The History Of The 12th Bermondsey Battalion East Surrey Regiment

The 12th E Surreys were raised on 14th May 1915 by the Mayor and Borough of Bermondsey, and in October the battalion joined 122nd Brigade, 41st Division, the last of the Kitchener divisions. It remained in the same brigade throughout the war. A year later, May 1916, the division arrived in France where the battalion served until November 1917, when they were sent to Italy. In March 1918 they returned to France where the battalion remained for the rest of the war. The authors have made every effort to be accurate in their account, but the main aim has been to provide a narrative, not so much for the general reader as for the members of the Battalion Association and their friends. In pursuit of this aim they have included plenty of ‘yarns' using the actual words of the individual narrator which, they believe, will prove the best part of the volume. In fact this is the most ‘anecdotal' unit history I have yet come across. Reading it today, some ninety years later, it is clear that these personal contributions add a great deal to the story, bringing a feeling of reality to the scenes being described. There are plenty of references to individuals, references which are always welcome in what amounts to a family history, telling the day-to-day story of a close knit battalion. There is no doubt it will have brought to mind those who died and will have helped to recall incidents, localities, friendships and dangers shared. The division was one selected for the Army of Occupation in Germany and the battalion ended its war service on garrison duty in the Rhine bridgehead. 217 officers and 4,487 other ranks served with the battalion during the war, and total casualties amounted to 128 officers and 2,675 other ranks of whom 38 and 683 respectively died.The appendices contain a wealth of information, of great help to the researcher. There is the nominal roll of officers and men who served with the battalion; there is a list of cemeteries in which the dead are buried, each is numbered and keyed to the Roll of Honour so the place of burial can be checked; and there is the list of honours and awards. This is a very comprehensive history.

Bilag 1-4, s. 108-(115): 1. Traditioner - 2. Vigtige tidspunkter i regimentets historie, kronologisk oversigt. - 3. Regimentsmarch "A Southerly Wind and a Cloudy Sky" i nodenotation. - 4. Udmærkelser. - Med fodnoter i teksten. - Introduktion til bogen ved Brian Horrocks.

This is one of the most valuable books in the armoury of the serious student of British Military history. It is a new and revised edition of Arthur White's much sought-after bibliography of regimental, battalion and other histories of all regiments and Corps that have ever existed in the British Army. This new edition includes an enlarged addendum to that given in the 1988 reprint. It is, quite simply, indispensible.

This interesting book looks at the British army of 1914, an army of conscripts and volunteers. The effect of this mobilization on the social and political climate of Britain and the kind of army that was created are thoroughly explored. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

In 1915 Lord Kitchener extended his famous "Your Country Needs You" recruitment campaign by appealing to the Mayors of the London Metropolitan Boroughs, urging each Mayor to raise a unit of local men for active service overseas. In Southwest London, the response from two neighboring boroughs, Wandsworth and Battersea, could not have been more different. In Wandsworth, Mayor Dawnay personally took up the challenge and soon recruited, for the East Surrey Regiment, double the number of men needed for an infantry battalion. In Battersea, however, there was initially no more than lukewarm interest, partly due to the local Territorial Force unit, the 23rd London Regiment, having expanded from one to three battalions thanks to thousands of earlier volunteers. But as Wandsworth's efforts bore fruit, Battersea too pledged to raise a full infantry battalion. Mirroring the different political leanings of the two boroughs, Mayor Simmons pledged Battersea's battalion to the Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment. Wandsworth's 13th East Surreys and Battersea's 10th Queen's both served with honor and distinction. But they, and the communities from which they came, also suffered thousands of men wounded and killed. This sacrifice cemented links with France, Belgium and Italy that continue today. From the early tragic death of an adventurous boy of just 15, to the heroic deeds of a dustman who won the Victoria Cross, this book describes the pain and the glory of the volunteers of Wandsworth and Battersea on the Western Front.

A classic of military history about the smaller, personal battles of the First World War