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14th (1st Birmingham) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment
14th (1st Birmingham Pals) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment was raised in Birmingham in September 1914 by the Lord Mayor and a local committee. After training they joined 95th Brigade, 32nd Division on the 26 June 1915. They proceeded to France on the 21st of November 1915, landing at Boulogne. On the 28th December 1915 they transferred to 13th Brigade, 5th Division as part of an exchange designed to strengthen the newly arrived 32nd Division with more experienced troops. In March 1916 5th Division took over a section of front line between St Laurent Blangy and the southern edge of Vimy Ridge, near Arras. They moved south in July to reinforce The Somme and were in action at, High Wood, The Battle of Guillemont, The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, The Battle of Morval and The Battle of Le Transloy. In October they moved to Festubertand remained there until March 1917 when they moved in preparation for the Battles of Arras. On 7 September 1917 the 5th Division moved out of the line for a period of rest before, being sent to Flanders where they were in action during the Third Battle of Ypres. 5th Division was sent to Italy and took up positions in the line along the River Piave in late January 1918. They were recalled to France to assist with the German Advance in late March 1918 and were in action during the Battles of the Lys. On the 14th of August 1918 the 5th Division was withdrawn for two weeks rest. Then moved to The Somme where they were more or less in continuous action over the old battlegrounds until late October 1918. They saw action in the Battles of the Hindenburg Line and the Final Advance in Picardy. On the 5th of October 1918 the Birmingham Pals became a Pioneer Battalion with 5th Division. At the Armistice they were in the area of Le Quesnoy and moved to Belgium to the area around Namur and Wavre in December and demobilization began.
17th April 1915 5th Division Attack 
2nd of December 1915 Units Arrive
20th of December 1915 Deserter Taken
28th of December 1915 Retaliatory Firing
1st Jan 1916 Second Spell in the Trenches
1st of January 1916 Night-time Shelling
2nd of January 1916 Direct Hits
13th of January 1916 5th Division in Reserve
1st of February 1916
24th of February 1916 Snow
3rd of March 1916 Relief
14th of March 1916 MG Coy Arrive
13th of April 1916 Brigade Relief
25th of April 1916 TMs Active
4th of June 1916 Germans Raid Trenches
20th of July 1916 Positions of Units
23rd of July 1916 Longueval Attack Report
24th of July 1916 Reliefs
25th of July 1916 Enemy Advances
30th of July 1916 Artillery Active
31st of July 1916 KOSBs Hold Line
5th of August 1916 Divisional Dispositions
27th of August 1916 Divisional Dispositions
30th of August 1916 Enemy Artillery Active
31st of August 1916 Warning Order Issued
1st Sep 1916 Orders Received
1st of September 1916 Enemy SOS
4th of September 1916 Units Mixed Up
19th of September 1916 In the Front Line
21st of September 1916 Situation Normal
23rd of September 1916 Reliefs
25th of September 1916 Instructions for Tanks
30th of September 1916 Dispositions
13th of October 1916 Reliefs
27th of October 1916 Raid Report
31st of October 1916 Distribution
2nd of November 1916 Patrol Reports Welcomed
30th of November 1916 Enemy Baling Out
1st of December 1916 Enemy Artillery Active
2nd of December 1916 Raiding Party Fails
4th of December 1916 German Trenches Damaged
6th of December 1916 Working Parties Dispersed
10th of December 1916 Working Parties Dispersed
14th of December 1916 A Combined Shoot
20th of December 1916 German TMs Active
21st of December 1916 Ferme Cour d'Avoue Shelled
22nd of December 1916 Quiet Day
24th of December 1916 Germans Very Active
29th of December 1916 Artillery Quieter
5th of January 1917 Aeroplanes Active
6th of January 1917 German Guns Quiet
9th of January 1917 Spotted Dog Shelled
13th of January 1917 Retaliation "Feeble"
17th of January 1917 Guns Active
20th of January 1917 Active Artillery
