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8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment
8th Battalion Middlesex Regiment was a unit of the Territorial Force with its HQ in 202a Hanworth Road, Hounslow They were part of the Middlesex Infantry Brigade, Home Counties Division. When war broke out in August 1914 they were mobilised at once and moved to Sheerness and then to Sittingbourne. In September 1914 they left the Home Counties Division and were dispatched to Gibraltar, to replace a unit of the regular army, arriving on the 17th. They remained in Gibraltar until February 1915 when they returned to England. They proceeded to France, laning at Le Havre on the
9th of March 1915 and joining 85th Brigade, 28th Division. They were in action in The Second Battle of Ypres and on the 27th of August 1915 they transferred to 25th Brigade, 8th Division and on the 23rd of October they transferred to 70th Brigade still with 8th Division. On the 9th of February 1916 they transferred to 167th Brigade in the newly reformed 56th (London) Division who were concentrating in the Hallencourt area in February. In 1916 they were in action on The Somme taking part in the diversionary attack at Gommecourt on the 1st of July. Also The Battle of Ginchy, The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, The Battle of Morval in which the Division captured Combles and The Battle of the Transloy Ridges. In 1917 they were in action during The German retreat to the Hindenburg Line and the Battles of Arras in April, then The Battle of Langemarck in August, then the Cambrai Operations in November. In 1918 They were in action on The Somme, in the Second Battles of Arras, the Battles of the Hindenburg Line and the Final Advance in Picardy. At the Armistice the infantry were in a rest period, whilst the artillery were in action. The Division received orders to join the British force to occupy the Rhine bridgeheads, but these orders were cancelled on the 21st of November, when they were in the area of Harveng undertaking road and railway repairs. Demobilisation was completed on the 18th of May 1919.
5th of January 1915 Route march
6th Feb 1915 Instruction
2nd of August 1915 Reorganisation of Battalions
5th of August 1915 Absorbing new draft of men
7th of August 1915 Officers assigned to Companies
9th of August 1915 Training, parades and inspection whilst awaiting transport
12th of August 1915 Experience of trenches
15th of August 1915 More trench rotations
16th of August 1915 Lieutenant Tresawna joins Battlion
19th of August 1915 Working parties digging trenches
20th of August 1915 Constructing trenches and tramways
21st of August 1915 Gas attack preparation
22nd of August 1915 New machine guns and a fresh draft arrive
23rd of August 1915 Trench working parties continue
24th of August 1915 Horses arrive
25th of August 1915 Man wounded on a working party
26th of August 1915 Lieutenant Major Ingpen takes command of Battalion
27th of August 1915 Inspection and working parties 
29th of August 1915 Attached to 25th Infantry Brigade
30th of August 1915 Men used for working parties
31st of August 1915 Baths
1st of September 1915 In reserve
2nd of September 1915 Machine Guns
3rd of September 1915 Officers inspect trench positions
5th of September 1915 Wet trench positions
6th of September 1915 Brigadier visits Battalion
7th of September 1915 One man killed
8th of September 1915 Reliefs
9th of September 1915 Officers return
11th of September 1915 New draft inspected
12th of September 1915 Reliefs
14th of September 1915 Officer shot through the head
15th of September 1915 Reliefs
17th of September 1915 Working parties digging trenches
24th of September 1915 Officers briefed on forthcoming action
25th Sep 1915 In Action
25th Sep 1915 In Action
25th Sep 1915 In Action
25th Sep 1915 In Action
25th of September 1915 In trenches supporting an attack
26th of September 1915 Into billets and casualties listed
27th of September 1915 Battalion commended on recent action
29th of September 1915 Inspected and congratulated again
1st of October 1915 Concert was enjoyed
2nd of October 1915 Muddy trenches
6th of October 1915 Reliefs
8th of October 1915 Lieutenant goes on leave
10th of October 1915 Bombardment
14th of October 1915 Reliefs
15th of October 1915 Leave
16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme
16th of October 1915 Return from leave
17th of October 1915 Posting
18th of October 1915 Reliefs
22nd of October 1915 Reliefs
23rd of October 1915 Reorganisation
25th of October 1915 Wet
27th of October 1915 In the Ttrenches
31st of October 1915 A Long Spell
