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This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.     Site Home     Great War Home     Search     Add Stories & Photos     Library     Help & FAQs  Features     Allied Army     Day by Day     RFC & RAF     Prisoners of War     War at Sea     Training for War     The Battles     Those Who Served     Hospitals     Civilian Service     Women at War     The War Effort     Central Powers Army     Central Powers Navy     Imperial Air Service     Library     World War Two  Submissions     Add Stories & Photos     Time Capsule  Information     Help & FAQs     Glossary     Volunteering     News     Events     Contact us     Great War Books     About Advertisements World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment

8th Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment    8th (Service) Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment was raised at Maidstone on the 12th of September 1914 as part of Kitchener's Third New Army and joined 72nd Brigade, 24th Division. They trained at Shoreham and moved to billets in Worthing for the winter in December, returning to Shoreham in April 1915. They moved to Blackdown in July for final training and proceeded to France on the 30th of August 1915, landing at Boulogne. The Division concentrated in the area between Etaples and St Pol on 4 September and a few days later marched across France into the reserve for the British assault at Loos, going into action on the 26th of September and suffering heavy losses. In 1916 they suffered in the German gas attack at Wulverghem and then moved to The Somme seeing action in The Battle of Delville Wood and The Battle of Guillemont. In 1917 they were in action at The Battle of Vimy Ridge in the Spring, The Battle of Messines in June and Third Battle of Ypres in October before moving south where they were in action during The Cambrai Operations when the Germans counter attacked. In 1918 they were in action on the Somme and The Battle of Cambrai and the Final Advance in Picardy. At the Armistice the Division were in the line 1.5 miles east of the Maubeuge-Mons road. They moved back to the area between Denain and Douai at the end of November moved to St Amand-Orchies, then on the 18th of December the Division moved to Tournai for demobilisation, which was completed by 26 March 1919. Jul 1915 Training Instruction Jul 1915 Billets 25th Sep 1915 Into the Trenches 26th Sep 1915 In Action   26th Sep 1915 Attack Made   27th Sep 1915 Reliefs Completed   16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme 22th Oct 1915 Reliefs 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 3rd Mar 1916 Reliefs 16th Mar 1916 Bombardment 1st Sep 1916 Attacks Made 2nd Sep 1916 Line Held 3rd Sep 1916 Attacks Made 4th Sep 1916 Reliefs 5th Sep 1916 Relief Complete 6th Sep 1916 Reliefs 7th Sep 1916 On the Move 1st Apr 1917 Reliefs 7th Apr 1917 Reliefs If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Want to know more about 8th Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment? There are:5253 items tagged 8th Battalion, Royal West Kent 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 8th Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment during the Great War 1914-1918. Aldous George. (d.16th Jun 1916) Belsey Walter Ernest. Pte. Bromfield T. A.. Sgt. Fitton Harry. Pte (d.16th October 1918) Fitzhugh Alfred Hugh. Pte. (d.26th Sep 1915) Gates Alfred. Pte. (d.18th Jun 1917) Grant John. Pte. (d.26th September 1915) Gray Frank Edward. L/Cpl. (d.26th September 1915) Hillier William Watson. Pte. Nicholls George. Pte. (d.14th Apr 1917) Packer William Job. L/Cpl (d.6th April 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, Royal West Kent Regiment 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. Alfred Hugh Fitzhugh 8th Btn. Royal West Kent Regiment (d.26th Sep 1915) Alfred Fitzhugh enlisted in September 1914 and went to France in August 1915 He was 17 years old and a member of a gospel hall Sunday school in Blackburn, Lancashire. He is presumed to have been killed at the Battle of Loos but his body was never found. His name is on the Loos Memorial. He was the son of Ernest and Kate Fitzhugh of Blackburn. Steven Fitzhugh Add to this record.   Pte. John Grant 8th Btn. Royal West Kent Regiment (d.26th September 1915) John Grant was born on 13th October 1896, son of Henry and Jane Emma Grant. His father was a police constable and they lived at Richards Cottages, 9 Churchfield Road, Acton. The 1911 census shows him living with his parents and siblings at 1 Albert Grove, Park Road, Acton; he was described as an errand boy. He served with the 8th Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment. He was killed in action on the 26th of September 1915 aged 19 years (probably during the Battle of Loos). He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Loos Memorial in France. He is remembered on the War Memorial, St Mary's Church, Acton, London. Caroline Hunt Add to this record.   Pte. Walter Ernest Belsey 8th Btn. Royal West Kent Regiment Walter Belsey was posted out prior to Battle of Loos. He was alleged to have been taken prisoner, but no record has been found. He survived the war and died in 1972. Kevin Add to this record.    George Aldous 8th Battalion Royal West Kent Regiment (d.16th Jun 1916) My great great grandfather, George Aldous, died on the 16th of June 1916 and is the only one from his regiment buried in Bray Military Cemetery. We recently visited his grave 3 days before the 100th anniversary of his death to pay our respects. We unfortunately have no photos of him so if anyone has any photos of his battalion we would love to see them. Many thanks Lest we forget. Katy Arnold Add to this record.   Pte. William Watson Hillier 8th Btn. Royal West Kent Regiment Born at Witham Friary, Somerset in 1891, William Hillier worked in London as a Dairy Man. Volunteered in August/September 1914 and arrived in France 30th August 1915. He took part in the Battle of Loos and was lucky to survive. He was with the Battalion at the Battle of Messines and was wounded by shrapnel possibly early August 1917 during Battle of Passchendaele. He returned to UK for hospital treatment and returned to France as 589661 Labour Corps. He was discharged in 1919 and worked on the Railways as a Signalman, married Dorothy Thornhill Whiting of London and settled at Kemsing, Kent. He is my paternal grandfather. Barry Hillier Add to this record.   L/Cpl William Job Packer 8th Btn. A Coy. Royal West Kent Regiment (d.6th April 1916) William was my Great Uncle and I discovered him through family research. According to his army records he was a L/Corp but was disciplined by a court-martial. The basics were that he was demoted due to 'behavior unbecomming'. No exact details which I'mm sure would make an interesting read! The Company records show that no entry was ever made of his death nor were there records in the attached field hospital attached to the Division. William was billeted in a barn at Dranoutre with other Corporals and Sergeants and during the early hours the first shell of the day scored a rather unfortunate direct hit on the barn. He was one of 6 to die as a result and I have not been able to find details of the other casualties. All I know is that they are not buried in the same place. Simon Dennis Add to this record. Recomended Reading. Available at discounted prices.

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