The 15th (Service) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottingham) ('15th Sherwoods') was a 'Bantam' infantry unit recruited as part of 'Kitchener's Army' in World War I. It was raised early in 1915 and served on the Western Front from early 1916, first seeing action at the Battle of the Somme. The Bantam concept did not survive the losses of the Somme, and had to be abandoned when the battalions became filled with reinforcements who were not simply undersized but actually unfit for service. In 1917 the 15th Sherwoods became a conventional infantry battalion and saw further action during the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line and subsequent actions. It suffered severe casualties at the Battle of Passchendaele and during the German spring offensive of 1918. It then took part in the final advance to victory in Flanders. The battalion was disbanded in 1919.

Background

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, and 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 flood of volunteers overwhelmed the ability of the army to absorb and organise them, and by the time the Fifth New Army (K5) was authorised on 10 December 1914, many of the units were being organised as 'Pals battalions' under the auspices of mayors and corporations of towns up and down the country.Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 51–9.35th Division at Long, Long Trail.McGreal, pp. 19–21.

However, a large number of otherwise medically fit volunteers were turned away because they did not meet the minimum height requirement of the prewar Regular Army, of 5 feet 3 inches (160 cm). Alfred Bigland, the Member of Parliament for Birkenhead, persuaded Kitchener that this pool of potential manpower should be tapped, and he was given authority to raise a battalion of 'Bantams' (named after the small but pugnacious fighting cock). Three Bantam battalions were quickly raised at Birkenhead for the Cheshire Regiment, many of them coal miners who had travelled long distances to enlist, and the scheme spread to other areas. The War Office (WO) authorised each military district to recruit a battalion, attached to whichever regimental depot had sufficient capacity. By the end of the year an entire division (later numbered 35th Division) composed of Bantam battalions was being formed.McGreal, pp. 21–48.Davson, pp. 1–4.Scott, pp 37–48.War Office Instruction No 138, 14 June 1915.

Recruitment and training The Bantam battalion for No 6 Recruiting District of Northern Command, (covering Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) was assigned to the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment). The 15th (Service) Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottingham) was raised by the Mayor of Nottingham and a recruitment committee on 12 February 1915, the first 18 men enlisting at the Mechanics' Institute in Nottingham four days later. The recruitment target set by the WO was 1350 to form four service companies and two depot companies to supply reinforcements. The men were billeted on local civilians, and the Mayor launched an appeal to supply the uniforms.Frederick, p. 322.James, p 87.Bacon & Langley, p. 3.Sherwood Foresters at Long, Long Trail.War Office Instruction No 56 of September 1915, Appendix IX. Lieutenant-Colonel Hepworth Hill, commanding officer (CO) of the 1st Battalion, West India Regiment, when the war broke out, was appointed CO of the new battalion on 1 March.Davson, Appendix III.Monthly Army List, August 1914.Hill at Lives of the First World War.

On 21 June the service companies left for a tented camp at Masham in North Yorkshire where the 15th Foresters joined other Bantam battalions in 105th Brigade of 35th Division. Here it found that many of the recruits were not mature men of stocky build but under-age boys, and others were physically unfit for service, a problem faced by all the later Bantam battalions. However, when these were discharged, the depot companies at Nottingham still had 500 recruits to fill the ranks.Bacon & Langley, p. 12.

In August 35th Division moved by rail to Salisbury Plain for final intensive training, with the infantry at Tidworth Camp. 15th Sherwood Foresters was officially taken over by the military authorities on 27 August. Lieutenant-Col Hill was replaced as CO by Lt-Col Robert Gordon on 11 November. In December the division received orders to prepare for service in Egypt, and all ranks were issued with tropical uniforms. It was unkindly said that the bantams on Salisbury Plain in their oversized pith helmets resembled overgrown mushrooms. However, the division's destination was shortly afterwards changed to the Western Front and the pith helmets were exchanged for caps and gas masks. Embarkation for France began at the end of January 1916 and on 1 February 15th Sherwood Foresters boarded two trains at Tidworth for Folkestone, and landed at Boulogne the same day, with a strength of 29 officers and 892 other ranks (ORs) under the command of Lt-Col Gordon, with Lieutenant William Crellin (a 23-year-old Regular officer commissioned into the Sherwood Foresters on 14 February 1912Crellin at IWM Lives of the First World War.) as adjutant. By 6 February the division had completed its concentration east of Saint-Omer.Bacon & Langley, pp. 12, 17, 20.Davson, p. 8.McGreal, pp. 72–78.Scott, pp. 87–101.15th Sherwood Foresters War Diary, January 1916–April 1919 (February and August 1918 missing), The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 95/2488/2.