1st of November 1915 Terrible weather
2nd of November 1915 Working Parties
3rd of November 1915 Rain
4th of November 1915 New draft arrive
5th of November 1915 Stopped raining
6th of November 1915 Trench repairs
7th of November 1915 Trench Work
8th of November 1915 Church parade
9th of November 1915 Working parties
10th of November 1915 Working parties
11th of November 1915 Trench foot
12th of November 1915 Baths
13th of November 1915 Working parties
14th of November 1915 Working parties
15th of November 1915 Working parties
16th of November 1915 Gas training
17th of November 1915 Working parties
18th of November 1915 Reliefs
19th of November 1915 Quiet in the trenches
20th of November 1915 Artillery Duel
21st of November 1915 Frost
22nd of November 1915 Reliefs
23rd of November 1915 Into reserve
24th of November 1915 Into Camp
24th of November 1915 Building Camp
26th of November 1915 Training commences
26th of November 1915 Special Order - To be read to all men
27th of November 1915 football matches
28th of November 1915 Church parade
29th of November 1915 Training and football
30th of November 1915 Training and football
1st Dec 1915 Derby Scheme Armlets
1st of December 1915 Training and camp construction
2nd of December 1915 Training
3rd of December 1915 Training continues
4th of December 1915 Training and kit inspection
5th of December 1915 Church parade
6th of December 1915 Company training
7th of December 1915 Company Training
8th of December 1915 Lecture on aerial photography
9th of December 1915 Route march and drill
10th of December 1915 More route marching and drills
11th Sep 1915 Last day of Derby Scheme Recruitment
11th of December 1915 Camp drainage issues due to heavy rain
12th of December 1915 Church parade
13th of December 1915 Training continues
14th of December 1915 Practice assualt
15th of December 1915 Route march with transport
16th of December 1915 Practice trench attack
17th of December 1915 Route march
18th of December 1915 Practice trench attack
19th of December 1915 Two Officers on leave
20th of December 1915 Divisional manoeuvres
21st of December 1915 Manoeuvres
22nd of December 1915 Divisional manoeuvres
23rd of December 1915 Divisional manoeuvres
24th of December 1915 Resting
25th of December 1915 Christmas concert
26th of December 1915 Divine service
27th of December 1915 Route march
28th of December 1915 Regimental concert
29th of December 1915 Practice attack
30th of December 1915 Training
31st of December 1915 Practice attack
1st of January 1916 Sniping demo
2nd of January 1916 Relieves
3rd of January 1916 Football competition
4th of January 1916 Practice attack plus football
6th of January 1916 Practice attack
7th of January 1916 Musketry practice
8th of January 1916 Preparation to move
10th Jan 1916 Group System Reopens
10th of January 1916 Division back to trenches - support
11th of January 1916 In billets, in reserve
12th of January 1916 Training
13th of January 1916 Working parties, supporting Royal Engineers
14th of January 1916 Working parties, supporting Royal Engineers
15th of January 1916 Working parties and training
16th of January 1916 Working parties, supporting Royal Engineers
17th of January 1916 Working parties, supporting Royal Engineers
18th of January 1916 Working parties, supporting Royal Engineers
19th of January 1916 50 men go into the trenches
20th of January 1916 Incoming shell fire
21st of January 1916 Working parties, supporting Royal Engineers
22nd of January 1916 Shelled and casualties
23rd of January 1916 Working parties
24th of January 1916 Incoming shell fire
25th of January 1916 Officer struck by shrapnel
26th of January 1916 Relieved and return to billets
27th of January 1916 Working parties, supporting Royal Engineers
28th of January 1916 Working parties, supporting Royal Engineers
29th of January 1916 Officers inspect positions
30th of January 1916 Football competition
31st of January 1916 Working parties, supporting Royal Engineers
9th February 1916 Call Ups
1st Jul 1916 Success and Failure
27th Oct 1916 Change of Billets
9th of January 1916 Divine service
10th April 1917 Nepal Trench 17
17th of August 1917 Attached to 25th Infantry Brigade
18th of August 1917 Training and courses
20th of August 1917 More trench digging
7th Nov 1918 Reliefs
8th Nov 1918 Advance
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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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, Middlesex Regiment during the Great War 1914-1918. - Andre Frederick William. 2nd Lt. (d.16th Aug 1917)
- Anstiss MM. William. Sgt.
