Derbyshire Lads: The Sherwood Foresters: 2/8th Battalion

2/8th (Territorial) Battalion

178th (2nd Notts & Derby) Brigade, 59th (2nd North Midland) Division

Outline History

1914: Battalion formed in Newark on 11 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 2/8th'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'.
1918: The battalion was formally disbanded on 6 February as part of army reorganisation.

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 2/8th Men

Shannon, John Henry. Private, 2/8th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby) Regiment, killed in action, 7th June 1917, aged 23 [www.jacksdale.org.uk]


Navigation
2/8th (Territorial) Battalion 178th (2nd Notts & Derby) Brigade, 59th (2nd North Midland) Division Outline History 1914: Battalion formed in Newark on 11 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 2/8th'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'. 1918: The battalion was formally disbanded on 6 February as part of army reorganisation. Other websites about the Easter Rising 1916: The Rising A Terrible Beauty: The Rising The 1916 Rebellion 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 2/8th Men Shannon, John Henry. Private, 2/8th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby) Regiment, killed in action, 7th June 1917, aged 23 [www.jacksdale.org.uk]