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The South Staffordshire Regiment
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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar greatThe South Staffordshire Regiment
The South Staffordshire Regiment can be traced back to 1705.
Battalions during the Great War 1914-1918.
- 1st Battalion
- 2nd Battalion
- 3rd (Reserve) Battalion
- 4th Battalion
- 1/5th Battalion
- 2/5th Battalion
- 3/5th Battalion
- 1/6th Battalion
- 2/6th Battalion
- 3/6th Battalion
- 7th (Service) Battalion
- 8th (Service) Battalion
- 9th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers)
- 10th (Reserve) Battalion
- 11th (Reserve) Battalion
- 12th (Labour) Battalion
- 1st (Garrison) Battalion
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Do you have any friends or relatives who are over 95 years old?Please could you ask them if they have any recollections of childhood during The Great War or in the years immediatley after the war? We would like to preserve these memories before it is too late. We are also looking for recollections from the previous generation, please do ask elderly relatives if they recall any tales of life during the Great War told to them by older family members or friends and enter their recollections so that they can be preserved in our archive.
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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 South Staffordshire Regiment during the Great War 1914-1918.
Select a story link or scroll down to browse those stories hosted on this site.
- Pte. Albert Baker (d.7th Jun 1917)
- Pte. James Broadley Read their Story.
- Pte. Thomas William Foley (d.5th Nov 1914) Read their Story.
- Pte. Richard Hartshorne (d.3rd June 1917) Read their Story.
- Pte. George Frederick Homer (d.13th Jun 1917) Read their Story.
- Pte. Thomas Edward Hunt (d.28th Jul 1918) Read their Story.
- Pte. James Jones Read their Story.
- Cpl. Frank Maskell (d.11th Aug 1918) Read their Story.
- Pte. Bernard Meeson (d.9th Dec 1917) Read their Story.
- Pte. John Pitt (d.13th Oct 1915) Read their Story.
The 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 get in touch.
Pte. Bernard Meeson 7th Service Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment (d.9th Dec 1917)
Bernard was born in Penkridge, Staffordshire. While he was known as Bernard Meeson, he was registered as Bernard Lowe. After his mother married Richard Wincer he was sometimes known as Bernard Wincer.When war broke out in Europe he was living in Cannock. He signed up at Hednesford Drill Hall in 1914. He had 2 daughters Doris and Eliza with Isabella Mary Gripton whom he married in 1911. Eliza was killed while carrying milk back from the shop across the road. She stepped out in front of a bus and was dragged into the wheels and died instantly aged 7. His wife Isabella later married a local widow John W Amos.
Doris, my nan, had only vague memories of him going away. She died recently and with the exception of this photo I found two years ago, on a grainy fiche copy of the Cannock Advertiser, she had no pictures of her father Bernard.
Pte. Thomas William Foley 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment (d.5th Nov 1914)
William Foley was the son of William and Edith Foley, one of fourteen siblings. He arrived in France on the 4th of October 1914 and was killed in the first battle of Ypres on 05th Nov 1914, aged 22.
Pte. Richard Hartshorne 8th. Btn. South Staffordshire Regiment (d.3rd June 1917)
We have found out so far that Richard Hartshorne served in France and Flanders. We know that he is buried near Arras and would love to find any photographs or information about his time in the war.
Pte. George Frederick Homer 9th Btn. South Staffordshire Regiment (d.13th Jun 1917)
George Homer was a grocery shop manager who had 3 young chidren ,the youngest being my wifes Grandmother who was 2 years old
Pte. Thomas Edward Hunt 7th Btn. South Staffordshire Regiment (d.28th Jul 1918)
Anyone who may have some information about Thomas or where the Battalion fought around the time of his death, the information would be very gratefully received.
Cpl. Frank Maskell 5th Btn. South Staffordshire Regiment (d.11th Aug 1918)
After my mother-in-law died we found a letter which she had kept from when she was 8 years old from a soldier. It is dated November 16th 1916 and was written from no.14 General Hospital, Victoria Hotel, Boulogne France, with the title of 564 Cpl F Maskell (or Marshall), 5 South Staffs and he signed his name as Frank. The letter reads as follows:My dear Miss Gladys,
Just a few lines thanking you very much for your egg which I had for my tea and it was quite good too. Well I hope you wont be offended at such strange a letter, but I know it is so nice to hear where the eggs get to at times. Well I sincerely hope you are keeping all right and still sending eggs out to France as it is quite a nice change down here from up in the trenches. I am a little better myself today and I hope you certainly won't mind me answering the egg I received to day in such a common way. I must close now or I shall miss the post.
Your sincere friend, Frank.
I would love to know if he survived and what his name was. I would like to find out if he had any relations who might like this letter.
Editor's note: The soldier was Frank C. Maskell of the 1/5th South Staffordshire Regiment. He recovered from his stint in hospital and and returned to the front line, he was promoted to Acting Sgt. but lost his life on the 11th of August 1918 and was laid to rest in Fouquieres Churchyard Extension Cemetery in France. Many of the men who are buried here were injured on the battlefield and succumbed to their injuries whilst being treated at the Field Ambulances which were based in the village of Fouquieres, which is near Bethune in Northern France.
