No

Date Died

Surname

Forenames

Rank

Decs

Age

Cause

Country

Location/Sector

Cemetery/Memorial

Notes

Died in 1918

1

10th January

SMITH

Reuben Hinton

Lt

-

20

A

UK

Herne Bay Camp, Kent

Herne Bay Cemetery (UR.30)

(1)

Notes:

1.   SMITH was killed whilst instructing in bombing when a bomb prematurely exploded.

The Battalion was formed at Herne Bay Camp on 1st January 1917 from what had previously been the regimentally unaffiliated 86th Provisional Battalion TF.   In February 1915 those men who were Home Service only, and those unfit men were separated from all Regimental Second and Third Line Battalions to form Home and Coastal Defence Battalions (termed Provisional Battalions).  The men from the five TF Battalions of the Devonshire Regiment and DCLI were formed into the Devon and Cornwall Brigade Provisional Battalion, later designated 86th Provisional Battalion TF, part of 10th Provisional Brigade.  By July 1916 the Brigade was based at Herne Bay, Kent under the command of UK Southern Army of Central Force.

The Military Service Act of 1916 swept away the Home/Foreign service distinction in the TF, and all TF soldiers became liable for overseas service, if medically fit. The Provisional Brigades thus became anomalous, and on 1 January 1917 the remaining Battalions became numbered Battalions of their parent Regiments: 86th Provisional Battalion became 15th Battalion Devonshire Regiment TF, and 10th Provisional Brigade became the 227th Mixed Brigade.  Part of these units' role was medical rehabilitation and the physical conditioning of sick and wounded men to render them fit for drafting overseas.

The 227th Brigade did not serve overseas, remaining as a Home and Coastal Defence unit.  It moved to Aldeburgh, Suffolk in 1918 part of 67th (2nd Home Counties) Division.  The Battalion was commanded by Lt-Col Albert Edward Kirk from 1 January 1917 to the end of the war.  The Battalion was disbanded on 12th June 1919 at Aldingham Camp, Lancs.

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.