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Remembered Today:

1st/8th Worcesters


BMoorhouse

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Can anyone please help me with the actions of the 1st/8th Worcesters on and leading up to the 17th September 1915.

If anyone can tell me what B Company was doing, that would be even better.

Yours in anticipation...

Brendon.

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Brendon,

Quoting from 'The Worcestershire Regiment in the Great War'

'July 19th into billets near Authie, July 20th bivouac in the Bois de Warnimont there they lay in reserve for a week.July 30th moved into the line alongside the 1/7th.

Thus they remained untill August the 7th when the 144th Brigade was relieved and moved backinto reserve, the 1/7th Battalion being billeted in St. Leger and the 1/8th Battalion in Bayencourt. In that area, varied by shifts to billets in the neigbouring villages of Courcelles, Souastre and Bus the two battalions remained throughout the Autumn.'

'September 14th the 1/8th suffered a servere loss in the death of 2/Lieut. H.S.Wilson in a Patrol fight'

Not sure if this detail helps, i just happend to have recently been reading the book and i spotted your post.

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Lee,

Many thanks for that.

The death of 2nd Lt Wilson on a fighting patrol suggests that the 1st/8th were back in the front line at the time. Is there anything to help with where that would have been other than the Courcelles, Souastre and Bus area?

Regards,

Brendon.

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Sorry Brendon, the references quoted are all the information given, it does appear that 1/8th and 1/7th did spend the whole Autumn in the Courcelles, Souastre and Bus area, unfortunately nothing else specific in the information i have to hand. I will have another search tonight and get back if any other information comes to light.

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.

Hi,

According to E C Corbett in the Battalion history, they were in the line at Hebuterne and it was here that Lt Wilson was killed on patrol. In fact, it seems that patrolling on both sides was eventually stopped because of the heavy losses incurred in the frequent encounters. Billets were in Bus-les-Artois, Divisional HQ, where the Battalion over-wintered.

Sorry I can't help you with any details on B Company

Regards

Martin

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Martin,

Many thanks for that information.

I have tried to track down Corbett's book without success. It seems to have been a privately printed book in the 20s. Do you know if there are any reprints, or library copies anywhere?

Brendon.

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Hi

It was privately printed in 1921. It's a 16mo paperback, 158 pages, and is very much a cosy account of life behind the stark statistics of war, rather than a conventional battalion history. I bought this copy 3 years ago so there must be a few around still, although it's presentation tends towards a small print run. Good luck with hunting one down

Regards

Martin

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