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8th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment
8th (Service) Battalion, Norfolk Regiment was raised at Norwich in September 1914 as part of Kitchener's Second New Army and joined 53rd Brigade, 18th (Eastern) Division.
The Division initially concentrated in the Colchester area but moved to Salisbury Plain in May 1915. They proceeded to France, landinf at Boulogne on the 25th of July 1915, the division concentrated near Flesselles. In 1916 they were in action on The Somme in The Battle of Albert capturing their objectives near Montauban, The Battle of Bazentin Ridge including the capture of Trones Wood, The Battle of Delville Wood, The Battle of Thiepval Ridge, The Battle of the Ancre Heights playing a part in the capture of the Schwaben Redoubt and Regina Trench and The Battle of the Ancre. In 1917 they took part in the Operations on the Ancre including Miraumont and the capture of Irles, the fought during The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line and in The Third Battle of the Scarpe before moving to Flanders. They were in action in The Battle of Pilkem Ridge, The Battle of Langemarck and The First and Second Battle of Passchendaele. On the 12th of February 1918 the battalion was disbanded in France, with the men transferring to the 7th and 9th Norfolks.
Jul 1915 Training Instruction
Jul 1915 Billets
24th July 1915 On the Move
25th Jul 1915 On the Move
31st July 1915 Conference
1st Aug 1915 Conference
2nd Aug 1915 On the March
2nd Aug 1915 Inspection
10th Sep 1915 Instruction
11th Sep 1915 12th Lancs Fusiliers under instruction
11th Sep 1915 Instruction
12th Sep 1915 Instruction
13th Sep 1915 Mines Explode
14th Sep 1915 Instruction
15th Sep 1915 Instruction
16th Sep 1915 In Billets
16th Sep 1915 Reliefs
16th of September 1915 Reliefs
16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme
1st Dec 1915 Derby Scheme Armlets
11th Sep 1915 Last day of Derby Scheme Recruitment
7th Jan 1916 Reliefs
10th Jan 1916 Group System Reopens
9th February 1916 Call Ups
15th May 1916 Training
3rd Jun 1916 Reliefs
30th Jun 1916 Final Preparations
1st Jul 1916 In Action
1st July 1916 Attack
2nd Jul 1916 In Action
3rd Jul 1916 In Action
4th Jul 1916 In Action
5th Jul 1916 Reliefs
8th Jul 1916 On the Move
14th Jul 1916 Into Support
19th Jul 1916 8th Norfolks at Devils Wood The 8th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment are in action at Delville Eood
on the Somme, known as Devil's Wood to the troops.
19th Jul 1916 Hard Fighting
19th Jul 1916 In Action
20th Jul 1916 Counter Attack
20th Jul 1916 In Action
29th Jul 1916 On the Move
21st of October 1916 Bn Attacks
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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| Want to know more about 8th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment? There are:5272 items tagged 8th Battalion, Norfolk 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 with8th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment during the Great War 1914-1918.
- Abigail John Henry. Pte. (d.12th Sep 1917)
- Angell Ernest. Pte. (d.1st July 1916)
- Attenborough John Haddon. 2nd Lt. (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Barlow William H.. Pte. (d.1st July 1916)
- Burlingham George Edward. Pte
- Catchpole George Alfred. Pte. (d.27th September 1916)
- Clutterham Frederick Ernest. Pte. (d.22nd Oct 1916)
- Curson Alexander George. L/Cpl. (d.19th July 1916)
- Douglas Dennis H.. Pte. (d.11th Aug 1917)
- Doy William. Pte. (d.22nd October 1917)
- Eddy Richard James. Pte. (d.19th July 1916)
- Everitt Henry Arthur. Pte. (d.22nd October 1917)
- Foulger Alfred. Pte. (d.17th May 1917)
- Goldspink Charles Samuel. L/Cpl. (d.19th Jul 1916)
- Goulty MM. William Earnest. Pte.
- Harrison Thomas Herbert. L/Cpl. (d.11th August 1917)
- Herbert Frederick Noel . Cpl. (d.1st July 1916)
- Hickman Sidney Ernest. Pte (d.20 Oct 1917)
- Hillary Walter Thomas. Sgt. (d.25th Jul 1916)
- Hogg Robert. Pte. (d.17th Feb 1917)
- Hogg Robert. Pte. (d.17th Feb 1917)
- Jeffries Bertie. Pte. (d.1st July 1916)
- King George. Cpl. (d.1st August 1917)
- Moulton Harry. Cpl. (d.19th Feb 1916)
- Peerless Albert Burgess. Pte. (d.22nd Oct 1917)
- Pond Alfred. Pte. (d.6th November 1915)
- Rees Maurice. Pte.
