Remembering the 1st July 1916 - Exmouth Museum and Heritage Centre registered charity 291311

By: Alan Arthur
Added: 01 July 2016

The Devonshire Regiment at the Battle of the Somme

2^nd Battalion Devons involved on first day (July 1^st 1916) with 11 officers and 221 men killed or missing and 5 Officers and 194 men wounded

9^th  Btn. Devons - 8 officers and 196 men killed or missing and 9 Officers and 267 men wounded. Only 1 Officer not a casualty.

8^th Btn. Devons assembled further back in Reserve but were then put in to the line - 3 officers and 47 men killed or missing, 7 officers and 151 men wounded.

A special cemetery for the 8^th and 9^th Btns was made at Mansel Copse with 160 officers and men who could be identified buried on evening of July 4^th 

The cemetery bears the legend “The Devonshires held this trench - The Devonshires hold it still”