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The 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment The 2nd Battalion, The Bedfordshire Regiment can be traced back to 1858. In 1914 the battalion was stationed at Roberts Heights near Pretoria in South Africa when war broke out. They were immediately recalled to England, landing at Southampton on 19th September 1914. Having rekitted for European warfare, joined 21st Brigade, 7th Division and left Southampton at 8am 5th October on the S.S. Winifredian and after a brief stop at Dover for supplies, landed in Zeebrugge at 6.30am on the 7th October to assist in the defence of Antwerp, they arrived too late prevent the fall of the city and took up defensive positions at important bridges and junctions to aid in the retreat of the Belgian army. 7th Division met the enemy for the first time in a brief skirmish on the 18th October 1914, around the 10 km marker stone on the Ypres-Menin road. Their involvement in the Great War on the Western Front would last for another forty-nine months, with their last action being fought at Preux-au-Bois on the 4th November 1918, 8 km north east of Le Cateau and not far from their first engagement four years earlier. The Battalion was in action throughout the Western Front, being made up of regular soliders, they were regarded as the primary assault unit and despite sustaining many casualties they always acquitting themselves excellently. The 7th Division became the first British Troops to entrench in front of Ypres, suffering extremely heavy losses in the The First Battle of Ypres. By February 1915 the Division had been reinforced to fighting strength and they were in action at The Battle of Neuve Chapelle, The Battle of Aubers, The Battle of Festubert, The second action of Givenchy and The Battle of Loos. the 2nd Bedfords transferred with 21st Brigade to 30th Division in exchange for 91st Brigade on the 19th of December 1915. In 1916 they were in action during the Battle of the Somme, in which the Division captured Montauban. In 1917 they took part in the pursuit of the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, the Arras Offensive and The Battle of Pilkem Ridge. In 1918 They were in action on The Somme in March 1918 the 2nd Bedfords fought almost to the last man in attempting to stem the German advance after the Russian forces had capitulated, allowing additional troops to be transferred to the Western Front. So heavy were the casualties that they were amalgamated with the 7th Bedfordshire Battalion. On the 22nd of May 1918 they transferred to 54th Brigade, 18th (Eastern) Division and were in action in the Battles of the Hindenburg Line and the Final Advance in Artois. Looking for help with Family History Research?      Please read our Family History FAQ's Thanks to everyone who attended our event We are now on Facebook. Like this page to receive our updates, add a comment or ask a question. If you have a general question please post it on our Facebook page. Dec 2011     Please note we currently have a large backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great Those known to have served with The 2nd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment during the Great War. Select a story link or scroll down to browse those stories hosted on this site. If you have any names to add to this list, or any recollections or photos of those listed, please get in touch. Next Page    Last Page

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