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2nd Battalion, West Surrey Regiment (Queens)    2nd Battalion, The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) were in Pretoria when war broke out in August 1914. They returned to England, landing on the 19th of September 1914. They joined 22nd Brigade, 7th Division who were concentrating in the New Forest, Hampshire. They landed at Zeebrugge on the 6th of October 1914, to assist in the defence of Antwerp, they arrived too late prevent the fall of the city and took up defensive positions at important bridges and junctions to aid in the retreat of the Belgian army. The 7th Division then became the first British Troops to entrench in front of Ypres, suffering extremely heavy losses in the The First Battle of Ypres. By February 1915 the Division had been reinforced to fighting strength and they were in action at The Battle of Neuve Chapelle, The Battle of Aubers, The Battle of Festubert, The second action of Givenchy and The Battle of Loos. On the 20th of December 1915 the 2nd Queens transferred to 91st Brigade still with 7th Division. In 1916 They were in action during the Battles of the Somme, including the capture Mametz, The Battle of Bazentin, the attacks on High Wood, The Battle of Delville Wood, The Battle of Guillemont and the Operations on the Ancre. In 1917 They fought during The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line and the flanking operations round Bullecourt during The Arras Offensive, before moving to Flanders for the Third Battle of Ypres, seeing action in The Battle of Polygon Wood, The Battle of Broodseinde, The Battle of Poelcapelle and The Second Battle of Passchendaele. In late 1917 the 7th Division was selected to move to Italy. They took up position in the line along the River Piave,in late January 1918. The Division played a central role in crossing the Piave, in October and the Battle of Vittoria Veneto. 6th of August 1914 2nd West Surrey's on manoeuvres  In South Africa the Pretoria District Infantry Brigade, including 2nd Battalion The Queen's, are on a trek from Potchefstroom, where it had just carried out manoeuvres. The total distance was about 110 miles. The final march into Roberts' Heights on this date was 27 miles. At 7.30 P.M. The battalion received urgent order to proceed to Cape Town on Aug. 8th. 2nd Bn Queens West Surrey Regt War Diary 7th of August 1914 2nd West Surrey's move cancelled  10.30 A.M. Order re move to Cape Town cancelled. Orders received for battalion to hold itself in readiness to proceed to England at an early date. 2nd Bn Queens West Surrey Regt War Diary 19th of August 1914 2nd West Surreys leave camp  Battalion left Roberts' Heights with all it's heavy baggage. Married Families were left behind. 2nd Bn Queens West Surrey Regt War Diary 22nd of August 1914 2nd West Surreys board ship for England  Battalion arrived at Cape Town, and embarked with 2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regt: on board H.M.T "Kenilworth Castle". 2nd Bn Queens West Surrey Regt War Diary 23rd Aug 1914 2nd West Surrey's prepare to sail for England  7. A.M. "Kenilworth Castle" put out into Table Bay, where it anchored until Aug. 27th. 2nd Bn Queens West Surrey Regt War Diary 27th Aug 1914 2nd West Surreys set sail for England  HMT Kenilworth Castle left Table Bay at 7 A.M. with the 2nd West Surreys bound for England. The Fleet was formed of HMS Astraea, HMS Hyacinth, HMT Kenilworth Castle, HMT Balmoral Castle, HMT Guildford Castle, HMT Dunluce Castle, HMT Goerka and HMT Briton. 2nd Bn Queens West Surrey Regt War Diary 1st Sep 1914 2nd Queens in St. Helena  The 2nd Battalion Queens vessel 'HMT Kenilworth Castle' is now anchored in St Helena. Garrison recently supplemented with 300 Royal Garrison Artillery. Volunteer Corps of 150 formed. War Diary 2nd September 1914 The Queens left St. Helena for Southampton  'HMT Kenilworth Castle' left St Helena. 