21st of January 1917 Our TMs Active
26th of January 1917 TMs Busy
30th of January 1917 Hostile TMs Busy
1st of February 1917 Balloon Spotted
3rd of February 1917 Artillery Active
5th Feb 1917 In Dugout
6th of February 1917 Fairly Quiet
7th of February 1917 Feeble Retaliation
9th of February 1917 Little TM Retaliation
12th of February 1917 Artillery Quiet
15th of February 1917 Enemy TMs Fall Short
17th of February 1917 TMs Quiet
19th of February 1917 Our Guns Active
21st of February 1917 Our Guns Active
28th of February 1917 Artillery Quiet
1st of March 1917 POWs Taken
4th of March 1917 Damage Caused by Heavies
6th of March 1917 Brigades Attached
8th of March 1917 Divisional Relief
9th of March 1917 TMs Very Active
11th of March 1917 Auchy Heavily Shelled
14th of March 1917 Pekin Trench Hit
15th of March 1917 Brigade Relief
20th of March 1917 Composite Division Formed
24th of March 1917 Pioneers On the Move
27th of March 1917 In Corps Reserve
2nd of April 1917 Positions
8th of April 1917 HQ Moves
11th of April 1917 Dispositions
12th of April 1917 Orders and Reliefs
13th of April 1917 A Push Forward
14th of April 1917 Orders to Move
18th of April 1917 Divisional Front Readjusted
21st of April 1917 Operations Postponed
22nd of April 1917 Warning Order Received
24th of April 1917 35 Minute Bombardment
25th of April 1917 Canadians Take Over Front
28th of April 1917 Rest and Training
5th of May 1917 Wood Shelled
6th of May 1917 Enemy Guns Active
8th of May 1917 Orders to Attack
9th of May 1917 No Further Advance
10th of May 1917 Enemy Concentration Reported
11th of May 1917 Enemy Guns Active
12th of May 1917 Bailleul Shelled
13th of May 1917 Front Line Shelled
15th of May 1917 Very Quiet Day
17th of May 1917 A Surprise Attack
20th of May 1917 Guns Active
21st of May 1917 Quiet Night
22nd of May 1917 Quiet Day
23rd of May 1917 Enemy Withdrawal?
24th of May 1917 Relief Completed
26th of May 1917 Quiet Day
31st May 1917 Work and Training
2nd of June 1917
9th of June 1917 A Relief
10th of June 1917 Minor Op Planned
13th Jun 1917 Reliefs
14th of June 1917 Relief
15th of June 1917 Relief Completed
16th June 1917 Quiet Night
17th of June 1917 Quiet Day
18th of June 1917 Aircraft Active
19th of June 1917 Quiet Day
21st of June 1917 Brigade Relief Completed
25th of June 1917 Raid Fails
26th of June 1917 Quiet Day
27th of June 1917 Successful Raid
28th of June 1917 Successful Operation
1st of July 1917 Front Line Adjusted
5th of July 1917 Our Trenches Damaged
6th of July 1917 A Brigade Relief
10th of July 1917 A Raid Ordered
12th of July 1917 Back Areas Shelled
17th of July 1917 Quiet Time
18th of July 1917 Direct Hits Made
19th of July 1917 Situation Quiet
21st of July 1917 Back Areas Shelled
23rd of July 1917 Minenwerfer Active
26th of July 1917 Very Quiet
27th of July 1917 Gas Attack
29th of July 1917 Brigade Relief
1st of August 1917 MG Activity
3rd of August 1917 Snipers Active
4th of August 1917 Hostile Shelling
7th of August 1917 A German Raid
10th of August 1917 Mostly Quiet
13th of August 1917 Two Minute Barrage
16th of August 1917 MGs Active
19th of August 1917 Gas Drums Plan
22nd of August 1917 Railway Shelled
25th of August 1917 TMs Hit Oppy Wood
27th of August 1917 Quiet Time
31st August 1917 Quiet Time
3rd of September 1917 Quiet
5th of September 1917 Brigades on the March
6th of September 1917 Gas Shelling
7th of September 1917 Training
9th of October 1917 Hostile Guns Active
10th of September 1917 Division to Move
11th of September 1917 Artillery Marches
25th of September 1917 Entraining Continues
3rd of October 1917 More Heavy Shelling
4th of October 1917 Attack Launched
5th of October 1917 Quieter Night
10th of October 1917 "Intense Barrage" Endured
11th of October 1917 Snipers Active
14th of October 1917 Training
17th of October 1917 Training
18th of October 1917 Training
21st of October 1917 Offensive to be Resumed
22nd of October 1917 On the Move
24th of October 1917 Enemy Retaliates
26th of October 1917 Intermittent Shelling
27th of October 1917 Quiet Time
28th of October 1917 Enemy Guns "Above Normal"
4th of November 1917 Heavy shelling
