The Bedfordshire Regiment in the Great War
The entire 6th Battalion, July 1915
In July 1915, the 6th Battalion were in their final stages of training before deploying to the Western Front. Each platoon and specialist section had their photographs taken and, thanks to Chris Shreeves and Mrs J. Warner, whose ancestor was Sergeant 10550 Albert Ginn of the 6th Battalion's No.11 Platoon, the entire collection is below.
If you can add names to any of the faces, please feel free to contact me and do so!
The Battalion on Parade, Salisbury Plain |
The Regimental Staff Lieutenant-Colonel Hubert Frederick Barclay (Commanding Officer), seated fourth from the left, front row. Major Bertie Phillip Newbolt (Second in Command), seated third from the left, front row Captain F.H.A. Leyborne-Popham (Adjutant), seated fifth from the left, front row Major Reginald le Huquet, seated fourth from the left, front row Seated second from the left appears to be the Battalion Transport Officer, which would make him Lieutenant Charles Chamier, MC, MID Lieutenant and Quartermaster Joseph Archibald Martin Hislop, probably seated front row, second from the right Regimental Sergeant Major 7171 Walter H. Major Headland, MC, seated front row, first left Standing, first left is the battalion Pioneer Sergeant Lieutenant J. H. G. Hunter (Medical Officer), seated far right on the front row The battalion Pioneer Sergeant is standing far left Next to him is the Sergeant Cook |
The Officers The Wasp (p242) lists the following officers went to France in 1915, who presumably comprise the group in this photograph: Lieutenant-Colonel Hubert Frederick Barclay (Commanding Officer), seated sixth from the left, front row. Major Bertie Phillip Newbolt (Second in Command), seated fifth from the left, front row Captain F.H.A. Leyborne-Popham (Adjutant), seated seventh from the left, front row Major Reginald le Huquet, seated fourth from the left, front row Captain Frederick Goulden Mackenzie (all Captains are seated on the front row) Captain Richard Evelyn Horsford (all Captains are seated on the front row) Captain Dennis Henry Blake (all Captains are seated on the front row) Captain Garth Bignell (Killed) (all Captains are seated on the front row) Captain Percy Alexander Irving (all Captains are seated on the front row) Captain G. W. Courtney (all Captains are seated on the front row) Lieutenant Walter Melville Wace, MC Lieutenant Reginald Caunter Carthew, MC Lieutenant G.D. Meiklereid Lieutenant Arthur Tyler Hitch, DSO Second Lieutenant Frederick Gerald Bazalgette Lucas, killed in August 1917 Second Lieutenant George Geoffrey C. Bull Second Lieutenant Ronald Henry Rose, killed in April 1917 Second Lieutenant Ronald Herbert Columbine Second Lieutenant Harold John Cunningham, MC Second Lieutenant Edmund W. A. Peach Second Lieutenant George Arthur Smith-Masters, the first officer death, killed by a sniper the month after this photo was taken Second Lieutenant Walter Edwin Alwyn, MC Second Lieutenant John Henry Addington Love Second Lieutenant Ernest Dann, killed within months of the photograph being taken Second Lieutenant John H.H. Browne Second Lieutenant Sidney Herbert Davidson Lieutenant Charles Chamier, MC, MID (Transport Officer) Lieutenant J. H. G. Hunter (Medical Officer), seated far right on the front row Lieutenant and Quartermaster Joseph Archibald Martin Hislop, probably seated front row, first on the left |
The Warrant Officers and Sergeants A good proportion of these men had seen service before the war; there is a liberal sprinkling of South African War medal ribbons, Long Service chevrons and proficiency badges among them. Lieutenant-Colonel Hubert Frederick Barclay (Commanding Officer) is seated sixth from the left, front row Captain F.H.A. Leyborne-Popham (Adjutant), is seated seventh from the left, front row. Regimental Sergeant Major 7171 Walter H. Major Headland, MC, is seated fifth from the left on the front row. The Company Sergeant Majors complete much of the front (seated) row The Battalion's Pioneer Sergeant is seated on the floor, second from the left. |
The Drums Captain F.H.A. Leyborne-Popham (Adjutant), is seated third from the right, front row. |
The Band Captain F.H.A. Leyborne-Popham (Adjutant), is seated fourth from the left, front row. |
The Corporals Lieutenant-Colonel Hubert Frederick Barclay (Commanding Officer) is seated fifth from the left, front row Captain F.H.A. Leyborne-Popham (Adjutant), is seated sixth from the left, front row. Regimental Sergeant Major 7171 Walter H. Major Headland, MC, is seated fourth from the left on the front row.
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The Grenadiers Seated, centre, is the battalion Bombing Officer, although I have not established which of the Second Lieutenants he is to date. |
The Stretcher Bearers Lieutenant J. H. G. Hunter (Medical Officer) is seated in the centre |
The Machine Gun Section |
The Signallers |
The Cooks |
Number 1 Platoon Major Reginald le Huquet, seated sixth from the left, front row |
Number 2 Platoon Major Reginald le Huquet, seated sixth from the left, front row |
Number 3 Platoon Major Reginald le Huquet, seated seventh from the left, front row Regimental Sergeant Major 7171 Walter H. Major Headland, MC, is seated fourth from the left on the second seated row. |
Number 4 Platoon Major Reginald le Huquet, seated sixth from the left, front row |
Number 5 Platoon |
Number 6 Platoon |
Number 7 Platoon |
Number 8 Platoon |
Number 9 Platoon |
Number 10 Platoon |
Number 11 Platoon Second row from the bottom (first standing row), second from the left is someone you do not see that often in Great War photos. He also appears in a 6th Battalion Scouts group photo, but establishing an identity has - so far - been elusive. Any suggestions would be welcomed as he is the only soldier I have seen in the regiment so far with (presumably) colonial parent(s)? |
Number 12 Platoon |
Number 13 Platoon |
Number 14 Platoon |
Number 15 Platoon |
Number 16 Platoon |
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