'HMS Astraea' was replaced by 'HMS Leviathan'. War Diary 19th Sep 1914 2nd Btn The Queens arrive in England  'HMT Kenilworth Castle' arrived in Southampton. The 2nd Battalion Queens West Surrey Regiment disembarked & proceeded by route march to Lyndhurst, Hampshire, arriving there about 2030 hours and went under canvas. War Diary 19th Sep 1914 Arrivals 20th Sep 1914 22nd Infantry Brigade organising 20th Sep 1914 Mobilisation 21st Sep 1914 Mobilised 23rd Sep 1914 Mobilisation Continues 2nd Queens War Diary Mobilisation Continues 27th Sep 1914 Mobilisation Continues 4th October 1914 On the Move 4th Oct 1914 On the Move 4th Oct 1914 Orders Received 5th Oct 1914 Embarkation 5th Oct 1914 On the Move 5th Oct 1914 On the Move 6th October 1914 On the Move 6th Oct 1914 On the Move 6th Oct 1914 On the Move 7th Oct 1914 On the Move 7th Oct 1914 On the Move 7th Oct 1914 In Billets 8th October 1914 On the march 8th Oct 1914 On the March 8th Oct 1914 On the Move 9th Oct 1914 Orders 9th Oct 1914 On the Move 9th Oct 1914 Anxiety 10th Oct 1914 On the Move 10th Oct 1914 Outposts 10th Oct 1914 Withdrawal 11th October 1914 Heavy Firing 11th Oct 1914 Holding the Line 11th Oct 1914 Hostile Forces 11th Oct 1914 Orders 12th Oct 1914 Route March 12th Oct 1914 On the March 12th Oct 1914 On the March 13th October 1914 On the March 13th Oct 1914 On the March 13th Oct 1914 Enemy Closes 14th October 1914 Footsore 14th Oct 1914 On the March 14th Oct 1914 On the March   15th October 1914 On the March 15th Oct 1914 Patrols 15th Oct 1914 Hostile Column   16th Oct 1914 Into Position 16th Oct 1914 Into the Line   16th Oct 1914 Line Advanced   17th Oct 1914 In the Trenches 17th Oct 1914 Holding the Line   17th Oct 1914 Enemy Active   18th October 1914 Hard Fighting   18th Oct 1914 In Reserve   18th Oct 1914 Planning   19th October 1914 Defences Improved   19th Oct 1914 In Action   19th Oct 1914 Hard Fighting   20th October 1914 Entrenched   20th Oct 1914 In Action   20th Oct 1914 Defensive Line 21st October 1914 Under fire   21st Oct 1914 In Action   21st Oct 1914 Hard Fighting 22nd October 1914 Entrenched 22nd Oct 1914 New Line Occupied   22nd Oct 1914 Bombardment 23rd October 1914 Dead Buried 23rd Oct 1914 Heavy Shelling   23rd Oct 1914 Under Fire 24th October 1914 At the Front 24th Oct 1914 Hard Fighting   24th Oct 1914 Enemy Break Through 25th October 1914 Ready to Move 25th Oct 1914 In Reserve   25th Oct 1914 Enemy Break Through 26th October 1914 The Queens take prisoners 26th Oct 1914 Pressure   26th Oct 1914 Forced Back 27th October 1914 Fighting 27th Oct 1914 Shelling 27th Oct 1914 Orders Received 28th October 1914 The Queens fighting on 28th Oct 1914 Reliefs 28th Oct 1914 Artillery Active 29th October 1914 The Queens move on at the front 29th Oct 1914 Reliefs 29th Oct 1914 Hard Fighting 30th October 1914 Fighting hard 30th Oct 1914 Attack 30th Oct 1914 Hard Fighting 31st October 1914 The Queens in the trenches 31st Oct 1914 Hard Fighting   31st Oct 1914 Hard Fighting   1st November 1914 22nd Infantry Brigade Reforms 2nd November 1914 Reorganisation 3rd November 1914 Battalions on the move 4th November 1914 Reinforcements 5th November 1914 Billets 6th November 1914 On the Move 7th November 1914 Attack Made 8th November 1914 Hard Fighting 9th November 1914 Move 11th November 1914 Inspection 12th November 1914 Reorganisation 13th November 1914 Reorganisation 14th November 1914 On the Move 15th November 1914 Defences 16th November 1914 Improvements 17th November 1914 In the trenches 18th November 1914 Divisional Reserve 19th November 1914 At Rest 20th November 1914 Reorganisation 21st November 1914 In the trenches 22nd November 1914 Snipers 23rd November 1914 Reliefs 24th November 1914 At Rest 25th November 1914 Inspection 26th November 1914 Reinforcements 27th November 1914 Wet Weather 28th November 1914 Improvements 29th November 1914 Into billets 30th November 1914 In Reserve 1st December 1914 Shelling 2nd December 1914 Reliefs 3rd December 1914 Patrols 4th December 1914 Reliefs 5th December 1914 The Queens resting 6th December 1914 The Queens resting 7th December 1914 Divisional Reserve 8th December 1914 Reliefs 9th December 1914 Communication Trenches 10th December 1914 Snipers Active 11th December 1914 Enemy Sighted 12th