East Anglian Royal Engineers in France

Saturday 2nd January 1915: The 1st Field Company of the East Anglian Royal Engineers are honoured by being the first Bedfordshire Territorials to be sent to the Front. Since they mobilised in August they have been usefully trained at various places in the Eastern Counties and for a considerable time were engaged on coast defences. The latter part of their training has been undergone near Bury Saint Edmunds and it was from this place that they moved off. The Company sailed from a Southern port on Christmas Eve and had a quiet and safe passage.

Sapper Charles Chesher writing home on Christmas Day, soon after the arrival in France says: “Arrived safe in France. The passage was quite smooth. The sea was just like a lake, hardly a ripple on it and the moon shone lovely. I was on deck nearly the whole of the way to see if we got any fun, but everything passed off quietly. We have just had dinner, but no plum pudding. It will be a Christmas I think I shall never forget. I have just been talking to Jack Negus. He is just about the same as when in Bedford”. The company is currently at Heuringhem, a few miles south of Saint-Omer.

Source: Bedfordshire Times 1st January 1915

New Year’s Day

Bailleul

Friday 1st January 1915: The commanding officer of 2nd Battalion has told us that there has been no repeat of the fraternisation with the enemy which happened over Christmas. The Battalion is once again in the front line near Fleurbaix and last night they heard the Germans singing songs and saw lighted Christmas trees on the enemy parapets. They evidently welcomed the New Year in by Berlin time because at 11 o’clock they rang bells in the villages behind their lines.

One or two of the Battalion’s companies decided to respond to the Germans’ festivities and did this to the tune of a burst or rapid fire from their rifles aimed at the enemy positions. Indignant yells were heard from across the way.

The 1st Battalion is behind the lines at the moment. It is billeted in the French town of Bailleul near the Belgian border and is in Divisional Reserve. The men are given exercise in the form of short route marches and drills.

Sources: X550/3/wd; X550/2/5; The Story of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (The 16th Regiment of Foot) Volume II 1914-1958

Roll of Honour 1st January 1915

Died

8th Battalion

• 14209 Sergeant Oliver Percy RIDOUT, son of Edwin and Ellen Ridout, born and resided Bath [Somerset] (Brighton City (Bear Road) Cemetery)

Bedfordshire Yeomanry

• 1112 Private Thomas ADAMSON, born Whitby [Yorkshire], resided Woburn (Hatfield Peverel churchyard, Essex)

Inoculations

Thursday 31st December 1914: The adjutant of the 1st Battalion tells us that all men not inoculated against Enteric Fever in the last two years are to be inoculated today. This disease is also known as typhoid. It is caught by ingesting water-borne faecal matter from someone else infected with the disease. It can be imagined that, living in trenches which are inhabited by hundreds of men is a dirty business and that any bowel disorder can lead to involuntary evacuation before the latrines are reached. As the trenches are often full of water this makes the risk of infection from this deadly condition all the more likely.

We wish our readers a happy New Year

Source: X550/2/5

Roll of Honour Statistics 1914

Deaths per Month/Year by Type

1914

August: 13

• 11 killed in action
• 2 died

September: 18

• 11 killed in action
• 6 died of wounds
• 1 died

October: 179

• 152 killed in action
• 24 died of wounds
• 3 died

November: 173

• 128 killed in action
• 42 died of wounds
• 3 died

December: 30

• 10 killed in action
• 12 died of wounds
• 8 died

Totals for 1914: 413

• 312 killed in action
• 84 died of wounds
• 17 died

Deaths per Month/Year by Battalion

August 1914

• 1st: 11
• 2nd: 1
• 5th: 1

September 1914

• 1st: 17
• 7th: 1

October 1914

• 1st: 91
• 2nd: 86
• 4th: 1
• 7th: 1

November 1914

• 1st: 129
• 2nd: 40
• 4th: 1
• 5th: 1
• 7th: 1
• 10th: 1

December 1914

• 1st: 18
• 2nd: 8
• 5th: 1
• 6th: 1
• 7th: 2

Totals for 1914:

