The First World War 1914-1918

The East Surrey Regiment

 

Mills web equipment,1908 with 'PH' Gas Helmet bag on the left and the Small Box respirator case on the right; Short Magazine Lee Enfield Rifle Number 1, Mark III, 1907 with sword bayonet.

The East Surrey Regiment also contributed greatly to the First World War. Eighteen battalions were formed, 6000 men were lost and seven Victoria Crosses (VCs) won. Their experiences were similar to The Queen’s; initially, the old Regular Army deployed, followed by the Reservists and Territorials. The ranks were later filled, again, by the “New Army” of Volunteers and then finally, nearer the end of the War, by the Conscripts.

The Regular Battalions
The 1^st Battalion The East Surreys joined the 14^th Brigade of the 5^th Division of the British Expeditionary Force and, during the first few months of the War gained honours at Mons, Le Cateau, on the Marne and on the Aisne. In the Spring it probably achieved its finest feat of the war in the Defence of Hill 60 near Ypres on 23^rd April 1915. During this action, the Battalion gained three VCs, two Military Crosses (MCs) and seven Distinguished Conduct Medals (DCMs). On 10^th April 1915, the 1^st and 2^nd Battalions met for the first time since the old 31^st Foot and 70^th Foot had met on active service during the 18^th Century French Revolutionary Wars. The 1^st Battalion served in France during the entire War except for a short tour in Italy from 1917 to Spring 1918. Following the Armistice, it went to Russia, operating along the Murmansk railway.

Officer of the East Surreys, Service Dress 1916 with trench cap.

The 2^nd Battalion, part of the 85^th Brigade of the 28^th Division, was heavily engaged in the Ypres sector almost immediately after being moved up the line for the first time in January 1915. A and C Companies were almost annihilated and shortly after, C and D Companies suffered almost as badly. After only five days of fighting barely 200 men remained of the 1000, who had disembarked in France such a short time before. The Battalion was reinforced and fought at Loos and the Hohenzollern Redoubt and in September won its VC. In October 1917, the 28^th Division was withdrawn and was sent to Macedonia and then on to Salonika. In 1918, the Battalion was heavily engaged in the attack near Lake Doiran.

The Territorial Force Battalions
The 1/5^th Battalion spent most of the War in India, but was part of the Force which, in 1917, forced the Turks to surrender in Mesopotamia. The 1/6^th also served in India, then in the Aden Protectorate, where it was engaged against roving Turkish guerilla bands.

The Service Battalions
Seven Service battalions were raised as part of Kitchener’s Army. The 10^th and 11^th were used for auxiliary purposes and recruiting, but the 7^th, 8^th, 9^th, 12^th and 13^th went to France. The 7^th and 8^th fought at Loos, but the remainder joined the 1^st on the Somme. On the 1^st July 1916, B Company, 8^th Surreys of the 18^th Division gained immortality, when they had the effrontery to dribble four footballs across No Man’s Land during the attack on Montauban. They lost 446 men killed, wounded or taken prisoner that day, though the battalion won two DSOs, two MCs, two DCMs and nine Military medals (MMs); in addition, their objectives were secured. The same Battalion fought at Passchendaele and the Third Battle of Ypres. The 7^th Battalion went on to fight on the Somme, at Albert and Arras and won its VC. The 12^th Battalion fought with distinction at Ploegsteert Wood, on the Somme, at Messines and took part in Third Battle of Ypres. It then went on to Italy, where it remained for four months until returning to the Western Front. The 13^th Battalion arrived in France to fight on the Somme and at Cambrai and Arras. It won its VC at Villers Plouich and the 9th Battalion gained a further VC at Lens in 1918.

 

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