- Barber Frederick. Pte. (d.9th April 1917)
- Barber Frederick. Pte. (d.9th April 1917)
- Cain Thomas. Pte. (d.9th Oct 1916)
- Collins Robert Hammond. Pte. (d.13th Apr 1916)
- Coxon George. Pte. (d.16th Sep 1916)
- Didymus Edward. Pte. (d.12th Apr 1918)
- Ellis Thomas William. Pte. (d.16th August 1917)
- Hancock Ernest. (d.23rd Apr 1915)
- Hider Francis Silvester. Pte. (d.8th Mar 1918)
- Hill Benjamin. Pte. (d.7th Dec 1916)
- Hill Leonard Augustus. Pte. (d.29th Apr 1915)
- Hyde Thomas. Pte. (d.8th November 1918)
- Langley Alfred. L/Cpl. (d.14th May 1915)
- Langley Thomas Frederick.
- Lucie James. Pte. (d.23rd April 1915)
- Luckhurst Daniel James. Pte (d.10th April 1917)
- Mangan MiD. Albert James. L/Cpl.
- Matthews Richard Henry. Pte. (d.1st July 1916)
- Newman William Herbert. Pte. (d.19th Oct 1915)
- Page Thomas. Pte. (d.27th August 1918)
- Page Thomas. Pte. (d.27th Aug 1918)
- Parckar Edward William. Pte.
- Pettitt Louis. Cpl. (d.20th July 1918)
- Salter William Edward. Pte. (d.16th August 1917)
- Simons Guy. Pte. (d.19th September 1916)
- Simpson MC William John Sydney. Lt.
- Snell James William. Pte.
- Thurlow Harry William. Pte. (d.25th April 1915)
- Thurlow Harry William. Pte. (d.25th Apr 1915)
- Thurlow William. Sgt.
- Vie Francis George. Pte. (d.7th June 1915)
- Wageman Harold Victor . Sgt. (d.10th April 1917)
- Westley Edward Harold. Sjt.
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, Middlesex Regiment from other sources.
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Pte. Thomas Hyde 1/8th Battalion Middlesex Regiment (d.8th November 1918) Thomas Hyde died near Mons with two others from his regiment and is buried in Blaugies Communal Cemetery. Thomas was 27 years old, was married and had a daughter.
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Pte. Edward William Parckar 1/8th Btn. Middlesex Regiment My great-grandfather, Edward Parckar, was 25 years old when he voluntarily landed in Le Havre, France on 8th March of 1915 with the 1/8th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment.
Edward was badly gassed on the 24th of May 1915 during the second battle of Ypres in Belgium. He was wounded on three separate occasions during his service with the 8th Regiment, including a severe gunshot wound to the knee. His last wound in action was in November 1918 as the war was coming to a close.
Edward was one of the very few original men of the 1/8th Battalion to have survived the War. Unfortunately, he was still suffering from the effects of gas poisoning, which eventually caused his lungs to fail in 1925, at the age of 35, leaving behind a wife and 4 small children.
I have attached a photo of Edward (on far right). If anyone knows who the other Army personnel are, I would love to know. My understanding from a cousin is that the photo was taken while billeted in France.
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Pte. Harry William Thurlow 1st/8th Btn. Middlesex Regiment (d.25th Apr 1915) I first made Harry Thurlow's acquaintance about twenty years ago when I bought a set of twelve Edwardian anthropomorphic (animals dressed as humans) cat postcards from an auction that was held in Nottingham.
Included with them were six more postcards of monkeys by a different artist. The auction catalogue showed only the front of the cards but once I had received them it was then that I noticed the set of twelve cards had all been sent to Harry in Staines from Auntie Kate between 1906 and 1907.
The fact that all of them had been sent to him made me want to find out more about him. The six postcards of monkeys had also been sent from his aunt, three of them to him whilst the other three appeared to have been sent to his sister.
The Internet was still in its infancy and although I found Harry's General Register Office birth registration I could not find a marriage or a death for him. The address on the cards only had the house name, there was no house number and an Internet search wasn't enlightening.
Letters I sent to the appropriate Record Offices did not enlighten me other than the fact that as not much development had taken place in Staines, his home was likely to still be standing. I had come to a dead end rather quickly.
As time went by I was able to look at the 1901 census which showed Harry at the familiar address; again, there was no house number. When more information had been made available on the Internet I suddenly found out why he didn't marry or die, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website showed that he had been killed abroad in the First World War.
By a stroke of luck the details gave his parents' address and included the house number where he lived, so at last, I had found out what I wanted to know! Via Google Earth I was able to see the house in which Harry and his family lived.
Still more time went by and I accumulated more information about Harry and his family, including the 1911 census when it became available. Most of the First World War Service Records were destroyed by fire in the Second World War when a German bomb hit the building in which they were housed. Amazingly, Harry's survived and provided quite a lot of new information.
In the last few years I have added greatly to what I had already found and have built up a complete picture of Harry's tragically short life.
He was born on 6th of Nov 1896 and was baptised Harry William Robert just after Christmas on 27th December in St. Peter's church, only yards away from his home on the other side of the road.
Harry's two other names were clearly chosen to include both of his grandfathers' and father's names. On Valentine's Day 1899, Harry's mum and dad gave him a sister, Valerie Lucy Alice and she was baptised at the same church as Harry just over two months later on St. George's Day, 23rd April. Again, Valerie's other two names were undoubtedly chosen because they were also her grandmothers' names.
Harry started his schooling at the infants school in Wyatt Road which had opened the year he was born and he later transferred to the school in Kingston Road, another new school that opened in 1903. Whilst there, Harry learned to swim and also joined the scout movement. He probably left the school around the end of 1909 and then entered the world of work.
What other jobs he may have had I don't know, but at one time Harry worked as a van boy for a draper's business of which there were a few in Staines. By April 1913 he was a gas fitter's mate, working for the Staines and Egham Gas Company. During that same year, Harry joined a large voluntary organisation, one to which his dad also belonged.
In August 1914 when war was declared, Harry was a Territorial soldier, a private in the 8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. The Territorial Army was not obliged to serve overseas but upon the outbreak of war, many battalions did offer to do exactly that and Harry's was the first in the country to do so.
The 8th Middlesex was embodied and effectively became part of the regular army. Men generally joined the company appropriate to where they were living. A Company consisted of men living in Twickenham and Southall, B Company men were from Brentford and Staines, C Company had men drawn from Hounslow and D Company had men who were based in Ealing. Harry was of course in B Company.
Proclamations were received at the post offices from senior officers late on 4th August for everyone to report to their district Drill Hall in order to await instructions. Harry, his dad and everyone else reported to the 8th Battalion's headquarters in Hanworth Road, Hounslow and preparations were made for an immediate move. They were then all allowed to return home for the night with orders to return early the following morning.
Between eight and nine o'clock the next morning, Harry, his dad and around one hundred and fifty others arrived at Hounslow from Staines, having travelled on the train and said their goodbyes. Throughout the day a large concentration of men descended on the 8th Battalion's Headquarters. Horses, carts and motor cars were commandeered; baggage was packed, arms and equipment overhauled, ball ammunition (for muskets) served out and men went to get their bayonets and swords sharpened. All was ready at around nine o'clock in the evening and the battalion formed up outside the Drill Hall.
Headed by the band and under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel W. Garner, the men all marched to Feltham railway station where they boarded the train at ten o'clock destined for Sheerness in Kent. A large crowd came to see them off, wishing them good luck and cheering them on their way. Upon arrival, almost the whole of the 8th Battalion, twenty officers and a thousand other ranks were now on the Isle of Sheppey. Two of the four companies of the battalion went to Sheerness Barracks guarding German prisoners. Perhaps Harry was one of the guards. He, his dad and their comrades were in Sittingbourne for a total of four and a half weeks and then news arrived that they were being posted to foreign lands.
On the 10th September the battalion left Sittingbourne to journey to Southampton. Arriving at the dockyard shortly before eight o'clock, the men all then boarded a ship. Also with them was the 5th Territorial Battalion of the Manchester Regiment, which was en route for Egypt. At 8 o'clock in the evening of 17th September, they arrived at Gibraltar where Harry and his dad spent the next five months of their lives. By all accounts they had a very enjoyable time there. It was warm, they saw lots of local people, visited the town and saw wildlife that they would never have seen in England, although they were away from home at Christmas and it must have been quite unpleasant for Harry's mum, sister and gran as well as for him and his dad.
The battalion came back to England on 14th of February, arriving at Avonmouth. From there the men went by train to Feltham and then marched to Hounslow Heath Hutments. Several days later the men were given a few days leave and of course Harry and his dad went home to see the family that they had left behind some five months ago. Besides engaging in the ordinary routine drills and field training on Hounslow Heath, the battalion went on several route marches through different parts of the district which, amongst other things, gave people an opportunity to see them. Before long Harry and his dad were on the move again, to more foreign lands.
On the 8th March, the 8th Battalion marched from the Hutments to Hounslow railway station, where the men took a special train and left about nine o'clock in the evening for Southampton on the south coast. They had a very rough voyage from England but landed safely in France at Le Havre at around three o'clock in the morning. A booming noise from the heavy firing of the guns at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle could be heard. The battalion marched immediately to a rest camp.
The next day, 10th March, the men marched to a place where they were herded into cattle trucks, thirty-five men to each truck. The train took them to Bailleul, a distance of more than two hundred miles and took twenty hours or more to get there. Harry and his dad spent the next seven weeks doing a lot of marching to different villages and Harry was digging trenches at night. They and their comrades also had some near misses with different kinds of bombs landing near them and just a few of the battalion lost their lives this way.
The 2nd Battle of Ypres commenced on 22nd April and ended on 25th May. When it started, Harry, his dad and the rest of B Company were at Zonnebeke and relieved A company after nightfall, going into the trenches.
The following morning it was fairly quiet but shelling commenced in the afternoon, continued for some hours and was intermittent all night. During the night there was a lot of rifle fire. B Company carried rations and water for the East Surreys, making two dangerous journeys.
On 24th April the Germans began shelling at around half past four in the morning and the heavy bombardment continued throughout the day. The new road to the railway station and also the railway line were badly hit and the railway embankment showed bomb holes all the way along. By the early afternoon several men from the East Surrey regiment had been overcome by shrapnel fumes and were replaced by parties from Harry's B Company. In turn those parties also had to be relieved later in the day. The remaining B Company platoons were moved up about four o'clock into old trench positions 50 yards behind the firing line and A Company was brought up from Zonnebeke to the support trenches.
The next day, 25th April, was Harry's very last day on earth. Around half past nine in the morning the Germans released poison gas in large quantities but the men couldn't see the chlorine that was blinding and choking them. The next few hours were awful. Bombing began about ten o'clock. By now, they were all so used to it that nobody took much notice of a shell exploding. B Company in the near support trench began to suffer from shrapnel fumes about an hour later but the men were kept fit by cold water douches thanks to instructions contained in a General Order circulated during the previous day.
About half past eleven a shell burst directly in the trench and practically wiped out B Company's Number 6 platoon, making the trench a complete mess. Harry was one of the very unfortunate soldiers who lost their lives in that instant; he knew nothing about it and felt no pain.
In many instances so many men fell in such a short space of time that those left behind were too busy engaging the enemy to bury the fallen. At some point if time permitted, those who had succumbed would be buried near to or where they died and Harry was buried in the Zonnebeke trench where he fell, along with many others.
He still lies with many of his comrades in a field in Flanders; he has no known grave, like so many others. Harry's name can be seen on eight different memorials, which is most unusual for a soldier like him; most have their name on only one or two. Seven are here in England and the other is at the Menin Gate, Ypres where The Last Post is played for him and all the other fallen comrades at eight o'clock every evening, every day of every year. Although it did not bear his name, he also had a poppy planted temporarily in his memory at the Tower of London in 2014. As well as here, on this website, Harry's name is on the the National Archives Lives of the First World War website, the British Legion Every One Remembered website and the Surrey In The Great War website too. All of these will be permanent archives. There are several memorials to his 8th Middlesex Battalion.
I managed to get a few pictures of Harry, his sister, parents and grandparents. Having found out so much about him, it was so nice to be able to put a face to his name. Harry would be pleased to know that I am writing a book about him (a purely private venture), containing everything I have found out about him and his immediate family. In my will, the book and the eighteen postcards that Auntie Kate sent to Harry and his sister have been left to an organisation which will take good care of them.
Harry was only 18 years old when he left his family behind. His life, like a huge number of others, was cruelly ended so very early and was far too short.
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L/Cpl. Albert James Mangan MiD. F Coy. 8th Btn. Middlesex Regiment Albert Mangan joined F Company, of the 8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment at their HQ in St John's Church Hall in West Ealing.
The exact date is unknown but he may have been a pre war Territorial as he was awarded the Territorial Force Efficiency medal in 1920.
He fought at Ypres and on the Somme and was mentioned in dispatches for saving the Battalion colours when HQ was overrun, date unknown, a story passed down through the family.
He was gassed and buried alive on two occasions when his trench/dugout was hit.
He carried a bullet fragment in his arm until he died in 1970.
He said that he was one of only 6 survivors from the original wartime Battalion.
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Pte. Thomas Page 8th Btn. Middlesex Regiment (d.27th Aug 1918) Thomas Page was the youngest son of George and Miriam Page and one of nine brothers and sisters. He was born in 1899.
He joined up in 1914, he lied about this age claiming he was 19. Thomas enlisted in the 1/8th Middlesex Regiment.
He is buried at Croisillles Cemetery, not far from Arras. He was killed on 27th of August 1918, not far from the end of the war.
It is a lovely little cemetery in the middle of no-where. It must have been a terrible time for George and Miriam. His brother Harry died earlier in 1918 at Etaples. His brother Alfred had also enlisted, but he survived to come home.
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Pte. James William Snell 23rd Btn. Middlesex Regiment  James Snell was my maternal grandfather, known to me as Pop. He survived the war He survived WW1 and I did know him when I was a child. He was a kind and gentle man and to find out now that he was involved in the war has blown me away. Until I started researching him, I had no idea that he had ever been in the Army. Nobody in our family had ever mentioned this fact, which I find amazing as we had a very large family. James had 13 children, one of them being my mum.
He joined the Army on 12th of December 1915 and was assigned to the 8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (Territorials)and was a reserve until he was posted on 9th of Feb 1917.
He was posted to France on 19th of September 1917 with the 8th Middlesex Regiment. But was later posted to the 23rd Battalion Middlesex Regiment (also known as the 2nd Football Battalion).
James was finally demobbed from the 23rd Middlesex on 8th of March 1919.
He was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. To my knowledge he never collected his medals.
He died in 1966 in Stepney, East London.
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Pte. Guy Simons 1st/8th Battalion Middlesex Regiment (d.19th September 1916) Guy Simons was the second son of Emily and Alfred Simons of Prittlewell, Essex. He enlisted on the 24th of March 1916, aged 18. He is listed as a Furniture Assistant and was 5ft 7 1/2".
He is recorded as killed in action on the 19th of September 1916. His Brigade was in the area of Leuze Wood and Bouleaux Wood and 245 Other Ranks died between 15th and 18th of September 1916.
He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. I am a proud sprig on his family tree
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Sgt. Harold Victor Wageman 1/8th Btn. Middlesex Regiment (d.10th April 1917) Harold Wageman was born in Acton on the 14 November 1896, youngest child and only son of Thomas and Caroline Wageman. His father was an accountant and bank inspector. By 1911 the family had moved to 48 Chatsworth Gardens, Acton. After leaving school he started working in a bank and his army records show that when he enlisted he was employed as a bank clerk at the LCM Bank, Marylebone .
He had been a Cadet with the 10th Middlesex Regiment and on the 9th of September 1914 he enlisted at Ealing with the 8th Middlesex Regiment (Reserves). On the 1st of February 1915 he embarked with the Regiment from Southampton to Gibralter, remaining there for a few months. During this time he was promoted to Lance Corporal on the 27th of February and then to Corporal on the 31st of July. The Regiment left Gibralter on the 23rd of August travelling first to Alexandria and then on the 4th of December 1915, as part of the Western Frontier Force, travelled to Western Egypt.
On the 4 March 1916 he was admitted to hospital in Mersa Maturah with a diffused lacerated wound on face, after treatment and a short 5 day stay in hospital he returned to his unit. On the 8th of May 1916 the Regiment embarked from Alexandria and after a week arrived in Marseilles, where they were then sent to Rouen, arriving on the 13th of June 1916. 11 days later on the 24th June he was admitted to Hospital with an inflamed stomach, after treatment and a period of respite he rejoined his unit in Etaples on the 2 September 1916. He was promoted to Sergeant on the 19th of September 1916 with the 1/8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment
On the 10th of April 1917 he was killed in action aged 20 years, believed by shell concussion, during the Battle of Arras.
He has no known grave and he is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, Northern France. He is remembered on both the War Memorial at the Territorial Army Drill Hall, Hanworth Road, Hounslow and the War Memorial, St Mary's Church, Acton, London.
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Pte. Thomas Page 8th Btn. (d.27th August 1918) Thomas Page enlisted aged 15, his army records state he was 19 in 1914 along with his older brother Henry. Tom died 27th August 1918 as part of 8th Middlesex's offensive during Battle of the Scarpe. He is buried at Croisilles near Arras. His brother Henry was also killed same year serving in the Life Guards.
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Pte. Thomas William Ellis 1/8th Battalion Middlesex Regiment (d.16th August 1917) Thomas Ellis was my great uncle and at the moment this is all I know. I've only just found out about him, he was only 22. I am very proud and sad.
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Sgt. William Anstiss MM. 8th Btn. Middlesex Regiment William Anstiss was a carpenter in Southall Middlesex and volunteered for the army in 1914.
He was awarded the Millitary Medal in 1914. After going over the top, his commanding officer had been severely wounded in no mans land, and whilst under heavy fire, Corporal Anstiss picked up his fallen officer on his own, and managed to get him back into the trench to a first aid station.
William was promoted to Corporal and then to Sergeant which is when he was awarded his bar to the M.M. The bar was for action in the trenches. During a big push by the enemy all the commanding officers in Sergeant Anstiss's trench had been killed by shell fire or gunfire. He alone rallied his men, took command and asked that "every man to stay where he is, keep your heads down and fight on until help arrives". They held the line, giving time to get reinforcements to the trenches. He was wounded and for his bravery and leadership was awarded the bar.
Sergeant Anstiss was twice mentioned in dispatches, he was demobilised in January 1919. In civilian life he carried on as a carpenter and in later years as a caretaker in a school in Southall. He died peacefully in 1963 aged 73.
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Pte. William Edward Salter 1/8th Btn. Middlesex Regiment (d.16th August 1917) William Salter joined up in 1914 and married my great aunt Maud in January 1917. He was killed at the Battle of Langemark on 16th August 1917. His name is on a panel at Tyne Cot.
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Sgt. William Thurlow 8th Btn. Middlesex Regiment Sergeant William Thurlow left Southampton for Gibraltar aboard the SS Caledonia in September 1914. Also on board was his son, Private Harry Thurlow.
On 26th April 1915 he wrote to his wife to tell her that "we have lost our boy." In May 1915, he writes "It is terrible out here, you get no rest night or day." A letter from France in January 1918, states "We are having a lot of snow, I have not seen so much before. It is very cold up on top of this hill."
William survived the war and returned to his home in Staines. He died in 1946.
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Pte. Harry William Thurlow 8th Btn. Middlesex Regiment (d.25th April 1915)  Harry Thurlow was a soldier in the 8th Battalion Middlesex Regiment (Territorials)- he was aged 18 when he joined. He was a distant relative and his letters sent home during the war are now in my possession. The first was sent from Sittingbourne to his family in Staines. He says "We have been told that we are for the Mediterranean but whereabouts I do not know ... We are billeted in a large empty house which they say is haunted but have not seen a ghost yet ..." From October 1914 to January 1915 several letters were sent from barracks and hutments in Gibralter. His next letter was sent "somewhere near the fighting line ... the last three nights we have been digging trenches." Another letter states "we are billeted in a loft over some stabling." Generally his letters talk about the people back home and do not reveal the true horrors of his experience. In a letter sent from Belgium, he says "I spent my Easter Sunday in the trenches, it is not too bad as they do everything they can for us." In one of his last letters he says "I was just thinking how a nice piece of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, some greens and potatoes will go down when I can get it. Will write another letter tomorrow as I am rather tired now and am just going to sleep. Hope you are in the best of health, from your terrior boy."