Pte. John Pitt 1/6th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment (d.13th Oct 1915)
John Pitt was my Great Grandfather, he was in the Territorial along with his brother prior to WW1. He lived with his wife and 2 kids before the war at his widower brother-in-law's place, who had a young daughter (Simmons family, I can't find anything on the brother?). They served around Hill 60 I believe for a while before moving to Loos.John's widow remarried an old cavalry soldier after the war and had one son but she never got over the loss of her first husband and cherished his medals, death plaque and few possessions. His widow eventually lived her last years with her first husband's son (my granddad and nan). She was upset at moving in the 1940s and losing a letter written by one of the few surviving officers from the assault on the Hohenzollern Redoubt. I think he said the usual but something about a trench barricade and Pte Pitt was in a bombing/bayonet party that was holding the Prussians off as long as they could and died bravely. I suppose that's the usual but it was sad both sides had very brave men who ended up killing each other. There were no prisoners or quarter given. I heard later it was one of the bloodiest close quarter battles of WW1 for the Brits on the Western Front, despite the bigger battles of 1916 onwards. Also heard the attack managed to take more of the redoubt than the main phase or any other unit - at least so.
I appreciate the bloody casualties of the earlier Sept fighting, especially for the Guards and Highland Divisions. But where is the big historical and national coverage of what these part time soldiers did? I also heard when the Guards finally relieved them they cheered and wept at how few of the 46th Division survived. I believe it was also the largest battle a territorial unit the size of a division had fought in before - up to that time 1915. Sad both sides had very brave men who ended up killing each other.
I lost a load of family in WW1 but few in WW2. Other G. Granddads survived, one served in Egypt, Gallipoli, Somme and beyond in the N Staffs and the Devon and Dorsets. I had one WW2 Gt Uncle (Leading Signalman Harry Barker)who served on the Hood but transferred before it went down. Alas he went down later in a destroyer with all hands - Signalman Henry Barker C/SSX 33062, H.M.S. Veteran, Royal Navy, Saturday 26 September 1942. Age 24. That's for another entry I guess!
Pte. James Broadley 6th Battalion Durham Light Infantry
My Grandfather's name is James Broadley. He was born into a mining family on 1st Jan 1895 in County Durham. In 1914 he was living in a poor area of North West Durham at 69 Wood Street, Shotley Bridge. At the outbreak of the WW1 James Broadley, service number 1798, and his older brother William Broadley, service number 3207, joined the the 6th Reserve Battlion DLI at Consett.In 1915 the Battalion was sent off to France with 151st brigade, 50th Division to take part in the 2nd Battle of Ypres. On 26th April the 6th went into the line under fire on Hill 37 near Zonnebeke. On the 30th April during the German shelling my Grandfather and three other soldiers were buried by an explosion. Lance-Corporal J.J.Robinson from Shotley Bridge, single handedly dug them out under shell fire and was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The casualties during this baptism of fire were 45 out of 120. Total losses to 151 Battalion during the five days of fighting were 245 and 34 missing.
My Grandfather survived WW1 although he was later gassed, taking part in Battles at Sanctuary Wood, Hill 60, Arras and The Somme. James Broadley was again lucky to survive the German push in 1918 when the 6th battalion was decimated. After the battle he was transferred and finished the war with the South Staffs, service number 238077.
My father told me that the 6th DLI survivors in the village often laughed when relating the story of my grandfather being dug out by J. J. Robinson. Grandfather's brother William also survived the war in a German POW camp after being gassed and captured in 1918.
Pte. James Jones South Staffordshire Regiment
My Grandfather James Jones was born in 1873. This story was told to my cousin by his Mother, daughter of James, James tried to join the North Staffs Regiment but was told he was to old, so he applied to the South Staffs and lied about his age and went out to Gallipoli. By this time my Grandmother back home had died and my Auntie age 16 was looking after 6 children.In Gallipoli James and another soldier were told to get down the mountain to get supplies, on the way down they were stopped by a Australian troop, when asked what regiment they were in and why they were there, they were told by the Australian officer that the regiment they said they were in had been wiped out, so both were put on a charge. Back home my Auntie got a letter saying James Jones was on trial for desertion.
Back in Gallipoli a Sargent Woodvine who was wounded, turned up at the Aussie camp and tells them that both Privates were sent for more stores, and they were free to go.
From Gallipoli Granddad James was sent to India, he was taken very ill there, but when he arrived back at Gibsons Row Chesterton his Family could not believe their eyes when he walked in. He died 1956, but never told us the story. We would love to find out more about the story, and what troop he served with.
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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The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them
Did your relative live through the Great War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial?
If so please let us know.
Do you know the location of a Great War "Roll of Honour?"We are very keen to track down these often forgotten documents and obtain photographs and transcriptions of the names recorded so that they will be available for all to remember.
Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice.
Celebrate your own Family History
Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Great War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc.
Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.
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