December 1914 Snipers 13th December 1914 The Queens under fire 14th December 1914 2nd Queens ready to attack 14th Dec 1914 Messages 15th December 1914 The Queens captured a prisoner 16th December 1914 Reserve 17th December 1914 In Reserve 18th December 1914 In Action 19th Dec 1914 Losses 20th December 1914 Reliefs 21st December 1914 In Reserve 22nd December 1914 Divisional Reserve 23rd December 1914 Reliefs 24th December 1914 Quiet 25th December 1914 Armistice 26th December 1914 Xmas Armistice 27th December 1914 Wet Weather 28th December 1914 Reliefs 29th December 1914 At Rest  2nd Queens are at Rue de Delpierre as No.2 Reserve. Resting and cleaning. 2nd Queens War Diary 30th December 1914 At Rest   31st December 1914 New Year's Eve   1st Jan 1915 Change of Billets for 2nd Queens 2nd Jan 1915 2nd Queens in Reserve 3rd Jan 1915 2nd Queens in reserve 4th Jan 1915 2nd Queens in reserve 5th January 1915 Back into trenches 6th Jan 1915 2nd Queens Hq moves 6th Jan 1915 2nd Queens Hq moves 7th Jan 1915 2nd Queens in trenches 8th Jan 1915 2nd Queens in trenches 9th Jan 1915 2nd Queens in trenches 10th January 1915 2nd Queens at rest 11th Jan 1915 2nd Queens inspected   12th Jan 1915 2nd Queens inspected   13th Jan 1915 2nd Queens on the move 14th January 1915 Appointments and replacements 15th Jan 1915 Working Parties 16th Jan 1915 Billets shelled 17th Jan 1915 2nd Queens to trenches 18th Jan 1915 2nd Queens in trenches 19th Jan 1915 2nd Queens in trenches 20th January 1915 New Billets 21st Jan 1915 2nd Queens under fire 22nd Jan 1915 2nd Queens take baths 23rd Jan 1915 2nd Queens inspected   24th Jan 1915 2nd Queens church parade   25th Jan 1915 2nd Queens in billets 26th Jan 1915 2nd Queens parade   27th Jan 1915 Ongoing defensive adjustments 28th Jan 1915 2nd Queens in billets 29th Jan 1915 2nd Queens leave billets 30th Jan 1915 2nd Queens in trenches 31st Jan 1915 2nd Queens in trenches 1st Feb 1915 Good works at Support Farm 2nd Feb 1915 2nd Queens relieved 3rd Feb 1915 2nd Queens in billets 4th Feb 1915 2nd Queens on the move 5th February 1915 General Cappers football cup.  2nd Battalion Queens (Royal West Surrey Regiment) played a Football match versus Royal Welsh Fusiliers at Rue du Bataille. Result Welsh Fusiliers won 6-0. 2nd Battalion Queens (Royal West Surrey Regiment) are in in billets at La Toulette, transport inspected and a concert was held for the men at Fleurbaix. Officers 28 and men 874, 3 from hospital. 2nd Lieutenants AN Heller and WJ Dew both from the Queens joined the Battalion. war diaries 6th Feb 1915 2nd Queens to trenches 7th Feb 1915 Ongoing Actions in Trenches 9th Feb 1915 2nd Queens in trenches 8th Feb 1915 2nd Queens in trenches 10th Feb 1915 2nd Queens to billets 11th Feb 1915 New Co for 2nd Queens 12th Feb 1915 2nd Queens parade 13th Feb 1915 2nd Queens in reserve 14th Feb 1915 2nd Queens ready 15th Feb 1915 2nd Queens relieve 1st South Staffs 16th Feb 1915 General visits trenches 17th Feb 1915 Quiet day for 2nd Queens 18th Feb 1915 2nd Queens under fire 19th Feb 1915 South Staffs relieve 2nd Queens 20th Feb 1915 2nd Queens inspected 21st Feb 1915 2nd Battalion Queens in billets 22nd Feb 1915 2nd Queens relieve 1st South Staffs 23rd Feb 1915 2nd Queens releive South Staffs 24th Feb 1915 2nd Queens in trenches 25th Feb 1915 Very Quiet 26th Feb 1915 Reliefs 27th Feb 1915 2nd Queens in billets 28th Feb 1915 2nd Queens in billets 1st March 1915 Relocation and back into Action   2nd Mar 1915 2nd Queens in trenches 3rd March 1915 Capture of enemy patrol members 4th Mar 1915 Quiet day for 2nd Queens 5th Mar 1915 Reliefs   6th March 1915 2nd Queens in billets 7th Mar 1915 2nd Queens in billets 8th Mar 1915 2nd Queens to trenches 8th Mar 1915 Orders   9th Mar 1915 2nd Queens prepare for attack 10th March 1915 In Action   11th March 1915 In Action 12th March 1915 Misty Morning 13th Mar 1915 2nd Queens in trenches 14th Mar 1915 2nd Queens holding line 15th Mar 1915 Quiet day for 2nd Queens 18th March 1915 Reliefs 19th Mar 1915 2nd Queens in billets 20th Mar 1915 2nd Queens receive draft 21st Mar 1915 2nd Queens train 22nd Mar 1915 2nd Queens train 23rd Mar 1915 2nd Queens train 24th Mar 1915 2nd Queens in training 25th March 1915 On the move 26th Mar 1915 2nd Queens train 27th Mar 1915 2nd Queens train 28th Mar 1915 2nd Queens receive draft 29th Mar 1915 2nd Queens in billets 30th Mar 1915 2nd Queens train 9th May 1915 The Battle of Aubers Ridge: The Northern pincer  2.30am: all units in the North report that they are in position, having assembled at night. 