• 1st: 266
• 2nd: 135
• 4th: 2
• 5th: 3
• 6th: 1
• 7th: 5
• 10th: 1

Places of Association by Country/County

Note: a man may be listed twice if born in one place and residing in another

ENGLAND

Bedfordshire

• Ampthill: 4
• Arlesey: 1
• Aspley Guise: 2
• Bedford: 17
• Beeston Green: 1
• Biggleswade: 7
• Billington: 1
• Blunham: 1
• Caddington: 1
• Carlton: 1
• Clifton: 2
• Clophill: 1
• Cotton End: 1
• Dunstable: 5
• Eaton Bray: 1
• Eaton Socon: 1
• Elstow: 1
• Flitwick: 3
• Harrold: 1
• Haynes: 1
• Heath and Reach: 1
• Henlow: 1
• Kempston: 9
• Kensworth: 4
• Leighton Buzzard: 2
• Lidlington: 1
• Little Staughton: 1
• Lower Caldecote: 1
• Luton: 25
• Meppershall: 1
• Mogerhanger: 1
• Northill: 2
• Potton: 2
• Ridgmont: 1
• Riseley: 1
• Sandy: 5
• Shefford: 1
• Shillington: 1
• Silsoe: 1
• Slip End: 1
• Stagsden: 1
• Stevington: 1
• Stopsley: 1
• Stotfold: 2
• Sundon: 1
• Sutton: 1
• Toddington: 1
• Upper Dean: 1
• Wootton: 2
• Wyboston: 1

Berkshire

• Reading: 1
• Slough: 1
• Wantage: 1

Bristol

• Bedminster: 1
• Bristol: 1
• Clifton: 1

Buckinghamshire

• Astwood: 1
• Buckland Common: 1
• Chesham: 1
• Dagnall: 1
• Fenny Stratford: 2
• Ivinghoe: 1
• Lathbury: 1
• Linslade: 2
• Little Brickhill: 1
• Loughton: 1
• Wolverton: 1
• Wooburn Green: 1

Cambridgeshire

• Arrington: 1
• Bassingbourn: 1
• Cambridge: 4
• Cherry Hinton: 1
• Chesterton: 1
• Croydon: 1
• Doddington: 1
• Ely: 3
• Fowlmere: 1
• Gamlingay: 2
• Great Shelford: 1
• Linton: 1
• Longstowe: 1
• Old Chesterton: 1
• Soham: 1
• Stretham: 1
• Weston Colville: 1
• Whittlesey: 2
• Whittlesford: 1

Cheshire

• Cholmondeley Malpas: 1
• Stockport: 1

Cumberland

• Penrith: 1

Derbyshire

• Belper: 1
• Chesterfield: 1

Devon

• Tavistock: 1

Essex

• Birch: 1
• Birchanger: 1
• Broxted: 1
• Canning Town: 4
• Chelmsford: 1
• Chigwell: 1
• Colchester: 6
• East Ham: 3
• Felstead:       
• Great Hallingbury: 2
• Halstead: 1
• Hatfield Peverel: 1
• Henham: 3
• Lexden: 1
• Leyton: 1
• Little Hallingbury: 1
• Maldon: 1
• Manor Park: 1
• Old Heath: 1
• Ramsey: 1
• Royden: 1
• Sheering: 1
• Sible Hedingham: 1
• South Woodford: 1
• Springfield: 1
• Stebbing: 1
• Stratford: 1
• Takeley: 2
• Tiptree: 1
• Upper Dovercourt: 1
• Walthamstow: 1
• West Ham: 4
• Woodford Bridge: 1