6th of November 1917 Attack Launched
8th of November 1917 Fairly Quiet
11th of November 1917 Quiet Time
14th of November 1917 95th Brigade Entrain
18th of November 1917 121st Battery Moves
19th of November 1917 Pioneers Move
26th of November 1917 HQ Closes and Re-opens
27th of November 1917 Entraining for Italy
28th of November 1917 Entraining for Italy
9th of April 1918 Orders
10th of April 1918 Relief Postponed
12th of April 1918 Attack Ordered
13th of April 1918 Enemy Attacks
14th of April 1918 Attacks and Counter-Attacks
15th of April 1918 Another Enemy Attack
16th of April 1918 Situation Quiet
18th of April 1918 Artillery Active
19th of April 1918 A Raiding Party
22nd of April 1918 A Gas Attack
23rd of April 1918 Constant Shelling
25th of April 1918 Division Attacks
28th of April 1918 Artillery Quieter
30th of April 1918 Artillery Very Active
3rd of May 1918 Enemy Artillery Active
4th of May 1918 Situation Quiet
10th of May 1918 Gas Shells Used
15th of May 1918 Our Heavies Busy
17th of May 1918 Active Artillery
22nd of May 1918 Enemy Active
23rd of May 1918 Quiet Night
30th of May 1918 A Relief
5th of June 1918 Brigade Relief
13th of June 1918 Brigade Relief Completed
15th of June 1918 Operation Proposed
20th of June 1918 Situation Unchanged
22nd of June 1918 Slight Activity
25th of June 1918 WO95/1510/4
29th of June 1918 Enemy Guns Active
1st of July 1918 Situation Unchanged
7th of July 1918 Gas Shelling
12th of July 1918 Back Areas Bombed
18th of July 1918 Our Guns Active
24th of July 1918 Relief Completed
28th of July 1918 Quiet
31st of July 1918 Relief Completed
9th of August 1918 Training
10th of August 1918 Training
13th of August 1918 Entraining Commenced
15th of August 1918 Training
17th of August 1918 Training
21st of August 1918 Division Advances
23rd of August 1918 Division Attacks
24th of August 1918 5th Division Co-operates
25th of August 1918 Brigades Move
26th of August 1918 Enemy Retreats
27th of August 1918 Quiet
28th of August 1918 Situation Unchanged
29th of August 1918 Enemy Evacuate Town
30th of August 1918 Advance Continues
31st of August 1918 Counter-Attack
1st of September 1918 Attack Sucessful
2nd of September 1918 Strongly Defended
3rd of September 1918 Enemy Withdraws
4th of September 1918 Divisional Relief
5th of September 1918 Rest and Training
17th of September 1918 Back Areas Bombed
18th of September 1918 Attack Commences
19th of September 1918 Enemy Guns Quiet
20th of September 1918 Quiet Time
22nd of September 1918 Field Guns Active
30th of September 1918 Divisional Relief
1st of October 1918 Division Relieved
9th of October 1918 On the Move
10th of October 1918 On the Move
18th of October 1918 Gas Shelling
2nd of November 1918 Warning of Advance
8th of December 1918 Orders
2nd of January 1919 Orders
10th of January 1919 Locations
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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| Want to know more about 14th (1st Birmingham) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment? There are:5482 items tagged 14th (1st Birmingham) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire 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.
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Those known to have served with14th (1st Birmingham) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment during the Great War 1914-1918. - Cook Ernest. Pte. (d.27th October 1917)
- Drake Robert John . L/Cpl. (d.26th October 1917)
- Fitt Arthur Leonard. Pte
- Gilks Frank. Pte. (d.13th Apr 1918)
- Harrison Walter Edward. Pte. (d.4th Feb 1917)
- Herring John Ivor. Pte. (d.3rd Sep 1916)
- Hunter Joseph Finlayson. Pte. (d.6th Jul 1918)
- Jordan Lawrence. Pte. (d.23rd July 1916)
- Laxon Charles Norman.
- Leeding Tom. Pte. (d.5th May 1918)
- Mayrick Thomas. Pte. (d.28th Sep 1916)
- Morris Sydney Spencer. Pte. (d.27th Sep 1918)
- Richardson Thomas Wilson. Pte. (d.7th May 1917)
- Richardson Thomas Wilson. Pte. (d.7th May 1917)
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 14th (1st Birmingham) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment from other sources.
