8th
Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment
8th Bn Royal Sussex
Regiment, Colchester 1914 (©Paul Reed)
Researching a man from
this battalion? See my WW1 Research page.
The 8th Battalion Royal
Sussex Regiment were formed at Chichester in September 1914 as part of
Kitchener
's Army. Initial volunteers were from all over Sussex
, and tended to be older men in the their late 20s and early to mid 30s. The
battalion was under strength when it went to
Colchester
in October 1914 to join 54th Brigade, 18th (Eastern)
Division. Further recruits were drawn from the
London
area at this time, and it was several months before uniforms and equipment
arrived. On 4th February 1915 it became the Pioneer Battalion of 18th
(Eastern) Division, a role it would keep for the remainder of the war. In May
1915 the battalion moved to Salisbury Plain, and then crossed to
France
on 24th July 1915.
The 8th Battalion moved
to the
Somme
front, and took over trenches in the Mametz-Montauban sector. Their first
casualty was Private James Chandler, from
West Wittering
, who died of wounds on 25th August 1915, during the first tour of
the trenches. They remained in this quiet sector until the
Battle
of the
Somme
, taking part in the attack on Montauban on 1st July 1916. During the
subsequent fighting for Trônes Wood on 13th/14th July,
they played a prominent role in the battle. They also fought in the capture of
Thiepval on 26th September, and at Regina Trench in October.
The battalion stayed on the Somme until the Spring of 1917, when it moved to the
Arras
front. Here it took part in the fighting on the Hindenburg Line at Héninel, and
at Chérisy on 3rd May. It then moved to
Flanders
, to take part in the Third Battle of Ypres, and fought along the
Menin Road.
In the Spring of 1918 the battalion returned to the
Somme
front, and took part in the March 1918 offensive. It remained in the line
opposite Albert until the summer, when on 8th August 1918 it took
part in the attack along the Morlancourt Ridge. Fighting its way back across the
old Somme
battlefields, it was once again in action at Trônes Wood in late August, where
it fought the Prussian Guard. Reaching the Hindenburg Line in September, it took
part in the attack on the St Quentin Canal, and fought its final battle on the
Sambre
Canal
on 4th November 1918.
On 11th November 1918 the battalion was near Le Cateau. Here the
battalion remained until the New Year, all ranks being given educational and
recreation training, and were employed on salvage work on the old battlefields.
Demobilisation began on 10th December 1918, and the battalion was
disbanded in March 1919.
During the war 15 officers and 215 men had died on active service with the 8th
Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment.
BATTLE
HONOURS
1916
BATTLES OF THE
SOMME
1 –
8 July
Battle of Albert
14-17 July
Battle of Bazentin Ridge
14 July
Capture of Trones Wood
19-21 July
Battle of Delville Wood
26-28 September
Battle of Thiepval Ridge
1-5 October, 17
October – 11
November
Battle of the
Ancre
Heights
30 September –
5 October
Capture of the Schwaben Redoubt
21 October
Capture of
Regina
Trench
13-18 November
Battle of the Ancre
1917
16 January –
13 March
Operations on the Ancre
17-18 February
Miraumont [Boom Ravine]
10 March
Capture of Irles
14-20 March
German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line
BATTLES OF
ARRAS
3 & 4 May
Third Battle of the Scarpe
BATTLES OF
YPRES
31 July
Battle of Pilckem Ridge
10 August Inverness
Copse
16 & 17 August
Battle of Langemarck
12 October
First
Battle
of Passchendaele
22 October
Capture of Poelcappelle
5 – 10 November
Second
Battle
of Passchendaele
1918
FIRST BATTLES OF THE
SOMME
21-23 March
Battle of St Quentin
4 April
Battle of the Avre
25 & 25 April
Villers-Bretonneux
THE ADVANCE TO VICTORY
8 & 9 August
Battle of
Amiens
SECOND BATTLES OF THE
SOMME
21-23 August
Battle of Albert
23 August
Capture of Usna and
Tara
Hills
27 August
Capture of Trones Wood
31 August –
3 September
Second
Battle
of Bapaume
BATTLES OF THE HINDENBURG LINE
18 September
Battle of Epéphy
29 September –
1 October
Battle of the St
Quentin
Canal
THE FINAL ADVANCE IN
PICARDY
20-26 October
Battle of the Selle
4 November
Battle of the Sambre
©Paul Reed 2005
