 9th Bn. Northumberland Fusiliers 10th Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers 9th Bn. Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment) 12th Bn. Manchester Regiment |
The 52nd M.G. Coy. disembarked at le Havre on 09 February 1916 and joined the 52nd Brigade on 12 February 1916 at Reninghelst. It may have absorbed machine gunners from the Machine Gun Sections of the listed infantry battalions.
As a unit of the 17th (Northern) Division during this period, it may have taken part in the following battles and engagements.
| 1916 | |
| 14 February and 02 March | The Bluff [V Corps, Second Army]. |
| BATTLES OF THE SOMME | |
| 01 to 10 July | Battle of Albert [XV Corps, Fourth Army]. |
| 02 July | Capture of Fricourt. |
| 01 to 12 August | Battle of Delville Wood [XV Corps, Fourth Army]. |
| 1917 | |
| BATTLES OF ARRAS | |
| 12 to 14 April | First Battle of the Scarpe [VI Corps, Third Army]. |
| 23 and 24 April | Second Battle of the Scarpe [VI Corps, Third Army]. |
| 13 to 16 May | Capture and Defence of Rouex [XVII Corps, Third Army]. |
| BATTLES OF YPRES | |
| 12 October | First Battle of Passchendaele [XIV Corps, Fifth Army]. |
| 08 to 10 November | Second Battle of Passchendaele [XIV Corps, Fifth Army]. |
On 24 February 1918, it was amalgamated with the 50th, 51st, and 236th Machine Gun Companies to form No. 17 Battalion, Machine Gun Corps.
