2nd Battalion The Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Could anyone please give me a brief outline of what the 2nd Bn Queen's Royal West Surreys were doing after they arrived at Zeebrugge in October 1914 (acc. to the Long, Long Trail) until the following autumn? I'm just trying to fill in the background of a young 2/Lt (J B Coates) seconded from the QRWS to the 21/KRRC in late 1915, who seems to have been in France/Flanders from 23 Nov 1914 till he was seconded. I see they were with the 22nd Brigade, 7th Division and that seems to put them, potentially, at First Ypres, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers Ridge, Festubert and Loos, which sounds hair-raising. Even if he only saw some of these actions we can assume he had a fairly toughening year, aged 17-18?

Liz

[SteveE]

Liz

If it helps the War Diary's transcribed and available here...http://qrrarchive.websds.net/menu1.aspx?li=1

Regards

Steve

[Ice Tiger]

Liz

The war diarys are on line.

Just click HERE

Andy

EDIT - Well done Steve, beat me to it by seconds.

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Thank you both very much, Steve and Andy - I didn't see that when googling! I hope I can get the story in brief from it without launching into another branch of self-education. The Yeoman Rifles are already a diversion from a diversion from a diversion of what I'm supposed to be getting on with...

Liz

[Liz in Eastbourne]

Well - after hours of not seeing the wood for the trees and not knowing what battle I was in and having to go back to the Long Long Trail to check, I have surfaced with some idea of it all in a (probably appropriately) confused way. The section of the War Diary I needed was in a rather blurry carbon copy, but still better than most handwriting.

It's interesting in all sorts of odd ways - so much chattier than the KRRC ones I've seen (only 2nd and 21st Bns) like letters home to the family:

'rather a curious thing happened to day'

'a particularly unpleasant burst of gunfire'

'All very thankful to get away from the fighting line' etc.

Despite that, it sets out the facts very clearly and there's an interesting account of the Christmas Truce (referred to by another forum member in the topic I started on Coates in Soldiers). But I was beginning to fear young 2 /Lt Coates wasn't there at all, as I couldn't see a reference to him joining in Nov 1914 as is usually done with new arrivals. At last I saw him mentioned in D company in a big attack in May 1915 (it turned out to be Festubert.)

So he did know what tough times in the trenches were before he joined the Yeoman Rifles.

Liz