2/6th
(Territorial) Battalion
178th
(2nd Notts & Derby) Brigade, 59th (2nd North Midland) Division
Outline
History
- 1914:
Battalion formed in Chesterfield on 14 September 1914.
- 1915:
Attached to 178th Brigade in the 59th Division.
- 1916:
In mid-April 1916 the battalion was ordered to go to Ireland and
help quell the Easter Rising. It disembarked at Kingstown
on 25 April and moved to Dublin the following day where it was immediately
involved in the violence. Click here for a full casualty
list. For
a good account of the Sherwood Forester's participation in the Easter
Rising see: In
some forgotten corner of a foreign field.
- 1917:
Returned to England in January 1917 and in February it embarked
for Europe. The battalion was involved in several major actions,
notably: The German Retreat to the Hindenburg Line, Battle of the
Menin Road, Battle of Polygon Wood, Battle of Cambrai.
For
an excellent study of the 2/6th's participation in the Battle of
Polygon Wood on 26 September 1917 go to 'A
Study of One Day's Fighting on the Western Front'. (Concentrates
mainly on events concerning the 2/8th Sherwood Foresters in the
same Brigade)
- 1918:
On 7 May 1918 the battalion was reduced in strength, existing only
as a cadre. The men were re-drafted to other battalions. The battalion
was formally disbanded on 31 July. The battalion was involved
in several major actions, notably: The Battle of St Quentin,
The Battle of Bapaume (first), The Battle of Bailleul & Battle
of Kemmel (both constituent parts of the Battles of the Lys).
Other
websites about the Easter Rising
Other
Website Links
- Varieties
of Trench Life, by A. A. Dickson. This Officer was commissioned
into one of the Sherwood Forester's second-line battalions, but
it is not clear which. Nevertheless the article refers to Dublin
and trench life in general so is applicable to the experiences
of the 2/6th, 2/7th and 2/8th Battalions.
Biographies
of 2/6th Men
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