4.06am: sunrise and all very quiet on this front. 5.00am: British bombardment opens with field guns firing shrapnel at the German wire and howitzers firing High Explosive shells onto front line. Many reports are received that British 4.7-inch shells are falling short, and even on and behind the British front line (Later it is agreed that this is due to faulty ammunition, as well as excessive wear to gun barrels). 5.30am: British bombardment intensifies, field guns switch to HE and also fire at breastworks. Two guns of 104th Battery, XXII Brigade RFA had been brought up into the 24th Brigade front and they now opened fire at point blank range against the enemy breastworks; they blow several gaps, although one of the guns is inaccurate due to the unstable ground on which it is located. The lead battalions of the two assaulting Brigades of 8th Division (24th Brigade has 2/Northants and 2/East Lancashire in front; 25th Brigade has 2/Rifle Brigade, 1/Royal Irish Rifles and 1/13 London Regiment (Kensingtons)) move out into the narrow No Man's Land (in this area it is only 100-200 yards across). German bayonets can be seen behind their parapet. 5.40am: On the further advance the 2nd East Lancs are hit by heavy machine-gun and rifle fire by the time they had progressed thirty yards from their own trench; the 2nd Northants, coming up ten minutes later, were similarly hit, but a party got through one of the gaps blown by the field guns, and into the German front trench. The attack of 25th Brigade is much more successful: the wire on the left had been well-cut and the infantry poured through, crossing the almost-undamaged breastworks and into the German fire trenches. They moved onto the first objective (a bend in the Fromelles road), and the Rifle Brigade bombers extended the trench system they occupied to 250 yards broad. On the blowing of the two mines at 5.40am, the lead companies of the Kensingtons rushed to occupy the craters, moved forward to capture Delangre Farm, and then formed a defensive flank as ordered. 6.10am: Brig.Gen. Oxley (24th Brigade) orders the support battalion, 1st Notts & Derbys, to support the attack of the Lancashires, but they are also held up with high losses, at almost unbroken wire. The front and communication trenches are by now very crowded and chaotic; German shelling adds to confusion. By now, the fire across No Man's Land was so intense that forward movement was all but impossible. The support battalion of the 25th Brigade, the 2nd Lincolns, was ordered forward, to cross by the craters; they did so, despite losing many men on the way. Men of the Brigade were at this time seen to be retiring to their front line, having apparently received a shouted order. German prisoners, making their way to the British lines, were mistaken for a counterattack and there was a great deal of confusion. Brig.Gen Lowry Cole, CO 25th Brigade, was mortally wounded when standing on the British parapet in an attempt to restore order. 8.30am: the attack had established three small lodgements in the enemy positions, but they were not in contact with each other and were under tremendous pressure. Otherwise the attack had come to a standstill and all movement into or out of the trench system had become impossible. The men in the German positions were cut off. 8.45am and again at 11.45am: Haig orders Rawlinson (CO, IV Corps) to vigorously press home the attack. 1.30pm: A renewed attack with 2nd Queens of 22nd Brigade in support, did not take place as the troops were heavily shelled in the assembly areas and many casualties were suffered even before the original support lines had been reached. Major-General Gough (CO, 7th Division, whose 21st Brigade had now also been ordered forward by Haig) reported that after a personal reconnaissance he was certain that forward movement was at the present time impossible. 