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8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment    The 8th Battalion, The Bedfordshire Regiment was a 'Service' Battalion raised in October 1914 as a part of Kitchener's third army, attached to 71st Brigade, 24th Division. They served on the Western Front from August 1915. On the 11th October 1915 they transferred with 71st Brigade to 6th Division. In 1916 they were again in action at Battle of Flers-Courcelette on The Somme, and again in The Battle of Morval and The Battle of Le Transloy, in 1917 they were in action at Hill 70 and Cambrai. On the 16th of February 1918 the battalion was disbanded and the men were then transferred into the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th Battalions. 10th October 1915 Instruction 16th December 1915  7th Feb 1916 Air Raid   24th Feb 1916 Reliefs Completed 15th Sep 1916 Heavy Casualtiesin 8th Bedfords 25th Sep 1915 8th Bedfords in reserve If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Want to know more about 8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment? There are:5236 items tagged 8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War. Those known to have served with 8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment during the Great War 1914-1918. Bell William James Alfred. Pte. (d.18th May 1917) Cole Herbert Reginald Bruce. Pte. (d.18th April 1917) Jay Albert Charles. Sgt. Odell Arthur William. Pte. (d.25th Sep 1916) Putman Richard William . Pte. (d.26th April 1917) Richardson Alfred Reginald. Cpl. (d.20th Dec 1915) Robinson Archdale Saunders. Pte (d.19th of April 1916) Wells Claude Shaw. Pte (d.19th December 1915) All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List Records of 8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment from other sources. The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website. 1st of September 2023 marks 24 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time. Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the Great War? Our Library contains many many diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. Looking for help with Family History Research?    Please see Family History FAQ's Please note: We are unable to provide individual research. Can you help? 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Arthur William Odell 8th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment (d.25th Sep 1916) Arthur William Odell was born on 17 April 1892, in Marston Moreteyne, Bedfordshire. His was a family struggling with extreme poverty. He was one of 14 children, only 7 of whom survived infancy, the others succumbing to malnutrition in the first months of their lives. His father, Charles, was a farm labourer, his mother, Ada, a dress maker. His elder brother, Albert had left home by the age of 15, to become an apprentice tailor in Luton. In 1907, the family suffered a heavy blow, losing their father to a debilitating illness. Arthur was the oldest remaining son, and the main support for his mother, his two older sisters, and 3 younger brothers. He worked in the nearby brick yards from an early age. Between 23rd and 25th October 1915, he enlisted in the Bedfordshire Regiment at Ampthill, and was assigned to ‘C’ Company, 8th Battalion. Initially he would have gone for training in Surrey. The earliest he would have been sent to France was February 1916, though it is more likely that he went a couple of months later. The strongest possibility is that he went, with other reinforcements, after the heavy hand-to-hand fighting of the night of 19th/20th April 1916, during which the 8th Battalion had suffered very heavy casualties. The first of these reinforcements arrived in France on 13th May. He would have been involved in the front line action on 15th September 1916, the first time the new ‘tanks’ were put into use – his Company was running down the right hand side of the leading ‘tank’. An extract from the Battalion war diary for this date reads – ‘15 September – major offensive against German lines, which went badly wrong, causing heavy casualties. Late in the day, 8th Bn was withdrawn to reserve trenches south east of Guillemont.’ 122 names of those killed in action on this date are recorded, including Henry Charles Randall, a close friend of the family; Charles Whittington, Alfred Two, John Jellis, Leonard Hardy, Herbert Hare, Philip Evans and Arthur Busby – all locals who would have been known to the family at home. In Arthur’s final letter home to his mother he is said to have written that he did not think he would survive much longer, because the artillery fire was so bad. He was killed on the night of 25th September 1916 at Morval, aged 24. The Battalion war diary has the following entry for this date – ‘25 September – trenches between Morval to Lesboeufs. Battalion in reserve to 16IB in attack on German lines between Morval and Les Boeff. Attack commenced at 12.35pm and Battalion moved up to original front line when second objective had been taken about 2.35pm. Casualties from enemy barrage very slight. Attack proved successful and many prisoners were taken. At night Battalion furnished carrying parties to front line Battalion with ammunition and water. C Platoon detached to 1/London Coy RE as working party in captured trenches. C Coy suffered very heavily from enemy shell fire.’ Only one of C Company, 8th Battalion’s 23 dead on this evening is recorded as having been identified and buried in a marked grave. All others are only remembered on the memorial at Thiepval. Photographs of Morval on the morning of the 25th September show it was a clear, sunny, dry day. Unfortunately, his name has been engraved incorrectly on the village war memorial, the Parish Church memorial plaque, and the Stewartby Brickworks plaque – all of which read ‘A J Odell’ rather than ‘A W Odell’. My great-uncle Arthur was the person who started my family history search, after the death of my last grandparent in 1998. I had a need to ‘resurrect’ him, as all who knew him had now gone. The only thing I knew at the start was that he was my paternal grandfather’s older brother, that he had died in the war, and that his name was wrong on the war memorial (I have corrected this on the Roll of Honour website). My father told me that he had asked about his lost uncle more than once, but his father would just sit and cry, so he was unable to offer any more information. I discovered a small, black-bordered ‘In Remembrance’ card amongst some of my grandmother’s papers, which gave me his full name and date of death, so I sent off to ask for copies of his army records. This was when I found out that Arthur’s service and pension records were destroyed in the Blitz. I began in the days when there was little available on the internet, but after 12 years of hunting and letter writing, and occasional checks for new, relevant websites, I finally managed to put his wartime service story together. During this time I was also looking for a photograph, something I dearly wanted to find, but with no luck. Then, many years later when sorting through my grandmother’s old, pre-marriage birthday cards, looking in particular for those written by family members, I found two photographs of a soldier in the uniform of the Bedfordshire Regiment tucked inside one. The resemblance to my grandfather as a young man in his 20s was striking, and having checked the other brothers on both sides of my grandparent’s families, and their cousins who were also of an age to serve, I managed to rule out every single one except for Arthur. Therefore I have no doubt that these photos are of Arthur and that my grandmother had kept them hidden away, not wanting them out to cause upset, but keeping them safely among her own memories. Lilias Odell Add to this record.   Pte Archdale Saunders Robinson 8th Btn Bedfordshire Regiment (d.19th of April 1916) Archdale Robinson was my great uncle. I never knew him but have always been fascinated by him and his short life. He does cause some confusion as he appears to be registered in some areas of the military records as 'Archibald' but his name was definitely Archdale. Archdale served with the Bedfordshire Regiment 8th Battalion in WW1. There is also a family story that he was actually only 16 when he enlisted, fudging his age and therefore only being 18 when he died in France, 19th of April 1916, and not the 21 years officially reported. Either way, it was a tragic thing repeated so many times. He has no known grave and it saddened me beyond belief when I learned that often these 'unknown grave' soldiers drowned in shell holes, or suffocated in them if they were not killed outright. His name is on the gate at Lille in Belgium, that is all. He was a farm labourer and need not have gone to war but wanted to do his bit for King and Country. He went from riding the big shire horses to being killed in the defense of his country and he will always be my hero, along with all of those men and boys that never came home again, be they British or not. Add to this record.   Pte Claude Shaw Wells 8th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment (d.19th December 1915) I believe Claude Wells, born 1896, was my father's cousin. His father was Claude Wells and his mother was Eliza Shaw, a widow. No marriage found. They lived in Midhope Buildings,St Pancras. I can only think I have the right person as war gratuities were paid to mother Eliza, sole legator. I know that Claude Wells senior spent some time in asylums during this period. Claude Shaw Wells died at the age of 18 in Belgium, and his name appears on the Menin Gate Memorial. I shall remember him. Susan Edwards Add to this record.   Pte. Richard William Putman 8th Btn. Bedfordshire Regiment (d.26th April 1917) Private Richard William Putman; born in Houghton Conquest, lived and enlisted in Ampthill, Bedfordshire. Served with the 8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment (service no.22503). He died of his wounds on 26th April 1917 in France and Flanders and is buried in Longuenesse (St. Omer) Souvenir Cemetery, France. He is remembered on both The War Memorial and The Alamada, St. Andrews Church, Ampthill. Information courtesy of www.roll-of-honour.com Caroline Hunt Add to this record.   