The 2nd/16th Regiment of Foot

The regiment itself had served as one of the line regiments of the British army since 1688 but in 1858 the single battalion 16th Regiment of Foot raised a second Battalion, which later became the 2nd Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment when the County affiliation was introduced in 1881. The new Battalion saw a peaceful introduction into service, which saw them policing the Empire until the South African Wars of 1899 to 1902.

The 2nd battalion arrived at Cape Town with the 12th Brigade of the 6th Division on the 8th January 1900 and remained in the Free State area to help contain the considerable Boer presence whilst a newly raised contingent of Bedford Mounted Infantry were involved in the general advances that took place that year. The 2nd Battalion had a bad start to the campaigns, suffering severely from Enteric Fever as a result of being placed on very bad ground at Bloemfontein and inconclusive actions against strong Boer forces in that area. A more successful operation was seen at Slabberts Nek late that year where 4,000 of De Wet's Commando's surrendered and a month later the 2nd Bedfords and Queenstown Volunteers captured a Boer leader called Oliver and his three sons. September 1901 saw the Battalion's only defeat of the wars when a small party intent on capturing a camp of Boers was tricked, surrounded and captured after a four hour stand against overwhelmingly hopeless odds. The prisoners were later released as the Boers had no facilities for holding them. The rest of the war saw the Battalion conduct themselves well and the period between the South African Wars and the Great War was spent on policing duties between the garrisons in India, Ireland and finally South Africa.

The 2nd Battalion's service in the Great War

The 2nd Battalion were at Roberts Heights near Pretoria (South Africa) at the outbreak of war and were immediately recalled to England, landing at Southampton on 19th September 1914 and forming part of the "Immortal" 7th Division. Having refitted for European warfare, the Division left Southampton at 8am 5th October on the S.S. Winifredian and after a brief stop at Dover for supplies, landed in Zeebrugge at 6.30am on the 7th October.

The Division moved almost 40 miles south to meet the rest of the army and on the 18th October 1914, around the 10km marker stone on the Ypres-Menin road, they met the German Army for the first time in a brief skirmish. The following day saw the Division attack Menin and the battalion were joined in a European battle for the first time. Their involvement in the Great War would last for another forty-nine months, with their last action being fought at Preux-au-Bois on the 4th November 1918, 8 km north east of Le Cateau and not far from their first engagement four years earlier.

The original soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Battalions were amongst the "Old Contemptibles" - the title proudly adopted by the men of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF who saw active service before 22nd November 1914. They were the professional soldiers of the British Army, almost all of whom were regular soldiers or reservists. They took their honourable title from the famous "Order of the Day" given by Kaiser Wilhelm II at his headquarters in Aix-la-Chapelle on the 19th August, 1914:

'It is my Royal and Imperial Command that you concentrate your energies, for the immediate present upon one single purpose, and that is that you address all your skill and all the valour of my soldiers to exterminate first the treacherous English; walk over General French's contemptible little Army."

The 2nd Battalion were in the 21st Brigade of the 7th Division between September 1914 and December 1915, which was made up as follows:

• 2nd Battalion, the Bedfordshire Regiment
• 2nd Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment
• 2nd Battalion, the Royal Scots Fusiliers
• 2nd Battalion, the Wiltshire Regiment
• 1st/4th Battalion, the Cameron Highlanders

With the arrival of the New Armies during 1915, the British Army on the Western Front was reorganised and many of the regular battalions of the army were dispersed amongst the New Army units to provide a "professional" contingent to the Brigades in which they served. On the 20th December 1915, the entire 21st Brigade left for the 30th Division and the Bedfords were moved into the 89th Brigade of that Division. During their service with that Brigade, it was comprised:

• 2nd Battalion, the Bedfordshire Regiment
• 17th Battalion, the King's (Liverpool) Regiment
• 19th Battalion, the King's (Liverpool) Regiment
• 20th Battalion, the King's (Liverpool) Regiment

With the reorganisation of the depleted British Army in February 1918, the 2nd battalion became a part of the 90th Brigade, still within the 30th Division. Many of the men from the disbanded 8th Battalion were absorbed into their ranks, in line with the sweeping changes. Between February and May 1918, their Brigade comprised:

• 2nd Battalion, the Bedfordshire Regiment
• 2nd Battalion, the Royal Scots Fusiliers (until April 1918)
• 16th (1st City) Battalion, the Manchester Regiment (from April 1918)
• 14th Battalion, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (until June 1918)

A further reorganisation was called for in May 1918, as a result of the huge losses suffered by the Fifth Army in March and April. The 7th Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment was disbanded and their rank and file folded into the 2nd Battalion, with the resulting unit joining the 54th Brigade of the 18th (Eastern) Division, where they remained for the duration. The Brigade was made up as follows:

• 2nd Battalion, the Bedfordshire Regiment
• 11th Battalion, the Royal Fusiliers
• 6th Battalion, the Northamptonshire Regiment

The men of the 2nd Battalion served with distinction throughout the Great War, earning hundreds of gallantry medals including the vaunted Victoria Cross. Over 1,600 Officers and men gave their lives for King and Country serving in the Battalion, and around 13,000 were wounded in combat.

Major Battles

The Battalion were engaged in the following major battles throughout the war:

In 1914 they were at the Battle of Ypres 1914 (also known as the First Battle of Ypres) in October and November.

In 1915 they were engaged during The Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March, the Battle of Festubert in May, the Second Action at Givenchy in June and the Battle of Loos in September

In 1916 they were engaged in several phases of The Battle of the Somme, namely the Battle of Albert (including during the opening day when their Division broke the German lines and the assault on Trones Wood) and the Battle of Delville Wood in July, as well as the Battle of Le Transloy in October.

In 1917 they were involved in the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line in March, the Battle of Arras (specifically in the First Battle of the Scarpe in April). During the Battles of Ypres 1917 (known as the Third Battle of Ypres or Passchendaele), the battalion were engaged in the Battle of Pilkem in July and August but were spared direct assaults for the rest of the year, being confined to aggressive patrolling an raiding instead.

In 1918 the battalion were heavily engaged in the First Battles of the Somme 1918 (also called the German Spring Offensives, Operation Michael and Kaiserschlacht), specifically the Battle of St Quentin, the actions at the Somme Crossings and the Battle of Rosieres in March. During the Battle of the Lys, they were also engaged in the First Battle of Kemmel and the Battle of Scherpenberg in April. Once the Allied army went on the final offensives that would become loosely known as the "100 days" they were engaged in several actions - The Battle of Amiens in August, the Second Battles of the Somme 1918, specifically during the Battle of Albert in August and the Second Battle of Bapaume in September. During the Battles of the Hindenburg Line they were involved in the Battle of Epehy and the Battle of the St Quentin Canal in September. Their last major battle was to be the Final Advance in Picardy, when they were engaged during the Battle of the Selle later in October and the Battle of the Sambre on 4th November.