5.00pm: General Haig, hearing of the continued failure of the Southern attack and the hold-up after initial success of the Northern attack, orders a bayonet attack at dusk, 8.00pm. 2nd Battalion Queens (Royal West Surrey Regiment) 9th May 1915 The Battle of Aubers Ridge: Evening and Night  2nd Battalion Queens (Royal West Surrey Regiment) 6.00pm: such chaos in the trench system and on the roads and tracks leading to it that it becomes clear that fresh units will not be ready for the 8pm attack. Haig cancels the attack and rides to Indian Corps HQ at Lestrem, to meet with all Corps commanders to consider the next moves. 7.30pm: the meeting breaks up having decided to renew the attack next day, taking advantage of night to reorganise. Efforts were made throughout the evening to reinforce the small garrisons of the lodgements in the enemy trenches. 26 men of the 2/Northants, of which 10 were wounded, returned to the British front. 2.30am 10 May: the 200 or so surviving Rifle Brigade and Royal Irish Rifles were withdrawn from their position, all efforts to reinforce them having been repulsed. 3.00am 10 May: the last few Kensingtons also returned from their position; all British troops were now out of the German lines. Around this time, First Army HQ, having by now got a good picture of the losses, failures and general conditions, called a Commanders conference for 9.00am, to take place at I Corps HQ on the Locon road, some 1.5 miles from Bethune. 9.00am 10 May: the Army and Corps commanders and staffs in attendance learned that there was insufficient artillery ammunition to continue two attacks. (The Secretary of State for War, Kitchener, had also just ordered a considerable portion of existing stocks to be sent to the Dardanelles); for example there were only some 3,000 18-lbr rounds left, and some of that was way behind the firing positions. They also heard that the 4.7-inch ammunition that had caused problems on IV Corps front was too defective for further use and that the fuzes on 15-inch heavy rounds were also defective and the shells simply did not burst on hitting the wet ground. All further orders for renewing the attack were cancelled at 1.20pm; the views of the conference were transmitted to GHQ. 7th Division was ordered to move from it's position north of Neuve Chapelle to the south of it, with a view to strengthening a future offensive there. British casualties from the 9 May attacks continued to move through the Field Ambulances for at least three days after the attack. More than 11,000 British casualties were sustained on 9 May 1915, the vast majority within yards of their own front-line trench. Mile for mile, Division for Division, this was one of the highest rates of loss during the entire war. There is no memorial to the attack at Aubers Ridge. 21st Sep 1915 Orders   26th Sep 1915 In Action   7th Oct 1915 Reliefs   16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme 5th of November 1915 Relief Completed 1st Dec 1915 Derby Scheme Armlets 11th Sep 1915 Last day of Derby Scheme Recruitment 10th Jan 1916 Group System Reopens 9th February 1916 Call Ups 25th May 1916 Reliefs 29th Mar 1917 Reliefs 9th Oct 1917 Reliefs 26th Oct 1917 Attack Made   If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Want to know more about 2nd Battalion, West Surrey Regiment (Queens)? There are:5496 items tagged 2nd Battalion, West Surrey Regiment (Queens) available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War. Those known to have served with 2nd Battalion, West Surrey Regiment (Queens) during the Great War 1914-1918. Hobday Henry Edward . Pte. Hursey William Augustus. Pte. (d.18th Jan 1915) Penfold George. Pte. (d.14th July 1916) Prudence William Henry. Pte. (d.31st Oct 1914) Surrey Arthur William. Pte. Watford William. Sgt. All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List Records of 2nd Battalion, West Surrey Regiment (Queens) from other sources. The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website. 