Success in Games

Saturday 2nd March 1918

1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment is at Mulebbis in Palestine(1) and is undergoing training in preparation for what the adjutant believes will be the final push to victory.

54th (East Anglian) Division is holding divisional competitions at Yazur(2) where two platoons from each of the twelve battalions in the division are concentrating on the competition, which lasts for six days. Yesterday the Battalion team won the Divisional Cross-Country Race which consisted of fifteen men from every unit in the division.

Second Lieutenant Cline [X550/1/81]

Meanwhile here in France 2nd Battalion is near Saint-Quentin. Yesterday a new officer joined them - Second Lieutenant S E D Cline.

(1) Now Petah Tikva in Israel.

(2) Now Azor

Sources: X550/3/wd; X550/6/8

Still Fighting Fit

Lieutenant Holbrook [X550/1/81]

Monday 11th February 1918

8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment may no longer exist as a fighting formation but its men are still fighting fit. A small group, referred to as details, are attached to 16th Brigade Headquarters. Today there was a cross-country run for all units in the Brigade and the 8th Bedfords had five men home in the first six - Sergeant Vivian being the winner in a time of fourteen minutes. Meanwhile Second Lieutenant Oakley and ten other ranks were despatched to join 4th Battalion.

7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment is at Salency east of Noyon. Today the reinforcements from the disbanded 8th Battalion arrived. One of them was Second Lieutenant Arthur Pratt who died of wounds this evening. He had the misfortune to be posted to C Company and shortly after entering a billet it received a direct hit by bombs from enemy aircraft. Nine other ranks were killed outright, two more have subsequently also died of wounds and six more are wounded.

2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment is currently at Moyencourt, south-west of Ham. Lieutenant W J Holbrook has been struck off strength whilst on a six month tour of duty in England. Lieutenant W L Carpenter and six other ranks have joined from 8th Battalion. Today the Battalion was transferred from 89th Brigade to 90th Brigade, replacing 17th Battalion, Manchester Regiment which has transferred to 21st Brigade.

Sources: X550/3/wd; X550/8/1; X550/9/1

Cross-Country

Second Lieutenant I T M Collins [X550/1/81]

Wednesday 24th January 1917

2nd Battalion are currently training behind the lines. This afternoon an Inter-Company Cross Country Race took place. The winners were D Company, the first three men home being 9399 Corporal G Joyce, 13626 Acting Sergeant G Butcher and 9950 Private F Humphries. Second Lieutenant I T M Collins went on leave today(1).

Three officers have arrived at 6th Battalion today as reinforcements. In addition we understand that Company Sergeant Major Abbott has been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Sources: X550/3/WD; X550/7/1

(1) Sergeant G C Butcher would die on Christmas Eve and is buried in Hooge Crater Cemetery. 

7th Bedfords' Cross-Country Success

Tuesday 8th June 1915: Sergeant P. E. Rickard of the 7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, who holds the Mayor’s Cup for Mile Championship of Luton and the Championship of the Luton United Harriers, has been distinguishing himself on Salisbury Plain where the battalion is in training(1). The battalion has also done great things in winning triple honours.

There has just been a cross-country run under the auspices of the Amateur Athletic Association for the championship of the 54th Infantry Brigade, with the following result: - First man home, 7th Beds; first officer home, 7th Beds; first team home, 7th Beds. Such a result is a splendid accomplishment for a battalion. There were 2,000 starters – 500 from each of the four battalions – 7th Beds, 6th Northamptons, 12th Middlesex and 11th Royal Fusiliers. The distance was about six miles and the swards included a medal for the first man home, a silver bugle from the commanding officer for the battalion with the first team home and a flag for the battalion with the first officer home.

Sergeant Rickard was the first man home, while the first officer home was Captain Percival who has shown untiring efforts in keeping his men up to pitch and who is very popular with the whole battalion(2)

Source: Luton News 3rd June 1915

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(1) Sergeant Percy Edward Rickard, son of William and Lucy of 45 Crawley Road, Luton was killed on 1st July 1916 and is buried at Dantzig Alley Cemetery, Mametz.

(2) Arthur Ernest Percival, from Aspenden [Hertfordshire] commanded the battalion and then the 2nd Battalion at the end of the war. In World War Two he was Commander-in-Chief Malaya and on 15th February 1942 surrendered Singapore to the Japanese. Ironically amongst the units forced to surrender as the newly arrived 1st/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment.