The Keep Military Museum, Dorchester, Dorset

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Regimental Timelines

For two relatively small regiments that recruited from the rural counties of the Westcountry, to have no less than five battalions in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme was quite remarkable. Their experiences reflected the fate of units fighting all along the battle front on the on the 1st July 1916. Two battalions embraced disaster, one had a lucky escape and the final two had by the end of the day successfully reached their objectives. Therefore, their fates are a reflection of the first day of the great battle as a whole.

Fortunately, those officers and soldiers of the Regiments who fought and in many cases gave their lives, have left a variety of documents and photographs for the benefit of their successors and students of military history. These pages contain a selection of the most accessible items from the regimental archive and library and from extracts of individuals' personal diaries.

Of the five battalions, two were Regular Army, albeit having suffered heavy casualties in almost two years of war, and three were Service Battalions. These battalions were the Westcountry equivalent of Pals battalions. However, without the mass populations of the urban north in the towns and cities of Devon and Dorset, the battalions very much maintained the atmosphere of county regiments.