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time. Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the Great War? Our Library contains many many diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. Looking for help with Family History Research?    Please see Family History FAQ's Please note: We are unable to provide individual research. Can you help? The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation. Announcements 19th Nov 2024     Please note we currently have a massive backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 264989 your submission is still in the queue, please do not resubmit. Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to the Great War. If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted. World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great battalion regiment artillery Did you know? We also have a section on World War Two. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.   Pte. George Penfold 2nd Battalion Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment (d.14th July 1916) George Penfold, my great uncle, was baptised at St John's, Redhill on the 18th January 1880, the youngest son of John and Mary Penfold of Meadvale, Redhill, Surrey. In 1911 he was living with his parents and was a bricklayer. He seems to have been a keen sportsman, playing for both the village football and cricket teams. When World War 1 started he enlisted at Guildford in the 2nd Battalian, The Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment. He was killed on the 14th July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme but has no grave and his name is listed on the memorial to the missing of the Somme at Thiepval. In 1993, shortly before their deaths, his nephews, my father and uncle then both in their late eighties, remembered how he had cried when he had to return after his last leave because he did not want to go back. Joan Whyte Add to this record.   Pte. William Henry Prudence 2nd Btn. Queen West Surrey Regiment (d.31st Oct 1914) I have only very recently discovered the loss of my Great Uncle William Prudence at the first battle of Ypres. I am going to Belgium this June to pay my respects and visit the spot where I believe he was killed. Michael Boulton Add to this record.   Pte. Arthur William "Sonny" Surrey 2nd Btn. Queens (Royal West Surrey) Regiment I believe that my great great grandad Arthur Surrey served as a stretcher bearer in the 2nd Battalion of the Queens Regiment. He survived the war to die in later years from the effects of mustard gas. I would be interested in further information. Lee Mccarthy Add to this record.   Pte. William Augustus Hursey 2nd Btn. The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) (d.18th Jan 1915) William Hursey served with the 2nd Battalion, Queens West Surrey Regiment during WW1 and was killed in action on the 18th January 1915, aged 17. He is commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial for the Missing in Belgium. He was the son of Ellen Sophia Hursey, of Northville, Court Rd., Caterham, Surrey, and the late James Edward Hursey S Flynn Add to this record.   Sgt. William Watford 2nd Btn. The Queens Regiment My grandfather was William Watford, he served as a Private & Sergeant in The 2nd Battalion, Queens Regiment. I also know that during the 1917 ‘Battle of Arras’, France he was captured and became a Prisoner of War. I have recently found some group photographs which I believe were taken during his capitivity. All the photographs were taken by ‘Frau Anna Nieworth, Gamsen Kastorp, Kr Gifhorn’. One photo refers to "S Thomas 14th Battn A.I.F" On the reverse of another postcard is written “With Best Wishes for 1918 Sgt 106970 Harry Bra(u?)ce, 27853 Matthews, 9863 Leonard C Brown, 6551 George (William J) Quinnell. If anyone recognises these names please contact me. Phil Watford Add to this record. Recomended Reading. Available at discounted prices.

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