Military

British regiments in the Fovant area

This list is based, with some enhancements, on ‘British Regiments 1914–1918’ (Samson 1978) by Brigadier E A James, whose record of infantry and cavalry unit locations during the Great War is arranged by unit rather than place. We are indepted to Mr Terry Crawford for providing us with this information.

The following tables are in chronological order.

FOVANT (some units may have been at Hurdcott or Sutton Mandeville)

UnitCampDates
Worcestershire Regiment battalionNumber 2 CampMarch–July 1915
7th Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light InfantryApril–early September 1915
7th Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s)Number 1 CampMay–July 1915
11th Border RegimentAugust–mid-November 1915
15th West Yorkshire Regiment(Prince of Wales’s Own) (1st Leeds)Number 1 CampAugust 1915–January 1916
16th West Yorkshire RegimentNumber 2 CampAugust 1915–January 1916
18th West Yorkshire RegimentNumber 3 CampAugust 1915 –January 1916
31st Yorkshire DivisionAugust 1915 –January 1916
Durham Light InfantryNumber 4 CampAugust 1915–January 1916
12th Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent) (Miners, then Pioneers)October–early December 1915
3/10th London Regiment (Hackney)January–autumn 1916
3/12th London Regiment (The Rangers)January–autumn 1916
3/5th London Rifle BrigadeNumber 4 CampJanuary–November 1916
3/6th London RegimentNumber 1 CampJanuary–autumn 1916
3/8th London Regiment (Post Office Rifles)January–autumn 1916
3/9th London Regiment (Queen Victoria’s Rifles)Number 3 CampJanuary–autumn 1916
2/4th Leicestershire RegimentNumber 3 & 4 CampsJanuary–February 1917
2/4th Lincolnshire RegimentNumber 1 & 2 CampsJanuary–February 1917
2/5th & 2/6th North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s)January–February 1917
2/5th & 2/6th Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Regiment)Number 13 CampJanuary–late February 1917
2/5th South Staffordshire RegimentJanuary–February 1917
Dorset Regiment training battalionWest FarmMarch 1917
Royal Berkshire Regiment training battalion (9th?)Royal Engineer CampMarch 1917

1st London Reserve Brigade was formed at Fovant on September 1, 1916 with 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th Reserve Battalions, London Regiment and the Reserve Battalion of the Honourable Artillery Company. It moved to South Devon in November 1916, apart from the HAC, which went on duty at the Tower of London.

HURDCOTT

UnitDatesComment
11th East Lancashire RegimentSeptember 25–December 19 1915
12th, 13th & 14th York & Lancaster RegimentOctober–December 1915
11th, 12th & 13th (Hull service battalions) East Yorkshire RegimentOctober/November–December 1915 (or January 1916?)perhaps similar dates to 10th East Yorkshires)
10th East Yorkshire Regiment (1st Hull)Nov 6/7–16, 1915; December 2–7, 1915
1st, 2nd, 11th, 12th Wessex Division Training Army Service CorpsJanuary–May 1916
4/1st, 4/2nd, 4/3rd & 4/4th London RegimentJanuary 1916;on September 1, 1916, the 1st Battalion absorbed the 2nd, and the 3rd Battalion absorbed the 4th, moving to Torquay in November.
3/11th London Regiment (Finsbury Rifles)January–autumn 1916
Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derbyshires) battalionJanuary–March 1917

SUTTON MANDEVILLE

UnitDatesComment
3/7th London RegimentJanuary–autumn 1915
31st Division artilleryAugust 1915 –January 1916
13th Royal Warwickshire Regiment (became 33rd Training Reserve Battalion)March 1917
37th Young Soldier Battalion became 53rd (Young Soldier) Battalion, Devonshire RegimentOctober 27, 1917,moving to Rollestone in January 1918.

Click on the link below to find a list of some of the men who were known to be in the Camps:

A list of British soldiers’ names gleaned from various sources

T.S.C 

2003

Content last updated 

25 November 2015