- Reynolds Edward William Henry. Pte. (d.22nd October 1917)
- Riches Samuel. Pte. (d.11th August 1917)
- Scarborough Joseph. Pte. (d.21st October 1916)
- Shearman Edward Thomas. Cpl. (d.7th May 1917)
- Sherrott George. Pte (d.19th Nov 1917)
- Smith MM. Edgar Robert. Cpl. (d.22nd Oct 1917)
- Warner Albert. Pte. (d.22nd Oct 1917)
- Wharton George Bertie. Pte. (d.1st July 1916)
- Whitwood Albert James. Sgt. (d.1st July 1916)
- Williams Llewelyn James. Pte. (d.16th October 1915)
- Woffenden Richard Andrew. Pte. (d.11th Aug 1917)
- Youngs Arthur Edward. (d.19th Jul 1916)
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 8th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment from other sources.
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- 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.
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Did you know? We also have a section on World War Two. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
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Arthur Edward Youngs 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.19th Jul 1916) My great uncle Arthur Edward Youngs of the 8th Battalion Norfolk Regiment was killed in action at Deville Wood on 19th of July 1916 aged 22.
His place of burial is stated as unknown.
One of 7 children of Edward Joseph Matthew Youngs and Martha Ann Curtis, his younger brother, Matthew George, was also fighting in the Somme and was killed at High Wood 4 days later, aged 20.
Their mother never recovered from this loss.
Following the sudden death of her husband in 1919, she became mentally unhinged and spent the last years of her life in a mental institution. She died in 1938.
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Sgt. Walter Thomas Hillary 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.25th Jul 1916) Walter Hillary was in a sniper section of his unit.
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Cpl. Edgar Robert Smith MM. 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.22nd Oct 1917) Edgar Robert Smith was awarded the Military Medal. He was the son of Isaac and Ann Smith of Weasenham, King's Lynn, Norfolk.
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Pte. George Alfred Catchpole 6th (Cyclist) Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.27th September 1916) George Catchpole was the son of John and Elizabeth Catchpole nee Holman, born at Salhouse, Norfolk. He was one of 6 children.
On the outbreak of war George enlisted with the 6th Norfolk Cyclists, a Territorial Army unit who were involved in home defence and training. He was later transferred to the 8th Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment where he became Private no. 43581 and was sent to France. He was killed in action in the Battle of the Somme, on the 27th September 1916, aged 20.
He was my great uncle. He is commemorated on Thiepval Memorial as his body was never found. My grandfather remembered his brother, by using his christian names when naming two of this sons.
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L/Cpl. Thomas Herbert Harrison 8th Battalion Norfolk Regiment (d.11th August 1917) Thomas Harrison was my great uncle. He and four brothers went to war, only one of the brothers returned. Thomas has his name on the Menin Gate in Ypres, he was 21 years old.
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Pte. Albert Warner 8th Btn. D Coy. Norfolk Regiment (d.22nd Oct 1917) Albert Warner was the son of Charles and Emily Warner of 20 Belle Vue Cottages, North Street, Halstead, Essex.
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Pte. Edward William Henry Reynolds 8th Battalion Norfolk Regiment (d.22nd October 1917) Edward Reynolds served with the 8th Battalion, Norfolk Regiment.
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Pte. Samuel Riches 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.11th August 1917) Samuel Riches was a Company Cook with 8th Norfolk Regiment.
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Cpl. Frederick Noel Herbert 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.1st July 1916) Sorry to say Frederick Herbert's story is all lost in time. He was my Grandad's brother, killed in action on the first day of the Somme.
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Pte. Alfred Pond 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.6th November 1915) My great uncle, Alfred Pond, joined Kitchener's Second New Army in September 1914 aged just 19 years and weighing only 8 stone with a height of 5ft 4". He was killed in action in little over a year later - not much of a life for a young lad. So sad!
My uncle wrote home regularly to his sister (my grandmother) then Kate Pond (or Kitty to her friends). She later married another Alfred and became Kitty Barker. She had a market stall on Norwich Market until the time of her death in 1973.
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Pte. William Doy 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.22nd October 1917) William Doy was born on 24th August 1894 in Colkirk. His father's family came from Brisley, Norfolk and his mother's family came from Gt. Ryburgh, Norfolk. William's mother was Harriet Doy nee Ainger and his father was Arthur Doy. He was the couple's only son, he had five sisters: Bertha born 1889, Ruth born 1890, Thurza born 1891, Emma Laura born 1892, and Bessie born 1897.
William's mother died in childbirth in 1901 when he was only 6 years old. His father was unable to care for his children and they all went to live with different relatives. William lived with paternal aunt and uncle, Samuel and Georgina Nelson at 48, Fakenham Road Gt. Ryburgh. Also living in the Nelson household were the couple's sons, one of their sons, Ernest Nelson also joined up and was killed in WW1. William attended Gt. Ryburgh School. He left school and worked on a local farm until he enlisted 3rd September 1914. William enlisted only a month after war was declared and initially for one year.