The next letter was sent from Harry's father, William Thurlow who was in the same regiment. It reads:
"My Darling Wife. I am sorry to have to write and let you know that we have lost our Boy. He was killed on Sunday. A shell blast in the trench and killed nearly all of them. Harry was asleep at the time so he did not feel any pain. It is awful out here, it is simply murder. We have not got hardly anyone left in our regiment. Thank God I am alright at present, from your heartbroken Hub, Will xxx. God Bless you and help you in this trouble."
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Pte. Richard Henry Matthews 8th Btn., D Coy. Middlesex Regiment (d.1st July 1916) Dick Matthews, a former labourer and motor
driver, was my Grandmother's brother. He was born in Kensington, but for most of his short life lived at 2, White Street, Southall, Middlesex, next to the gasworks. His parents were James and Annie Matthews.
He enlisted in the Territorial Force on the first of January 1912 and served in the 1/8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, D Company, first in Gibraltar and then in France. A letter home to his brother Jack said that he had joined the trench mortar course.
He was reported 'missing believed killed' on the first day of the Somme Offensive 1st of July 1916. He was 21. His name is on the Thiepval Memorial. The only thing that my Grandmother told my uncle about him was that he wept before being sent back to the front.
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Pte. James Lucie 1/8th Btn. Middlesex Regt (d.23rd April 1915) James Lucie was 39 and the father of seven, married to Louise Spooner. His family had come over from Ireland in the potato famine to settle in the Whitechapel area. He was a tram driver at the time the war broke out. His name is on the Menin Gate at Ypres and he died in the Second Battle of Ypres.
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Cpl. Louis Pettitt 13th Btn. Middlesex Regiment (d.20th July 1918) Louis Pettitt enlisted in the 8th Btn Middlesex Regiment in December 1915 and transferred to the 13th Btn in September 1916.
On 19th July 1918 the battalion entered the front line in the Hill 70 Sector, Loos in the area of Gravel Pit Trench, Hugo Trench, Hythe Alley. Louis was killed with two others on 20th July by the detonation of a single shell on a day which was, comparatively, a very quiet day in the trenches.
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Pte. William Herbert Newman 1/8th Battalion Duke of Cambridge Own (Middlesex) Regiment (d.19th Oct 1915) William Newman was my great uncle so of course I never knew him although his younger brother, my late maternal grandfather did mention him a couple of times.
I eventually found him listed in De Ruvignys Roll of Honour 1914-1919. I came across this collection by chance mainly because I had never heard of it before so I was curious. Apparently his father, William Harry Newman, paid to have a piece complete with a photograph inserted in the Roll of Honour. Which, of course, included the address where the family resided at that time.
Back in the 1970's some of the family had gone to see the address and to see where great grandfather had been station sergeant in Southall. I really was pleasantly surprised to learn where he had worked and where he had trained before going to Gibraltar. Then learning where he had died. However, I haven't got a definitive answer to where he is buried. Just the info from the piece saying it was Y Farm that is a British war cemetery in France. Looking forward to paying my respects to him.
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L/Cpl. Alfred Langley 8th Btn. Middlesex Regiment (d.14th May 1915) Alfred Langley enlisted on December 11th 1912 at Brentford Middlesex. He died on 14th of May 1915 of wounds received and is buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery. His medals were donated to the Regimental Museum by my uncle who also served in the Middlesex Regiment.
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Thomas Frederick Langley 8th Battalion Middlesex Regiment Thomas Langley attested aged 15 years and 6 months on 19th July 1912. On 5th August 1914 he was in Embodied Service but on 25th September 1914 he was discharged Medically unfit. I have been unable to find further details regarding Thomas.
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