The 11th (Service) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment (Cambridgeshire) was a 'Pals battalion' raised in Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely for 'Kitchener's Army' in World War I. It served on the Western Front from January 1916 until the Armistice, seeing action at the Somme – where it was virtually destroyed on the first day – Arras, Ypres, against the German spring offensive when it defended Henin Hill, in the Battle of the Lys and the final Battle of the Selle.
Recruitment
On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular British Army. The newly appointed Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. This group of six divisions with supporting arms became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'.War Office Instructions No 32 (6 August) and No 37 (7 August).Becke, Pt 3a, pp. 2 & 8. The K2, K3 and K4 battalions, brigades and divisions followed soon afterwards. But the flood of volunteers overwhelmed the ability of the Army to absorb them. When the Fifth New Army (K5) was authorised on 10 December 1914 many of its units had already been raised by local initiative rather than at regimental depots, often from men from particular localities or backgrounds who wished to serve together: these were known as 'Pals battalions'. In parallel, the county Territorial Associations, which administered the prewar voluntary Territorial Force (TF), had also been dealing with a surge in recruitment. Unusually, the Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely TF Association was asked by the War Office (WO) to deal with the excess 'K' recruits from their county, who could not be handled by the nearest Regular regimental deport (the Suffolk Regiment at Bury St Edmunds). This was in addition to recruiting and equipping an extra battalion of the county's TF regiment (the Cambridgeshire Regiment). Under the leadership of Charles Adeane, the TF Association took on the additional burden. From 5 September, 'K' recruits from the county were retained at Cambridge instead of being sent to Bury; they were billeted at the Corn Exchange and fed under local arrangements. Within days the numbers had swelled to over 300 and the men were moved to the boys' county school. They were temporarily commanded by Colonel C.T. Heycock of the Cambridgeshire Regiment, assisted by cadets from the Cambridge University Officers' Training Corps (CUOTC) who were awaiting their officers' commissions. Second Lieutenant Gerald Tuck of the CUOTC acted as adjutant. Training began on Parker's Piece in the town centre. Recruitment continued strongly, encouraged by the Ladies' Recruiting Committee headed by Mrs Adeane. The response was so good that the TF Association proposed forming a complete local battalion, and on 25 September the WO accepted the Cambridgeshire Service Battalion. Until it was assigned to the Suffolks as 11th (Service) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment (Cambridgeshire) three months later, the battalion was often referred to as the 'Cambs Kitcheners'.Costin, pp. 1–40.Frederick, p. 224.James, p. 56.Murphy, pp. 94–6.Shakespear, p. 3.War Office Instruction No 56 of September 1915, Appendix IX.Suffolk Regiment at Long, Long Trail.
Training On 30 September the battalion moved to the Melbourne Place Schools in Cambridge, and Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Wyndham Somerset of the Indian Army arrived to take command, allowing Col Heycock to assume command of the second battalion of the TF regiment. Most of the junior officers initially appointed to the battalion came from the CUOTC. As with all the Kitchener units, training was hindered by the lack of uniforms, equipment and instructors, though the Cambridgeshire TF Association was able to source many items, including blue serge uniforms. On 18 December the battalion moved to a hutted camp at Cherry Hinton on the edge of the town. It had now reached its full establishment, but the WO required it to form an additional reserve company, bringing the new establishment up to 1350, which was completed in January 1915; later a second reserve company was formed. Shortages began to be made up, though when King George V inspected all the troops training in the Cambridge area at Parker's Piece on 11 February 1915, the 11th Suffolks were still wearing blue rather than khaki greatcoats.Costin, pp. 40–53.
The battalion left Cambridge on 19 June 1915 to join 34th Division, which was assembling round Ripon in North Yorkshire. The 11th Suffolks camped at Fountains Abbey where it was brigaded with the 1st and 2nd Edinburgh Pals battalions (15th and 16th (S) Bns Royal Scots, the 2nd Edinburgh being known as McCrae's Battalion) and the Grimsby Chums (11th (S) Bn Lincolnshire Regiment) in 101st Brigade. The other two brigades were the 102nd (Tyneside Scottish) and 103rd (Tyneside Irish), formed of battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers. After training on the moors of North Yorkshire, 34th Division proceeded to Salisbury Plain in late August for final intensive training, with the 11th Suffolks at Perham Down Camp, later at Warminster.Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 41–50.34th Division at Long, Long Trail.Costin, pp. 54–69.Shakespear, pp. 4–9.
On 13 December 34th Division was ordered to mobilise for service in Egypt, but these orders were rescinded on 26 December and instead the division embarked for France to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) fighting on the Western Front. Entrainment for the embarkation ports began on 7 January 1916 and the 11th Suffolks landed at Boulogne on 9 January. The division completed its concentration around La Crosse (east of Saint-Omer) on 15 January.Costin, pp. 69–74.Shakespear, pp. 9–13.