He joined the 8th (Service) Battalion, Norfolk Regiment in September 1914 . The Norfolk Regiment was raised at Norwich in September 1914 as part of Kitchener's Second New Army and joined 53rd Brigade, 18th (Eastern) Division. In October 1914 the Battalion moved to Colchester and then moved to Salisbury Plain in May 1915. On 25th July 1915 the Battalion mobilised for war and landed at Boulogne.
Since 14th October 1914 French and English troops had occupied the area around Ypres. The British and French put up a defence to block the route for the German Army through Ypres to the ports on the French and Belgian coast. The Allies and the British Army remained in Ypres for four years from October 1914 to the end of the war in November 1918. Ypres never fell into German occupation during the war.
In 1916 William saw action with The Norfolk Regiment on The Somme in The Battle of Albert,capturing their objectives near Montauban,
The Battle of Bazentin Ridge,including the capture of Trones Wood,
The Battle of Delville Wood,
The Battle of Thiepval Ridge,
The Battle of the Ancre Heights, playing a part in the capture of the Schwaben Redoubt and Regina Trench, and the
The Battle of the Ancre.
In 1917 the Regiment took part in the Operations on the Ancre including
Miraumont and the capture of Irles,
they fought during the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line,
The Third Battle of the Scarpe,
Then moving to Flanders.
On 22nd of October 1917 after serving from July 1915 on the front line William was killed in action, his body is buried in Leper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium.
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Pte. Alfred Foulger 8th Battalion Norfolk Regiment (d.17th May 1917) Alfred Foulger is my Great, Great, Grand Uncle. I am researching my family history and discovered he died in France in 1917 while serving under the Norfolk Regiment. However, I am interested where they were in May 1917. He was in the 8th Battalion.
He is commemorated in Arras, sadly without a grave.
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Pte. Richard James Eddy 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.19th July 1916) Richard James Eddy's brother, William Lewis Eddy, died in March of the same year in Mesopotamia at the battle of Dujalah Redoubt. His brother Reginald [Sidney] survived.
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Pte. Frederick Ernest Clutterham 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.22nd Oct 1916) Great uncle Frederick Clutterham died serving his country on the battlefields of the Somme in October 1916. He was 25 years old. His name can be found on the North and South Pickering War Memorial as well as the Thiepval Memorial in France.
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Pte. Bertie Jeffries 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.1st July 1916) I don't know much about Bertie Jeffries, just know he was killed on first day of the Somme, he is on the Thiepval Memorial wall and thought maybe he should be listed here with his brothers.
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Pte. Llewelyn James Williams 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.16th October 1915) Llewelyn was the son of Mr E R Williams, 46 High Street, Denbigh.
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Pte. William Earnest Goulty MM. 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment Originally from Norwich, Pte William Goulty MM relocated to Rotherham, South Yorkshire after WW1, along with two brothers.
The family story goes that he was a runner and he won his Military Medal for actions in 1916. No citation has survived, which was apparently written on a drum skin, his medals are in Norwich military museum.
As was sometimes the case, the war was never mentioned, no stories have survived.
Does anyone have any section/platoon/battalion photographs, newspaper cuttings etc of the 8th Battalion?
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Pte. Dennis H. Douglas 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.11th Aug 1917) Dennis Douglas served with the 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment
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Cpl. Edward Thomas Shearman 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.7th May 1917) Edward Thomas Shearman served with the
8th Norfolk Regiment, he was killed on the 7th May 1917 (Aged 39)
and is buried in Rookery British Military Cemetery, Hennel. He was the husband of Isabella Jane (nee Thurlow), they were married in 1908 in Loddon, Norfolk. His father Edward Thomas Shearman and mother Mrs E. Shearman, also known as Mahala, (nee Elliot) were the parents of nine children, all of Sugar Alms Houses, Extons Road, built in 1887 by John Sugar Esq.. The Shearman children were:
Robert J.C. 1847,
Florence J. 1875,
Elizabeth A. 1877,
Edward Thomas 1878 – 1917,
Ellen L. 1881,
Edgar 1887 – 1914,
Mary M. 1889,
Rose A. 1891 and
Emma 1895.
Edward was a pre-war regular soldier who completed 12 years service having joined the Territorials in 1907.
He worked at the West Norfolk Farmers Co. Chemical Works Wisbech Rd. until called up at the outbreak of war.
He was killed by a shell whilst leading a work party digging trenches.
He is named on the commemorative stained glass window situated in All Saints Church South Lynn alongside his brother Edgar.
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2nd Lt. John Haddon Attenborough 8th Btn. Norfolk Regiment (d.1st Jul 1916) My Mother in Law mentioned to me one night about six years ago, whilst I was discussing Family History in WW1 that she believed that she had an Uncle that was killed in WW1, she was not sure where but did know his name, John Haddon Attenborough. So off to the Commonwealth War Graves Casualty Details we went, and we found him, she did cry bless her. I am so pleased I was able to do this for her as she died two years ago at the age of 92 years young and knew where his memorial was, and when he died and where.
John Attenborough served with the Norfolk Regiment 8th Battalion and died on 1st July 1916.
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