A few weeks ago I was asked to guide a group of family and friends from Nottingham to the Somme Battlefield. One of their ancestors was killed on 1st July 1916, the First Day of the Somme. He was a member of the 1/7th battalion, territorials and fell in the doomed diversionary attack on Gommecourt north of the main attack.
We could visit the site of the battle and find his name on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. The group had visited the Somme before. So I thought about an itinerary that would visit other places where the Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment) fought on the Somme.
Here is a summary of the Battalions of the Sherwood Foresters who fought on the Somme in 1916
| Battalions | Recruitment | Formation | Comments |
| 1st | Regular | 24th Brigade, 8th Division | In India in 1914 |
| 2nd | Regular | 71st Brigade, 6th Division | In Sheffield in 1914 |
| 3rd 4th 13th & 14th | Reserve and training | In UK | |
| 1/5th | Territorial Force (TF) | 139th Brigade, 46th (North Midland) Division | Drill Hall, Derby |
| 1/6th | TF | 139th Brigade, 46th (North Midland) Division | Chesterfield |
| 1/7th (Robin Hood) | TF | 139th Brigade, 46th (North Midland) Division | Nottingham |
| 1/8th | TF | 139th Brigade, 46th (North Midland) Division | Newark |
| 9th (Service) | K1 (Aug 14) | 33rd Brigade, 11th (Northern) Division | Formed Derby |
| 10th (Service) | K2 (Sap 14) | 51st Brigade; 17th (Northern) Division | Formed Derby |
| 11th (Service) | K3 (Sep 14) | 70th Brigade in 8th then 23rd Division | Formed Derby |
| 12th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers | K3 (Sep 14 | 24th Division | Formed Derby |
| 15th (Service) Battalion (Nottingham) | Feb 15 by mayor and committee | 105th Brigade in 35th Division | Formed Nottingham as “bantams” below 5ft 2ins |
| 16th (Service) Battalion (Chatsworth Rifles) | Jun 15 by Duke of Devonshire & Derbyshire TF Association | 117th Brigade in 39th Division | Formed Derrby |
| 17th (Service) Battalion (Welbeck Rangers) | Jun 15 by mayor and the committee | 117th Brigade in 39th Division | Formed Nottingham |
The 3rd, 4th, 7th,8th, 13th and 14th battalions were reserve or depot units while the 20th was a Labour battalion.
Chris McCarthy’s Somme Day by Day lists sixteen actions where battalions of the Sherwood Foresters are mentioned in the text. Some of these are part of the Big Battle Days of the Somme, such as the first day, Flers Courcelette on 15th September, Thiepval Ridge 26 September and the battle of the Ancre 13 Novembe. Others seem to have been more local operations.
The map shows the location of these actions.
| Date/weather | Location | Unit | Summary | Result | Casualties | |
| 1. | Sat 1 July72o F clear sky | Gommecourt | 1/5,1/6,1/7 &1/8 Bns | Disastrous diversionary attack | Failure | 236 dead for both actions |
| 2. | 1 July | Orvillers | 11th Bn | Failed attack N of Orvillers | Failure | |
| 3. | Sun 2 July75o F clear sky | Fricourt | 10th Bn | Capture 100yards Railway Trench | Success | No dead 2 July CWGC |
| 4. | Mon 3 July68o F fine with some cloud and thunderstorms | Fricourt- Capture of Railway Alley | 10 Bn | “Bombers” of 10 bn involved | Success | 7 dead 4-5 July CWGC |
| 5. | Thu 20 Jul75o F fine morning, clear sky | Arrow Head Copse and Malzhorn Farm | 15 Bn | At 5 am after a 30-minute bombardment one company attacked each location , suffering heavy casualties from MG and shellfire. Those parties that reached the trenches were shelled out | Failure | 17 dead CWGC |
| 6. | Mon 7 Aug73o F | Delville Wood | 10 bn | At 4.30 pm 51 bde attacked to establish posts beyond Delville Wood. At midnight 10 bn do so | Success | 8 dead CWGC |
| 7. | Sun 3 Sep72o F 4mm rain | Ancre Operations Mary Redan | 17 Bn | At 05.10 under intense barrage 116 and 117 bdes attacked on right & left, 116 captured front line trenches. 17 bn on left held up by MG fire. | Failure | 61 dead CWGC |
| 8. | Wed 13 Sep72o F overcast | Quadrilateral E of Ginchy | 2 bn | At 6 pm 2nd Bn and 9 Suffolks failed attack on Quadrilateral from SW. 521 casualties for two bns | Failure | 7 dead CWGC |
| 9. | Fri 15 Sep59o F | Quadrilateral E of Ginchy | 2 Bn | Attack supported by a tank. 2 bn in second wave at 08.20 held up by uncut wire and MG fire. Survivors take shelter in shell holes. | Failure | 38 dead over three days 15-17 Sep CWGC |
| 10. | Sat 16 Sep66o F fine and sunny | SW Mouquet Farm | 9 bn | 9 bn stop Germans from recapturing Constance Trench | Success | 2 dead CWGC |
| 11. | Tue 26 Sep75o F fine day | Between Thiepval and Mouquet Farm | 9 bn | As part of 33 Bde, capture Joseph,(12.45) Schwaben, Zollern(13.30) and all but 250m of the R side of Hessian Trench. (16.00) | Success | 36 dead CWGC |
| 12. | Sun 1 Oct65o F sunny day | Transloy Ridge SE Le Sars | 11 bn | Formed up in no man’s land and took Flers trench and Flers support trench | Success | 9 dead GWGC |
| 13. | Sun 8 Oct64o F rain but clearing to a fine day | Schwaben Redoubt | 16 & 17bns | German night attack on Schwaben redoubt with flamethrowers repulsed by 16 & 17 bns who have just taken over position. | Success | 28 dead CWGC |
| 14. | Mon 9 Oct64o F fine | Schwaben Redoubt | 16 bn | At 0430 16 bn surprise attack in the dark on N face of Schwaben Redoubt. Right coy entered trench but forced out. | Failure | 6 dead 16 &17 bn CWGC |
| 15. | Sat 21 Oct45o F fine but very cold | “Pope’s nose” | 17 bn | Subsidiary attack on “Pope’s nose “gained some ground” in support of attack on Stuff Trench | Success | No dead on CWGC |
| 16. | Mon 13 Nov54o F | Ancre Valley | 16 & 17 bns | At 0615 16 bn attacked with two coys to clear dugouts in river banks and one coy along the top of the river bank. Germans taken by surprise. St Pierre Divon taken by mix of 16 bn, and other units. 16 bn rescue a bogged in tank under attack by Germans. 721 soldiers &13 Officers PW | Success | One dead CWGCCO reportsOne officer KIA4 ORs KIA15 Missing49 Wounded |
The map shows the location of these actions.
The CWGC database lists 1000 men of the Sherwood Foresters who died between 1st June and 1st December 1916. (The web page says there are over 2000 results, but the download lists 1000 names)