Gloucestershire

• Charlton Kings: 1
• Gloucester: 1

Hampshire

• Christchurch: 1
• Fordingbridge: 1
• Sandhurst: 1
• Upham: 1

Hertfordshire

• Aldbury: 1
• Aldenham: 1
• Anstey: 1
• Aston: 1
• Baldock: 2
• Barnet: 2
• Bengeo: 1
• Berkhamstead: 5
• Birch Green: 1
• Bishop's Stortford: 9
• Bovingdon: 2
• Cheshunt: 1
• Chorley Wood: 1
• Datchworth: 1
• Furneaux Pelham: 3
• Great Berkhamstead: 2
• Hadham: 2
• Harpenden: 1
• Hatfield Hyde: 1
• Hertford: 4
• Hertford Heath: 1
• High Cross: 1
• Hitchin: 3
• Hoddesdon: 2
• Kimpton: 1
• Knebworth:
• Lilley: 2
• Little Hadham: 3
• Little Munden: 2
• Mangrove: 1
• Markyate: 2
• Mill End: 2
• Much Hadham: 1
• Northchurch: 2
• Radlett: 1
• Redbourn: 2
• Roe Green: 1
• Saint Albans: 2
• Sandridge: 2
• Sawbridgeworth: 2
• Stevenage: 1
• Symonds Green: 1
• Tewin: 1
• Thorley: 1
• Tring: 1
• Waltham Cross: 1
• Ware: 4
• Watford: 5
• Welwyn: 1
• Weston: 1
• Wheathampstead: 1
• Whitwell: 1
• Wydial: 1

Huntingdonshire

• Eynesbury: 1
• Great Staughton: 1
• Great Stukeley: 2
• Hartford: 1
• Hemingford Grey: 2
• Huntingdon: 1
• Orton Waterville: 1
• Saint Ives: 2
• Saint Neots: 4
• Sapley: 1
• Tilbrook: 1
• Warboys: 1
• Yaxley: 1

Kent

• Dartford: 2
• Faversham: 1
• Foots Cray: 1
• Maidstone: 1
• Pratt's Bottom: 1
• Sevenoaks: 1
• Sheerness: 1
• Shorncliffe: 2

Lancashire

• Liverpool: 1
• Manchester: 1
• Preston: 1

Leicestershire

• Leicester: 1
• Ravenstone: 1

Lincolnshire

• Eagle: 1
• Sleaford: 1

London

• Battersea: 1
• Bermondsey: 5
• Bethnal Green: 2
• Blackfriars: 1
• Bloomsbury: 1
• Bow: 1
• Brixton: 1
• Bromley: 1
• Camberwell: 2
• Catford: 1
• Clapton: 1
• Clerkenwell: 1
• Deptford: 2
• Earlsfield: 1
• East Greenwich: 1
• Fulham: 4
• Hackney: 2
• Hammersmith: 3
• Herne Hill: 1
• Holloway: 1
• Islington: 4
• Kennington: 1
• Kensington: 1
• Kentish Town: 2
• King's Cross: 1
• Lambeth: 2
• Lewisham: 3
• Limehouse: 1
• Marylebone: 6
• New Cross: 1
• Paddington: 2
• Peckham: 3
• Pimlico: 2
• Plumstead: 1
• Rotherhithe: 1
• Saint Pancras: 1
• Shoreditch: 1
• Southwark: 2
• Stamford Hill: 1
• Stoke Newington: 3
• Sydenham: 2
• Upper Holloway: 1
• Walworth: 2
• Westminster: 3
• Woolwich: 3

Middlesex

• Enfield: 2
• Finchley: 1
• Hanwell: 1
• Harrow: 1
• New Southgate: 1
• Old Southgate: 1
• South Acton: 1
• Stanmore: 1
• Tottenham: 2
• Whetstone: 1
• Willesden: 2
• Wood Green: 1

Norfolk

• Ditchingham: 1
• Great Yarmouth: 1
• King's Lynn: 1
• Melton Constable: 1
• New Catton: 1
• Norwich: 5
• Sprowston: 1
• Swaffham: 1
• Thorpe Hamlet: 1

Northamptonshire

• Badby: 1
• Burton Latimer: 1
• Daventry: 1
• Earl's Barton: 1
• Irthlingborough: 1
• Kettering: 4
• Lowick: 1
• Nassington: 1
• Northampton: 8
• Overstone: 1
• Rushden: 1
• Semilong: 1
• Stoke Albany: 1
• Wellingborough: 2
• Yardley Hastings: 1

