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8th Buffs at Loos


Barnsey

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My great Grandfather was in the Buffs at Loos (Capt. AMC Hollist). I believe he was in A Coy 8th Buffs.

I'm trying to find some details about the exact movements of the 8th Buffs (24th Div.). I have copies of letters to my g-grandmother mentioning that he was wounded but made it to & through the wire. He was never seen again.

If anyone can help I would be most appreciative. Anything about the 24th Div. and/or the 8th Buffs.

Thanks

Patrick Barnes :)

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Hi Patrick

We crossed paths on another message board regarding Hollist. There are a couple people looking at the 8th Buffs here so I'm sure someone can help. I've briefly looked at this action and I recall finding that there was a lot of confusion regarding the timetable of events. The war diary of the 8th Battalion for Sept 1915 is now available to download online here

8th Buffs

Mick Mills

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Guest wrinklyone

If you're a WFA type you might like to look at the War Diary of L/Cpl James Frederick Carpenter, of which three instalments have been printed so far in Stand To!.

The second section, printed in edition no 73 for April 2005, tells of 8 Bn's horrific baptism of fire at Loos. They had been desperately ill prepared for front line duty.

If you can't get hold of it send me a pm with your snailmail and I will post you a copy.

The Bn is also well covered in Col Moody's 'Historical Records of the Buffs' reprinted by N&M.

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Hi Patrick

We crossed paths on another message board regarding Hollist. There are a couple people looking at the 8th Buffs here so I'm sure someone can help. I've briefly looked at this action and I recall finding that there was a lot of confusion regarding the timetable of events. The war diary of the 8th Battalion for Sept 1915 is now available to download online here

8th Buffs

Mick Mills

Hi Mick

Thanks for that. I'll have a look. There seems to be a lot of confusion, Capt. Hollist died on consecutive days (depending upon the source of info)!

Good to converse again.

Regards

Pat Barnes

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If you're a WFA type you might like to look at the War Diary of L/Cpl James Frederick Carpenter, of which three instalments have been printed so far in Stand To!.

The second section, printed in edition no 73 for April 2005, tells of 8 Bn's horrific baptism of fire at Loos. They had been desperately ill prepared for front line duty.

If you can't get hold of it send me a pm with your snailmail and I will post you a copy.

The Bn is also well covered in Col Moody's 'Historical Records of the Buffs' reprinted by N&M.

Hi wrinklyone,

Thanks for the reply. Am I really daft (could be the beer here in Oz)? What is a "WFA type"? Do you have an ISBN for Col Moody's book?

Thanks again

Pat Barnes

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WFA is the Western Front Association.

Check out their website, their magazine Stand To! which goes to all members is a very good read.

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Guest wrinklyone
Am I really daft (could be the beer here in Oz)?

I'm sure you're not daft but, sorry Barnsey, you don't have real beer in Oz!

I have received your snailmail and will happily forward copies of that section direct to you. The 1st installation is devoted to UK training, but let me know if you would like a copy of that too.

There's frequently conflict regarding precise dates, particularly during the Loos action because there was so much confusion (Moody refers to it). Bn war diary must have been a fairly low priority at that time. I believe that, in this instance, it was completed retrospectively by a fairly junior officer. The much loved 64yr old CO was one of the early casualties, and his body was never found. He is commemorated at Dud Corner.

The book is Historical Records of the Buffs (East Kent Regiment), 1914-1919 by Colonel R S H Moody, late of the Buffs. It was originally published in 1922 but was reprinted in softback during the past 3 or 4 years by Naval & Military Press. UK cost is £24. ISBN is 1843423952 (which looks a bit odd to me). You can check it out by punching Buffs into

www.naval-military-press.com

Captain Anthony May Capron Hollist is listed as kia/dow in one of the appendices to the book.

WFA has about 8,000 members worldwide and the website is

www.westernfrontassociation.com

Chris Baker will confirm that the two magazines make membership worthwhile even for outback members!

East Kent branch members may be able to assist. Contact for the Oz branch is Lt-Col Paul Simadas, H420/780 Bourke Street, Redfern, NSW 2016. or

http://members.optushome.com.au/wfaau

Good luck with your research.

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Guest wrinklyone

... and I've just found Capt AMC Hollist listed by Moody as one of the officers who sailed for France with the Bn on the night of 31 Aug/1 Sept 1915.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello Mate,

Just seen this thread, my Great Grandfather was at Loos with the 8th Buffs. If you'd like any help etc, let me know. You can find the book on Amazon below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1...2050496-7885556

Steve

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