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5th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment
The 5th (Prince of Wales) Battalion, Devonshire Regiment were a Territorial unit with their HQ in Plymouth. They were part of the Devon and Cornwall Brigade, Wessex Division. A coy were from Plymouth and Tavistock, B from Plymouth, C from Plymouth, Ivybridge and Kingsbridge, D Coy from Devonport, E Coy from Newton Abbott and Chudleigh, f Coy from Teignmouth, Dawlish and Torquay, G coy from Moreton Hampstead, Bovey Tracey and Chagford, H Coy from Totnes, Ashburton and Buckfastleigh. Their cadet corps were the Plymouth Lads Brigade Cadet Corps, Haytor Cadet Corps and Totnes Cadet Corps. Just before war broke out in August 1914 the units of the Wessex Division gathered on Salisbury Plain for their annual summer camp and ordered arrived for precautionary measures to be taken. On the 3rd of August they broke camp and moved to take up defensive positions at the ports. The division was mobilised for full time war service on the 5th of August and by the 10th had returned to Salisbury Plain to prepare for service overseas. The Wessex Division was ordered to India to replace British and Indian regular army units who were to be deployed to the Western Front. They sailed from Southampton on the 9th of October, via Malta and Suez, arriving at Karachi on the 11th of November 1914 and served in 3rd (Lahore) Divisional Area at Multan. In December 1915 they moved to Lahore. In spring 1917 they were sent to Egypt, landing at Suez on the 4th of April, they joined 232nd Brigade, 75th Division on the 25th of June for service in Palestine. They saw action during The Third Battle of Gaza, The Capture of Gaza, The Capture of Junction Station and The Battle of Nabi Samweil. In 1918 they fought in The Battle of Tell'Asur and The Battle of Berukin before being transferred to the Western Front. They landed at Marseilles on the 1st of June and travelled north by train to join 185th Brigade, 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division. They were in action during The Battle of the Tardenois, The Battle of the Scarpe, The Battle of the Drocourt-Queant Line, The Battle of Havrincourt, The Battle of the Canal du Nord, The Battle of the Selle, The capture of Solesmes and The Battle of the Sambre. At the Armistice the advanced units had crossed the Sambre and reached the Maubeuge-Avesnes road. The Division was the only Territorial formation to be selected to enter Germany and took over the area around Schleiden in December.
27th Nov 1914 Stations Allocated
30th Aug 1915 Arrivals
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
13th Nov 1917 In Action
9th Dec 1917 Reliefs
9th April 1918 Attack Made
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| Want to know more about 5th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment? There are:5240 items tagged 5th Battalion, Devonshire 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.
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Those known to have served with5th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment during the Great War 1914-1918. - Chainey Wreford. Pte.
- Clarke William George. Pte. (d.28th Jul 1918)
- Cornall Sydney Norman. Pte.
- Fisher Albert Henry. Pte. (d.29th August 1918)
- Kelly Joshua William. Pte.
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 5th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment from other sources.
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Pte. Joshua William Kelly 5th Btn Devonshire Regiment  Joss Kelly enlisted at Douglas on 20th of Feb 1917, aged 18 years 6 months. It was his second attempt at enlistment. He was 5' 3 1/2" and weighed 7 1/2 stone. The recruiting sergeant sent him away the first time, telling him he should come back when he'd grown a bit.
He served in Palestine and France, where he was wounded at Rheims on 20th of Jul 1918. His record states: 'While advancing, a shell burst in close proximity and he was wounded in the leg'. Nature of Disability: 'Right foot [blown] off, stump gangrenous and full of maggots'. Treatment of Disability: 'Operation 24 Jul 1918, amputation [of right leg] 6 inches below [the] knee'.
He was discharged as an invalid..
Like a lot of injured ex soldiers, he wasn't able to return to his profession as a Clothier's Assistant - his former employer wouldn't employ a cripple - so he made his living working various menial jobs.
He was my great-grandfather. He lived to be 80. I suppose he was one of the lucky one's. He went over-the-top, aged 19, was blown up and left for dead three days in no-mans land. But he did at least survive.
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Pte. Wreford Chainey 5th Battalion Devonshire Regiment Wreford Chainey was my father. I know only that he was in Egypt in WW1 as a batman. But I don't know which section of the 5th Battalion he was in, nor exactly when he was in Egypt, or what his Regiment would have been doing there while he was serving, or for how long he would have been there.
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Pte. William George Clarke 1/5th (Prince of Wales's) Battalion Devonshire Regiment (d.28th Jul 1918) William Clarke was born in Thornborough, Bucks on the 27 September 1898. He was subsequently baptised 30 October 1898 in St James Aston Abbotts.
The census of 1901 lists him as living in Aston Abbotts the eldest son (of two) of Newman George and Lucy Clarke (nee Kent – they were married in 1897 – Albert T. Kent and William Clarke were in fact 2nd Cousins). Newman was a cattleman working for one of the local farms and lived with his family in Church Row, Aston Abbotts. According to the Census the Clarke family lived in Village House no 7.
He enlisted in Aylesbury and joined the 1/5th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment sometime in late 1915 or early 1916.
William Clark was killed in action of the 8th day of the Battle of the Tardenois 28th July 1918 when he was only 19 years of age. He is remembered with honour and buried in the Chambrecy British Cemetery, 16 miles south west of Reims, France.
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