Pte. Herbert Reginald Bruce Cole 8th Btn. Bedfordshire Regiment (d.18th April 1917) Private Herbert Reginald Bruce Cole, born and enlisted in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, husband of Edith Butcher Cole. Served with the 8th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment (service no. 33789), He died of his wounds on 18th April 1917 in France and Flanders age 23 and is buried in Philosophe British Cemetery, Mazingarbe, France. He is remembered on both The War Memorial and The Alamada, St. Andrews Church, Ampthill. Information courtesy of www.roll-of-honour.com Caroline Hunt Add to this record.   Pte. William James Alfred Bell 8th Btn. Bedfordshire Regiment (d.18th May 1917) My Grandfather was Private William James Alfred Bell of the 8th Btn., Bedfordshire Regiment, who was wounded at Arras. He was the Son of Mr. & Mrs Walter Bell of Barnet Herts. So far I have not been able to establish exactly when and where he was wounded but have discovered that he was transferred to the Hospital in Calais and died there on Friday 18th May 1917. He is buried in the Calais Southern Cemetery. He died aged 35 leaving his wife and two sons aged 2 and 3 years old. Jeff Bell Add to this record.   Sgt. Albert Charles Jay I have just found my Grandfathers service record and it has created more questions because I don't understand the Army lingo. He was Albert Charles Jay who joined the 8th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment in 1914, he actually left in December 1914. In May 1916 he joined the army again for the duration of the war, he was transferred to the Royal Flying Corps on the 31st March 1918 as a Corporal and became Royal Air Force on 1st April 1918 and they are the service papers I found. He was a Private when he left the Army and a Sergeant when the war ended. His Classification is listed as Disciplinarian, I dread to think what that means. I can't find out where he was or what he did during the war, he was supposed to have gone overseas but I can't see any info on that. I have two photos of him , which I will post on here. In a group where he is a Sergeant so I am assuming that was the RFC and on his own but in a different looking uniform. If any one can give me any information about what he would have done in the Army before the transfer or what his duties as a Disaplinarian in the RAC would have been, I would be very grateful. Editor's Note: Private Albert Charles Jay served with the 8th Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment until 31st December 1914 and re-enlisted on the 31st May 1916 (Army unit not stated). He transferred into the Royal Flying Corps on the 31st March 1918. The Royal Flying Corps was renamed the Royal Air Force on the 1st April 1918. He was promoted Corporal and transferred to the Royal Air Force. He was promoted acting Sergeant (unpaid) on the 1st August 1918 and promoted Sergeant on the 25th Sep 1918. He was posted to C&S Upavon Dispersal Area on the 27th July 1919 for discharge, discharged to RAF Reserve in August 1919. Cannot find any record of the type of work he did or the army unit he served in from 1916 until move to RAF. In civilian life he had been a horse keeper at MICE(?) Railway. [Can find no reference to this historically] On his Marriage certificate - married on 4th August 1912 to Abigail Eliza Willson - his occupation is described as store keeper. Occupation in 1911 census was labourer. Quite a few of his siblings worked on the railways. Father was William Jay. Family lived in Islington area from Albert's birth in 1888. June Whitehouse Add to this record.   Cpl. Alfred Reginald Richardson 8th Btn Bedfordshire Regiment (d.20th Dec 1915) Albert Reginald Ricardson was 31 years old, he was my Great Uncle and he died in the field Flanders Ypres. Albert Left a wife Amy and 5 year old son Edward. Based on his service number, Albert enlisted very early in September 1914. This was during the huge rush to answer Kitchener’s famous ‘call to arms’ that created three new armies of 100,000 men each in September. After being posted to the 8th Battalion, he trained around Brighton, Reigate and Blackdown, and was involved in building what were called the London Defences. He went to France on 30 August 1915, along with his battalion when they were mobilised for foreign service. His were one of the very few units to be engaged in the Battle of Loos in September, before his division had even been into the trenches. After a few months of trench warfare, Albert was killed during the Gas and artillery attack on his battalion’s section of trench north-east of Ypres. The bulk of the artillery was thrown at them 19 December so Albert was either killed in the shelling as it continued, or he died from wounds or gas the following day. This was also the first use of Phosgene gas in history, which was a particularly nasty and effective gas when first released. As he is remembered on the Menin Gate memorial, his body was either not found or his grave was lost during the fighting that continued in the area for 3 more years. Dawn Richardson Add to this record. Recomended Reading. Available at discounted prices.

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