13th (Reserve) Battalion When the 11th Bn moved to Fountains Abbey in May 1915 it left behind at Cherry Hinton Camp the two reserve companies, totalling 17 officers and 320 other ranks (ORs). On 9 June these became 13th (Reserve) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment (Cambridgeshire), with the task of training reinforcement drafts for the service battalion. Major A.W. Stanley, the 11th (S) Bn's original second-in-command, was promoted to lieutenant-colonel to command the reserve battalion. On 9 November the 13th (R) Bn, now over 400 strong, moved to billets in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, to join the 24th Reserve Brigade, but the following February it was transferred to the 26th Reserve Brigade at Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. On 14 April 1916 the battalion was sent to Abbey Wood, south east of London, where it was quartered in huts in Lesnes Park, and at the end of July to Chohole Gate Camp in Richmond Park. At this time its strength had increased to well over 800. By September it had sent 700 men in drafts to the service battalion to replace its losses at the Somme.Murphy, pp. 341–2.
On 1 September 1916 the Training Reserve (TR) was established following the introduction of conscription, and 13th (R) Bn became 108th Training Reserve Battalion, transferring 300 men to the 3rd (R) Bn, Suffolk Regiment, at Felixstowe. On 10 October 1916 the 108th TR Bn became a reserve garrison battalion, taking in 900 men of 'B1' medical category and distributing all its 'A' category men among the other battalions of 26th Reserve Bde. 108th TR Battalion left Richmond Park on 2 November for nearby Barnes, where from 1 January 1917 about 1000 men were billeted in the stables of the Ranelagh Club, the remainder in the town. In July the battalion went into camp at Bocking, near Sittingbourne, Kent, where it became part of the Thames and Medway Garrison. Two months later it was transferred to Maida Barracks at Aldershot, where it was disbanded on 20 February 1918.
Service The commander of 101st Bde, Brigadier- General H.G. Fitton, was mortally wounded during a reconnaissance of the front line on 18 January, and Col Somerset of 11th Suffolks had to deputise until 28 January 1916. On 23 January 34th Division went into reserve behind III Corps, with 101st Bde around Morbecque. Parties were then sent into the line with 23rd Division near Erquinghem in the Armentières sector to learn the routines of Trench warfare; 11th Suffolks went up from 2 to 7 February, suffering its first casualties. On 21 February the division took over its own sector of the front line, with 101st Bde on the right, at the dangerous Bridoux salient, overlooked by the German positions on Radinghem Ridge. Because of the high water table the trenches were shallow, built up with breastworks. Over the following weeks the brigades were rotated between the frontline trenches and reserve. Most of April was spent in divisional training, then on 5 May the battalion entrained for the Somme sector where the BEF was preparing for that summer's 'Big Push' (the Battle of the Somme). 11th Suffolks were in reserve, then in support, and on 21 May went into the line on the division's right, facing the fortified ruins of La Boisselle. It then began periods of 6 days in the line alternating with 4 days of rest, until it went into camp behind Albert on 23 June.Costin, pp. 74–84.Murphy, pp. 150–3.Shakespear, pp. 14–32.
First day on the Somme
The First day on the Somme was the first offensive operation for 34th Division. Attacking on the right of III Corps, its objectives (recognised as being ambitious) were the Capture of La Boisselle and an advance of almost to Contalmaison, crossing six successive trench lines. The bombardment began on 25 June and on 27 June the 11th Suffolks moved up close behind the line, two companies in Bécourt Wood and the others in dugouts on the Tara-Usna Ridge. However bad weather hindered artillery observation so the bombardment was extended by two days and the attack was postponed until 1 July. The battalions moved into their assembly trenches between 05.00 and 07.00 as the artillery began their final bombardment. 34th Division was to attack with 102nd Bde on the left, 101st on the right, each brigade forming two columns. 101st Brigade's left hand column consisted of the 10th Lincolns in the first wave, followed by the 11th Suffolks to pass through and capture the second objective, ahead, then a following battalion of 103rd (Tyneside Irish) Bde to go on to the final objective. The brigade's line of attack ran up 'Sausage Valley', overlooked to the north by the Schwabenhöhe fortification outside La Boisselle and to the south by the Heligoland strongpoint (known as 'Sausage Redoubt' to the British) projecting into No man's land, with 'Scots Redoubt' on the Fricourt Ridge behind it. However, the 179th Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers, had placed a huge mine under the Schwabenhöhe (the Lochnagar mine), which was fired at 07.28, 2 minutes before Zero. This obliterated a section of the German defences and created a very large crater. All three waves of the attacking columns went 'over the top' on time, at 07.30 for 101st Bde's right hand column, at 07.35 for the left column including 11th Suffolks, to allow the mine debris to settle (a few casualties were suffered from falling blocks of chalk).Costin, pp. 87–102.Edmonds, 1916, Vol I, pp. 371–7, Sketch 21.Middlebrook, pp. 97, 120–1.Murphy, pp. 154, 172–3.Shakespear, pp. 33–9.