19th (Reserve) Battalion The battalion's depot companies were amalgamated with those of the 16th (Chatsworth Rifles) and 17th (Welbeck Rangers) battalions of the Sherwood Foresters on 18 August 1915 at Brocklesby in Lincolnshire to form the 19th (Reserve) Battalion as a Local Reserve to provide reinforcements for the three pals battalions. The 19th Battalion moved to Ripon in North Yorkshire and joined 19th Reserve Brigade. In January 1916 it was at Harrogate and in July at Durham. On 1 September 1916 the Local Reserve battalions were transferred to the Training Reserve (TR) and the battalion was absorbed into other battalions of 19th (Reserve) Bde.

Service Over the next month 15th Sherwoods was billeted in various towns in the St Omer area, where the division continued training, with particular emphasis on 'bombing' and machine guns. From late February 105th Bde was attached to the more experienced 38th (Welsh) Division and its units went into the line in the Neuve-Chapelle sector alongside Welsh units for instruction in Trench warfare. On 7 March 15th Sherwoods were attached to 10th (Service) Battalion, South Wales Borderers (1st Gwent), at Le Touret. The Right Half battalion went into the trenches with them 7–10 March, followed by Left Half 10–14 March. The Bantams were each provided with two sandbags to place on the firestep so that they could stand on them to see over the parapet of the trench. The unit suffered its first casualties: three ORs wounded. On 14 March the battalion returned to billets behind the line at Merville, where it provided working parties and continued musketry training. 35th Division now took responsibility for its own section of the line, with 105th Bde taking over the trenches in the Laventie sector on 26 March. 15th Sherwoods and 15th Cheshires were the right and left battalions in the front line and appear to have been issued with steel helmets. The front line and communication trenches had been badly damaged by winter weather and in some places were flooded, and much work was required each night to repair them. All the front line companies sent patrols out into No man's land on the night of 27/28 March to examine the German barbed wire. Apart from some shelling and sniping the sector was quiet. 15th Sherwoods and 15th Cheshires were relieved on 30 March (handing over the steel helmets to the incoming battalions) and over the following weeks the Sherwoods alternated between the front and support lines and reserve billets. While in the line the battalions carried out continual repairs to shell-damaged trenches; while in billets they supplied working parties for the Royal Engineers (REs). On 12 April 105th Bde was relieved and went into divisional reserve, with 15th Sherwoods billeted at 'Cul de Sac', north of Sailly. On 19 April the brigade took over the Ferme du Bois trenches near Vieille-Chapelle with 15th Sherwoods in the right front sector. Heavy rain meant considerable labour to repair the trenches. The battalion alternated with 14th Glosters and when not in the line was billeted at Laventie or Paradis.Bacon & Langley, pp. 24–5.Davson, pp. 8–19.McGreal, pp. 80–3.Scott, pp. 101–20.105 Bde HQ War Diary 29 January–30 April 1916, TNA file WO 95/2485/1.14th Glosters War Diary January 1916–February 1918, TNA file WO 95/2488/1.

Both sides carried out trench raids. At 19.20 on the evening of 30 May the Germans laid down a heavy bombardment on the fire and support trenches held by 15th Sherwoods, who were due to be relieved by 14th Glosters that night. The British artillery promptly opened up in reply but the Sherwoods' trenches were almost obliterated. Captain R.W. Ainsworth, commanding the Sherwoods' right company, ordered his men to clear to the flanks to minimise casualties. At 20.15 the bombardment briefly ceased, then intensified to the flanks. At 20.30 a breathless runner arrived at 14th Glosters' Battalion HQ with the message 'Send reinforcements, the Germans have broken through'. 105th Brigade HQ ordered the Glosters to send a company up to 'Lansdown Post' and to occupy the reserve line with the rest of the battalion; they also had the Lewis gunners and the HQ details of 15th Sherwood Foresters who had already left the line for the relief. The left company of the Sherwoods attempted to reoccupy the line at 20.45, but were prevented by the bombardment. At 23.15 two platoons of the Glosters went forward to reoccupy the front line, and 18th Lancashire Fusiliers began to work along the line from the right, while the left company also made progress. By 23.30 the breach was closed; large sections of the line had been demolished and the Germans had entered it (they left behind a store of bombs when they retired back to their own line) and casualties had been heavy. W Company, which had lost all its officers, was relieved, but the rest of the battalion and two companies of 14th Glosters spent the rest of the night repairing trenches. The planned relief was successfully carried out the following night. During May 15th Sherwood Foresters had lost 12 ORs killed, 3 officers and 29 ORs wounded, and 2 officers and 236 ORs missing. Raiding by both sides continued during June.Davson, pp. 20–4.Davson, Appendix II.McGreal, pp. 94–6.Scott, pp. 130–1.

Somme