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Description: | Photocopy of a ts extract of an excellent letter (1p) dated 5 July 1916 to his mother, describing the experiences of his Battalion [most likely the 2nd Battalion Middlesex Regiment (23rd Brigade, 8th Infantry Division)] on the first day of the Battle of the Somme (1 July 1916) during which he, being in command of the reserve, did not leave the trenches but witnessed his Battalion attack towards Ovillers only to be mown down by enemy machine gun fire, with only a remnant of the Battalion returning to the trenches after two hours and all officers except the Colonel being casualties; describing the dazed and shaken condition of the survivors and cancellation of a further attack when the state of the Battalion became known to the commanders.
Cataloguer AJC | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Subjects: | British Army 23rd Brigade Middlesex Regiment 8th Infantry Division 2nd Battalion | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Gavin-Jones, Archibald Nelson | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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