Northumberland

• Wylam: 1

Nottinghamshire;

• Nottingham: 1
• West Bridgeford: 1

Oxfordshire

• Bicester: 1
• Grimsbury: 1
• Oxford: 1

Peterborough, Soke of

• Peterborough: 1

Shropshire

• Moreton: 1

Somerset

• Taunton: 1

Staffordshire

• Smethwick: 1
• Tamworth: 1

Suffolk

• Bury Saint Edmund's: 2
• Cotton: 1
• Exning: 1
• Eye: 1
• Hadleigh: 2
• Halesworth: 1
• Hintlesham: 1
• Ipswich: 3
• Ixworth: 1
• Mildenhall: 1
• Pakenham: 1
• Peasenhall: 1
• Stoke: 1
• Stratton: 1
• Ufford: 1
• Walton: 1
• West Row Fen: 1
• Woodbridge: 1

Surrey

• Addiscombe: 1
• Croydon: 2
• Esher: 1
• Godalming: 1
• Redhill: 1
• Surbiton: 1
• Thornton Heath: 1
• Upper Norwood: 1
• Walton-on-Thames: 2
• West Norwood: 1

Sussex

• Brighton: 2
• Eastbourne: 2
• Hastings: 1
• Horsham: 1

Warwickshire

• Birmingham: 1
• Longford: 1
• Witton: 1
• Wolfhampcote: 1

Wiltshire

• Collingbourne Ducis: 1
• Swindon: 1

Yorkshire

• Batley: 1
• Hopton: 1
• Scarborough: 1
• Sheffield: 1

CHANNEL ISLES

• Saint Helier, Jersey: 1

SCOTLAND

Caithness

• Rattar: 1

Stirlingshire

• Falkirk: 1

WALES

Denbighshire

• Wrexham: 1

Flintshire

• Afonwen: 1

IRELAND

• Dublin: 1

INDIA

• Mhow [Central Province]: 1
• Shimogah [Mysore]: 1

SOUTH AFRICA

• Pietermaritzberg: 1

County of Origin/Residence

Note: a man may be listed twice if born in one place and residing in another

Bedfordshire: 107

Berkshire: 3

Bristol: 2

Buckinghamshire: 14

Cambridgeshire: 22

Cheshire: 2

Cumberland: 1

Derbyshire: 2

Essex: 36

Gloucestershire: 2

Hampshire: 4

Hertfordshire: 76

Huntingdonshire: 16

Kent: 8

Lancashire: 3

Leicestershire: 2

Lincolnshire: 2

London: 66

Middlesex: 15

Norfolk: 10

Northamptonshire: 21

Northumberland: 1

Nottinghamshire: 2

Oxfordshire: 3

Peterborough: 1

Shropshire: 1

Somerset: 1

Staffordshire: 2

Suffolk: 16

Surrey: 9

Sussex: 6

Warwickshire: 4

Wiltshire: 2

Yorkshire: 4

Channel Isles: 1

Scotland: 2

Wales: 2

India: 2

Ireland: 1

South Africa: 1

Killed in Action in Major Battles

Battle of Mons an aftermath: 23rd August 1914

• 1st Battalion: 1 other rank

Battle of le Câteau: 26th August 1914

• 1^st Battalion: 6 other ranks

Battle of the Aisne: 12-15th September 1914

• 1^st Battalion: 1 officer and 8 other ranks

German capture of Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée: 12th-14th October 1914

• 1^st Battalion: 2 officers and 26 other ranks

First Battle of Ypres: 19th October - 22 November 1914

• 1^st Battalion: 2 officers and 97 other ranks
• 2^nd Battalion: 10 officers and 90 other ranks

