Casualties During the Battle of the Somme

Thursday 23rd November 1916 From our Correspondent in the Field

In the last few days your correspondent has been engaged in a melancholy task. This is to assess the numbers of Bedfordshire Regiment men who have been killed in action or died of wounds during the Battle of the Somme. Six battalions have been engaged in the battle at various times. Of course some actions were more costly than others and success or failure of an attack seems to matter very little so far as numbers of casualties are concerned. The figures, insofar as they can be assessed, are as follows:

• 1st Battalion: 261;
• 2nd Battalion: 249;
• 4th Battalion: 90;
• 6th Battalion: 212;
• 7th Battalion: 261;
• 8th Battalion:  208.

This gives a figure of 1,281 men killed in action or who died of wounds between 1st July and 18th November in the Somme sector. Thus from six battalions, a total of one battalion and one company’s worth of men have given their lives in this struggle.