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Pte. Thomas Wilson Richardson 14th (1st Birmingham) Btn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment (d.7th May 1917) Thomas Richardson was born in Alcester on 10th Oct 1883.
He served with the 14th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment in WW1 and was killed in action on 7th of May 1917 during the 3rd Battle of Scarpe attack on Fresnoy en Gohelle.
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Pte. Walter Edward Harrison 14th Btn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment (d.4th Feb 1917) In Feb 2018, a photo of Walter Harrison's original grave marker, and a letter were discovered, they had been hidden away in the wall of a home for over 101 years.
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L/Cpl. Robert John Drake 14th (1st Birmingham) Btn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment (d.26th October 1917) Robert Drake, son of Walter and Rebecca Drake of 63 Corn Street, Witney, lived in Eaton Socon. He served with the 14th (1st Birmingham) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment and was killed in action on 26th of October 1917 age 24 years near Ypres. He has no known grave and is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial. He is also remembered on the grave of his parents in Eaton Socon churchyard, Cambridgeshire. A pupil of Bedford Modern School 1906-10, he is commemorated on the School War Memorial, which was unveiled in 1923 and in the Roll of Honour, published in The Eagle, December 1923. Information courtesy of www.roll-of-honour.com.
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Pte. Ernest Cook 14th Btn. Royal Warwickshire Regimen (d.27th October 1917) Ernest Cook died on a "quiet day" in the dying embers of the Battle of Paschenndale. Memorialized at Tyne Cot but still remembered by his sisters family and his 90 year old nephew.
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Pte. John Ivor Herring 14th Btn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment (d.3rd Sep 1916) John Herring married my great aunt Kate Jennings, just a few months before he was killed in the assault on Guillemont. Born in Atherstone, Warwickshire in 1892, the son of a doctor, he worked as a bank clerk before joining the 14th Battalion, the 1st Birmingham Pals. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, alongside those thousands like him who simply disappeared. Unlike so many war widows, Kate's story had a happier ending. She married again and raised a family before dying at a good age, but the scar never faded.
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Pte. Lawrence Jordan 14th Btn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment (d.23rd July 1916) Lawrence Jordan was born at St Catherine's Dublin in 1896. He served and died with the 14th Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. He was killed in action in Battle of the Somme on 23rd July 1916.
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Pte. Sydney Spencer Morris 14th Btn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment (d.27th Sep 1918) Sydney Morris was killed in action on the 27th of September 1918 and is commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois Memorial in France. Born at Wolverton, in 1898.
He was the son of Mark and Annie Morris (nee Cowley) Brother of Herbert, Percival, Hilda, Harold, Frank, Alfred and Clarice. Grandson of George and Antonia Morris and Martin and Esther Cowley.
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Charles Norman Laxon 14th Btn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment My grandfather Charles Laxon was one of the Birmingham Pals who was called up in 1915. He was originally conscripted into what was 14th Service Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, according to his recruitment form dated 1915. This later became 13th Brigade, 5th Division. He had served a voluntary role with the Imperial Warwickshire Yeomanry prior to this according to the call-up papers I have seen.
Grandad was a 28-year-old solicitor's clerk working at the City Hall in Coventry in 1915, and was married with two young children (my father being his only son aged 7 at the time).
He was gassed in the 3rd Battle of Ypres and sent back to Blighty in very poor health.
I have a small silver teaspoon engraved with the word 'YPRES' which he somehow managed to collect (or even buy). He had brought it home as a gift for my grandmother; his beloved wife. I visited Ypres this year 2014, and was heartbroken to see acres and acres of headstones at each cemetery I visited.
What a shocking price these men all paid for us to have our freedom today.
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Pte. Tom Leeding 14th Btn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment (d.5th May 1918) 33762 Private Tom Leeding served with the 14th Batt. Royal Warwickshire Regiment and died of wounds on the 5 May 1918 and is buried at the Aire Communal Cemetery which at the time was used by the 54th Casualty Clearing Station.
There is no record of Tom marrying in England and family folk lore says he married a French lady. We have photographs of Tom alone and also a posed shot which could have been taken at his wedding.Seeking leads on where we might find further information.
He previously served with the RASC, service No. 021112.
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Pte. Thomas Mayrick 14th btn. Royal Warwickshire Regt (d.28th Sep 1916) Pte Thomas Mayrick died of wounds at Netley on the 28th Sept 1916, he was 22 years old. He was buried at St Lawrence's Church, Bidford-on-Avon.
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