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- 1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment during the Great War -


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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment

1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment



   The 1st/1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment was raised in August 1914 in Cambridge, a Territorial Battalion with the East Midland Brigade in East Anglian Division. They had their HQ at 14 Corn Exchange Street, Cambridge. A and D Coys were recruited from Cambridge, Great Shelford and Burwell. B Coy from Cambridge and Sawston, C coy from Cambridge and Madingley. E Coy from Wishbech, F Coy from Whittlesea, Coates and Thorney. G Coy from March, Chatteris, Benwick and Doddington, H Coy from Ely and Sutton.The battalion moved to Romford on mobilization and then to Long Melford, to Stowlangtoft in September and then to Bury St Edmunds in November. They proceeded to France on the 15th of February 1915, landing at Le Havre where they joined 82nd Brigade, 27th Division. They saw action at St Eloi and The Second Battle of Ypres. The battalion left 27th Division when the Division was ordered to Salonika, remaining in France and joining 118th Brigade in 39th Division on the 29th of February 1916. They saw action in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, the Third Battles of Ypres in 1917, on the Somme and the Battles of the Lys in 1918. 39th Division suffered heavily on the Lys and was reduced to a cadre and subsequently became a training Division supervising courses of instruction for American troops who had just arrived in Flanders. The 1st Cambridgeshires transferred to 35th Brigade, 12th Division on the 9th of May 1918 and absorbed more than 400 men from 7th Suffolk Regiment to bring them back to full strength. They saw action on the Somme, in the Battles of the Hindenburg Line and the Final Advance in Artois. After the Armistice 12th Division moved to an area east of Douai and were engaged with battlefield salvage until all the men had been demobilized.

5th May 1915 Digging Trenches

13th Jun 1915 Instruction

16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme

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

6th Jul 1916 On the March  location map

14th Jul 1916 Reliefs  location map

7th Jul 1917 Reliefs

31st Jul 1917 Attack Made

2nd Aug 1917 Message of Congratulation  location map

23rd Aug 1917 Reliefs

6th Sep 1917 Reliefs

23rd Sep 1917 Reliefs

25th Sep 1917 Into Position  location map

2nd Oct 1917 Inspection

31st Oct 1917 Reliefs Completed

25th Sep 1918 Medals Awarded

If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.





Want to know more about 1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment?


There are:5251 items tagged 1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment 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

1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment

during the Great War 1914-1918.

  • Charretie William Henry. Pte. (d.22nd March 1918)
  • Cook George Arthur. Pte.
  • Fromant Charles Henry. Pte.
  • Lister MM Rudolph Beckley. Pte. (d.23rd August 1918)
  • Miller Stanley Bertram. L/Sjt. (d.31st July 1917)
  • Smith Joseph Arthur. Pte. (d.12th Feb 1917)

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 1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment from other sources.


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  L/Sjt. Stanley Bertram Miller 1st Battalion Cambridgeshire Regiment (d.31st July 1917)

Lance Sergeant Stanley Miller, served with the 1/1st Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment and he was killed on 31st of July 1917 near St. Julien, aged 27 years old. His remains were never found and his name is on the Menin Gate in Ypres. He was my Grandfather's brother.

I never had the chance to know my grandfather and my father was just two years old when he, Leonard Miller was wounded around 27th of September 1918 in the area of the Battle of the Hindenburg Line and particularly the Battle of the Canal du Nord, which is where it is thought he may have sustained his injuries, although it could also have been in the big attack on Ribecourt. He was transported to Abbeville at the mouth of the River Somme to the Australian Tented Hospital where sadly he succumbed to his injuries and died on 30th September 1918. He was 30 years old. He is buried in the Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension. He left behind his widow, Kate, and his small son, Reginald, as well as his mother Louisa Miller, and six sisters and three brothers.

Leonard and Stanley's father died in December 1917, and most likely the loss of Stanley was a factor in Harry Miller's death. My father took up researching his family and in particular his father in the 1960's with the help of his aunts and uncles, but this was before the records were published online, so much more difficult to find things out. I started researching myself around 2004 with the help of a computer and the huge and ever increasing amount of records to try to find out as much as possible about my grandfather and my great uncle. In 2009 my husband and I, together with friends, made the trip over to Abbeville to visit my grandfather's grave. It was a very moving experience for me to stand in front of his headstone and to know that this was my grandfather's last resting place. The cemetery is beautifully kept and he lies close to fields with a lovely view. I left a tribute there and came away very glad that I had visited his grave because I think that I am the only family member to do so. After that we travelled in a north easterly direction across France and into Belgium visiting many of the cemeteries on the way, including Thiepval and Tyne Cot, before arriving in Ypres to attend the wonderful nightly ceremony at the Menin Gate. We also visited the area near St. Quentin and saw the canal and tunnels. My grandfather's records were amongst all those which were destroyed in bombing in WW2, including his brother Stanley's records, so it is very hard to be totally sure of exact details. Both Leonard and Stanley are remembered in a Chapel within Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire. This Chapel contains a memorial to the Men of Cambridge who lost their lives in World War One and is in the form of a large book made of wood, where you turn the pages alphabetically to reveal the names in gold letters on the wooden pages. This is a very fitting memorial to all who lost their lives.

Susan M Smith






  Pte. Charles Henry Fromant 12th Battalion Kings Royal Rifle Corps

My grandfather, Charles Fromant, was sent out with a draft for the 1/1st Cambridgeshires. The draft was diverted to the 12th KRRC.

John wilson






  Pte. William Henry Charretie 32nd (East Ham Pals) Btn Royal Fusiliers (d.22nd March 1918)

I do not want my great uncle William Charretie to be forgotten which is why I am researching his military service as much as I can anyway. Billie was my Nan's brother whom she loved dearly. Billie was born in Walworth, in 1894 and married his wife Ann Hardy from East Ham in June 1915, a few months prior to him signing up, I presume. He was transferred when the 32nd was disbanded in March 1918 to the 1/1st Battalion of the Cambridgeshires, and was killed on March 22nd 1918 at Longavesnes during the beginning of the First Battle of the Somme 1918.

I am very proud that he gave his life for our country and am actively trying to find more information.

Philip Shock






  Pte. Joseph Arthur Smith 1st Btn, B Coy. Cambridgeshire Regiment (d.12th Feb 1917)

In memory of my maternal great great uncle, Private Joseph Arthur Smith. He was wounded on the Somme in October 1916 and was evacuated home where he died of his wounds on 12th February 1917. He is buried with a military headstone in Babraham church yard & remembered on the memorial in the village. He was 21.

Steve Hyman






  Pte. George Arthur Cook 1st Btn.

I am now 80years of age and before I pass on I would like to find out more about my dear father, George Cook to pass on to further generations. I, like so many other young men was only interested in chasing young girls and not taking all that much interest in my fathers war. Just lately I have found out that he must have been in the thick of battles having been into hospital at Etaples in 1917 for a gunshot wound and then into Rouen hospital 9th August 1918 for results of a gas shell. He apparently served 4years and 303 days with the 1st Btn, Cambridge Regiment and then the 7th Btn Suffolk Regiment, so must have seen a vast amount of fighting. I would love to know in what battles he must have fought and any other aspects of his war.

He had great courage and joined the AFS in Ipswich during WW11, going to the dock area where he came home with a live, perfect condition incendiary bomb which I de-fused and used the contents to make fireworks. I kept this bomb on display in my hall until about four years ago when I presented it to the Ipswich museum and I only hope it has been saved and not destroyed.

Russell G. S. Cook






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