The Bedfordshire Regiment in the Great War
Why develop this site?
As with most specific historical interests, my own started with a family member. I am incredibly proud to say that my Great Grandfather was one of the Regiment's Vickers and Lewis Gunners who fell in the Great War, and several other of my family members served in the regiment before, during and after the Great War. Finding out what happened to them was not easy as information on the regiment was very limited when I started looking at their service (before the days of the internet), so this site is in place simply to provide information that may not otherwise be readily available, thus ensuring soldiers like them can be researched and remembered.
In spite of it's long and eventful history, the Bedfordshire Regiment was never a 'fashionable' regiment outside of the counties of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire; it was a typical, reliable, county Regiment of the Line which held no royal title and wore standard infantry clothing. It took it's post in the main battle lines without fuss or drama, garrisoned and policed the Empire as their orders dictated and quietly went about its business. Yet when called on for dogged determination or remarkable feats, the men bearing the distinctive cap badge never came up short.
Having collected much information while learning about my own ancestors and having been pulled into the story of the regiment itself in the process, I found myself considering what to do with the information and decided to put this collective knowledge to good use and help others in their search for information on their ancestor's exploits. With this in mind, around 2002 I started to create this site.
Although the Regiment is the backbone of this site, the individuals, their experiences and bravery in the face of adversity that no human should ever be subjected to, is what I really wish to portray. The feats of that generation were nothing short of incredible. Their efforts and endurance are, quite simply, the reason we live as we do today and I strongly believe that their sacrifice should never be forgotten or taken for granted.
Contact
This is a personal site, funded entirely by myself and is purely a platform for the regiment's soldiers and their stories so I don't entertain advsertising, cookies, or any other such nonsense. It is not connected in any way to any organisation and has no commercial interest so please don't ask me to consider requests along those lines as I am unlikely to reply, because it will stop me from helping those who have an interest in the soldiers and their stories.
If you would still like to make contact, please either visit the YouTube channel or use the bedfordshireregiment@gmail.com email address, as the site will be archived in 2024 so the historical one will cease to exist.
Site built by Steven Fuller, 2003 to 2023