No

Date Died

Surname

Forenames

Rank

Decs

Age

Cause

Country

Location/Sector

Cemetery/Memorial

Notes

Died in 1916

1

11th July

UPSTONE

Cedric Donovan

2Lt

-

23

DOI

India

Coloba Hospital, Bombay

Kirkee 1914 - 1918 Memorial (Face C)

(1)

2

8th October

SYDENHAM

Humphrey St Barbe

Lt

-

20

DOI

Mespot

Hospital at Amara, north west of Basra

Amara War Cemetery (XV.C.9)

(2)

Died in 1917

3

3rd February

McEACHRAN

Charles

Lt

-

28

KIA

Mespot

Hai Salient, River Tigris, south west of Kut

Amara War Cemetery (XXI.K.20)

(p202)

4

3rd February

PARTINGTON

John Bertram

Capt

-

32

KIA

Mespot

Hai Salient, River Tigris, south west of Kut

Amara War Cemetery (XXI.J.5)

(p202)

5

3rd February

WOOLLCOMBE

John Morth

Major

MiD

39

KIA

Mespot

Hai Salient, River Tigris, south west of Kut

Amara War Cemetery (XXI.L.9)

(p202)

Notes:   (The numbers marked with a "p" in the Notes column refers to the page in "Devonshire Regiment 1914-1919, Volumes 1 and 2", by C T Atkinson, where the death of the officer is mentioned or indicated).

1.   UPSTONE died of typhoid.   He is buried in Kirkee Cemetery, Mumbai (Bombay), India Plot N/XI Grave C but the grave, as with others in this cemetery, is not maintainable by the CWGC.

2.   SYDENHAM died of endocarditis.

4th Battalion TF was formed in 1908, based at Exeter, part of the newly constituted Territorial Force (TF).   At the outbreak of war on 4th August 1914 the Battalion was at Annual Camp on Woodbury Common, Exeter.   Training for deployment for war operations commenced at Salisbury Plain and during this period a second-line of the Battalion was formed from regimental Territorial Force personnel who did not volunteer for overseas service together with the huge number of untrained recruits.   The second-line was named the 2/4th Battalion TF.

1/4th Battalion TF

After the second-line was formed and the Battalion was renamed as the 1/4th Battalion, it was deployed to India in October 1914 for Garrison and Security duties in the Lahore area.   In February 1916 the battalion was transferred to the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force (MEF) for operations in that theatre, fighting at Sheikh Saad, the Hai Salient, and later employed on Garrison duties in Amara, and Baqubah northeast of Baghdad.   The Battalion was reduced to a cadre in March 1919 and returned to the UK in August 1919 when it was disbanded.

The Devonshire Regiment was formed on 1st July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, which saw the two Battalions of the 11th (North Devon) Regiment of Foot being renamed and reconstituted as the Regular 1st and 2nd Battalions of the new Regiment, with the Regimental Depot based at Topsham Barracks, Exeter.  The 1881 reforms also redesignated the Militia and Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVC) units within the Regimental District of Devon as Battalions of the new Regiment  - the East Devon Militia forming the 1st (Militia) Battalion and the South Devon Militia forming the 2nd (Militia) Battalion.   Five Volunteer Battalions of the new Regiment were formed from the county Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVC) units: 1st Devonshire (Exeter and South Devon) RVC , the 2nd Devonshire (Prince of Wales's) RVC, the 3rd Devonshire RVC, the 4th Devonshire RVC and the 5th Devonshire RVC.  In 1908, as part of the Haldane Reforms, the two Militia Battalions were amalgamated, reorganised and restructured forming the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion and the five Volunteer Battalions were reorganised and formed the 4th Battalion, 5th Battalion, 6th Battalion and 7th Battalion of the Regimental Territorial Force (TF).   After the Declaration of War on 4th August 1914 and at various stages up to 1st June 1918, the order of battle of the Devonshire Regiment was made up of 30 Regular, Territorial Force, Service, Labour, Works, Garrison, Reserve and Graduated Battalions.

A detailed history of the Devonshire Regiment can also be viewed here, here and here.

The "Devonshire Regiment 1914 - 1918" (by C T Atkinson - ISBN 13: 978-184342150 ) provides a detailed account of the operations of the Battalions of the Regiment which took an active part in the Great War.