Burial/Commemoration Sites

Belgium: 164

·        Bedford House Cemetery, Ypres: 5

·        Belgrade Cemetery, Namur: 1

·        Cement House Cemetery, Ypres: 3

·        Dadizeele New British Cemetery: 1

·        Dranouter Churchyard: 2

·        Harlebeke New British Cemetery: 7

·        Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres: 103

·        Messines Ridge British Cemetery: 1

·        Perth Cemetery (China Wall) Ypres: 3

·        Ploegsteert Memorial: 23

·        Poelcapelle British Cemetery: 1

·        Poperinghe Old Military Cemetery: 2

·        Saint-Julien Dressing Station Cemetery: 1

·        Strand Military Cemetery, Ypres: 1

·        Tyne Cot Cemetery, Passchendaele: 2

·        Ypres Reservoir Cemetery: 1

·        Ypres Town Cemetery: 3

·        Ypres Town Cemetery Extension: 3

England: 25

·        Aldershot Military Cemetery: 4

·        Bishop’s Stortford Old Cemetery: 1

·        Bury Saint Edmunds Cemetery: 1

·        Dovercourt (All Saints) Churchyard: 1

·        Dunstable Cemetery: 1

·        Eastbourne (Ocklynge) Cemetery: 1

·        Felixstowe (Walton) Cemetery: 1

·        Flitwick Church Burial Ground: 1

·        Hammersmith Old Cemetery: 1

·        Harwich Cemetery: 1

·        Ivinghoe Churchyard: 1

·        Leeds (Lawnswood) Cemetery: 1

·        Lilley Churchyard: 1

·        Long Ditton Churchyard: 1

·        Luton Church Burial Ground, Crawley Green Road: 1

·        Manchester Southern Cemetery: 1

·        Meppershall (Saint Mary) Churchyard: 1

·        Moreton Cemetery: 1

·        Ramsey (Parkeston) Cemetery: 1

·        Ramsey (Saint Michael) Churchyard: 1

·        Woodbridge Cemetery: 1

·        Woolwich Cemetery: 1

France: 221

·        Bailleul Communal Cemetery: 3

·        Bécourt Military Cemetery, Bécordel-Bécourt: 1

·        Béthune Town Cemetery: 10

·        Bois Guillaume Communal Cemetery, Rouen: 2

·        Boulogne Eastern Cemetery: 11

·        Brown’s Road Military Cemetery, Festubert: 1

·        Buzancy Military Cemetery: 1

·        Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez: 2

·        Gorre British and Indian Cemetery: 2

·        Guards Cemetery, Windy Corner, Cuinchy: 1

·        Halluin Communal Cemetery: 1

·        La Ferte-sous-Jouarre Memorial: 16

·        Le Touquet-Paris Plage Communal Cemetery: 1

·        Le Touret Memorial: 147

·        Les Gonards Cemetery, Versailles: 2

·        Longuenesse (Saint-Omer) Souvenir Cemetery: 4

·        Porte de Paris Cemetery, Cambrai: 1

·        Ration Farm Military Cemetery, la Chapelle-d’Armentières: 1

·        Rue David Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix: 1

·        Saint-Sever Cemetery, Rouen: 1

·        Troisvilles Communal Cemetery: 2

·        Vauxbuin French National Cemetery: 1

·        Vendresse British Cemetery: 2

·        Wimereux Communal Cemetery: 7

Ireland: 1

·        Grangegorman Military Cemetery, Dublin: 1

South Africa: 1

·        Cape Town (Maitland) Cemetery: 1

Scotland: 2

·        Glasgow (Lambhill) Cemetery: 1

·        Glasgow Western Necropolis: 1

Deaths by Age 

• 17: 2         34
• 18: 4         72
• 19: 12       228
• 20: 9         180
• 21: 11       231
• 22: 15       330
• 23: 19       437
• 24: 22       528
• 25: 16       400
• 26: 8         208
• 27: 19       513
• 28: 20       560
• 29: 12       348
• 30: 10       300
• 31: 8         248
• 32: 12       384
• 33: 4         132
• 34: 6         204
• 35: 4         140
• 36: 5         180
• 37: 2         74
• 38: 1         38
• 42: 1         42
• 44: 1         44
• 47: 1         47
• 49: 1         49
• Average age: 26.58