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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar greatThe 8th Battalion. Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
The 8th Btn. Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry was raised at Pontefract in September 1914 as part of K3 and attached to 70th Brigade in 23rd Division. They undertook training in England at Pontefract, Frensham, Aldershot, Hythe and Bordon in May, before proceeding to France. They landed at Boulogne in August 1915 and saw action on the western front at Vimy Ridge, The Somme, Messines and Passchendaele. In November 1917 they moved with the 23rd Division to Italy, taking over the front line at the Montello on the 4th of December 1917. They saw atction on the Asiago Plateau and the Battle of Vittorio Veneto.
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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.
Those known to have served with The 8th Btn. Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry during the Great War.
Select a story link or scroll down to browse those stories hosted on this site.
- Pte. Harry Atkinson 8th Btn. (d.1st July 1916) Read their Story.
- Cpl. Ernest Cooling 8th Battalion (d.1st Jul 1916)
- Pte. Sidney Haigh 8th Btn (d.8th Jun 1917) Read their Story.
- Pte. William Henry Langford 8th Btn. (d.1st Jul 1916) Read their Story.
- Pte. Joseph Henry Oxby 8th Btn. (d.7th Jun 1917) Read their Story.
If you have any names to add to this list, or any recollections or photos of those listed, please get in touch.
Pte. Harry Atkinson 8th Btn. Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (d.1st July 1916)
My Great Uncle Harry Atkinson was killed in action on the 1st day of the Battle of the Somme.
Pte. Joseph Henry Oxby 8th Btn. Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (d.7th Jun 1917)
Joseph Henry Oxby was my great Uncle. I have post cards sent from him to my relatives from the front. All I know is that he was killed at Messines and he was never found. I have found his name on the Menin Gate, and on the memorial in Canwick.
On the otherside of my Grandparents, my Grand mother's father was killed near Tyne cot with the 5th koyli. A book has been published by Malcom Johnson about him called "Surely we are winning" I have spoken to Malcom Johnson about my interest in doing a follow up to his book, with myself cycling the places where he was. I would like to find any more info about Joseph, and also a cousin of his called Joseph, and brother Robert. All were killed in action. There is also a Harold Oxby killed 23rd Oct 1917 whilst with the Royal Field Artillery, buried at Buffs Road Cemetery.
It seems my family made a large sacrifice in the Ypres area.
Pte. William Henry Langford 8th Btn. King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (d.1st Jul 1916)
My mother was 2 days from her first birthday when her father was killed. He had come from Storridge in Worcestershire with his brother George Ernest, when the coal mines in Wales closed down and they wanted and found work in the West Yorkshire coal fields, living in Normanton W Yorkshire and marrying 2 cousins there. My mother knew little of her father because her mother told her he was blown to pieces and never found, and she, mother, married again but died when my mother was just 14, in Normanton W Yorkshire leaving mum to leave school to look after 5 children - her step brothers and sisters.
It wasn't until I began researching my family tree that I found a photo of 'grandad' and also that he had a grave near ALbert in N France, being killed on July 1st 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme. I always promised mum I would take her there but sadly she died before I managed it................ BUT On June 27th this year, I am going across with a trip arranged by the British legion, to stay in the Somme area/Albert and to visit the graveyard where grandad is buried and see his grave.I'll stay in the Union Jack Hotel in Waterloo London at each end of my trip. I cannot wait - it will be very emotional and I will only visit once - mum will be with me in spirit and I can add my visit to my Family Tree, with pride and thanks.
Pte. Sidney Haigh 8th Btn Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (d.8th Jun 1917)
Sidney Haigh was 19 years old, married and had one daughter. He lost his life on the 8th of June 1917, he has no known grave and is remembered on the Menin Gate in Ypres.
Recomended Reading.
Available at discounted prices.
BENEATH HILL 60 tells the extraordinary true story of Oliver Woodward, the legendary Australian metal scientist. In 1916, Woodward faced the most difficult decision, ultimately having to separate from his new young love for the deadly carnage of the Western Front. On treacherous territory, behind the German enemy lines, Woodward and his secret platoon of Australian tunnelers face a suicidal battle to defend a leaking, tunnel system. A tunnel packed with enough high explosives to change the course of the War.More information on:
Beneath Hill 60 [DVD]
Nigel Cave
The shell-ravaged landscape of Hill 60, some three miles south east of Ypres, conceals a labyrinth of tu nnels and underground workings. This book offers a guide to the memorials, cemeteries and museums at the site 'More information on:
Hill 60: Ypres (Battleground Europe)
Will Davies
'Ten seconds, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one - fire! Down goes the firing switch. At first, nothing. Then from deep down there comes a low rumble, and it as if the world is spliting apart...' On 7th June 1917, nineteen massive mines exploded beneath Messines Ridge near Ypres. The largest man-made explosion in history up until that point shattered the landscape and smashed open the German lines. Ten thousand German soldiers died. Two of the mines - at Hill 60 and the Caterpillar - were fired by men of the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company, comprising miners and engineers rather than parade-ground soldiers. Drawing on the diaries of one of the key combatants, "Benealth Hill 60" tells the little-known, devastatingly brutal true story of this subterranean war waged beneath the Western Front - a stygian battle-ground where men drowned in viscous chalk, suffocated in the blue gray clay, choked on poisonous air or died in the darkness, caught up up in vicious hand-to-hanMore information on:
Beneath Hill 60 [Paperback]
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