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Aim of the Website/Project
The aim of this part of the website is
simple. It is to collate into one place an accurate
record of the service and death of the 235 officers of the
Dorsetshire Regiment who died in the Great War and to make a
permanent record of their sacrifice. These officers
served and died for their country on land, sea and in the air
and are listed here in a
Regimental Roll of Honour.
Accuracy and Research
The author has taken every reasonable care to
ensure that the information on this website is as accurate as
possible. Please contact the author should errors or omissions be discovered by
visitors to the site in order that corrective action can be
taken. Contact details are shown above and below. Research is continuing
for further information which will be posted on the site as soon as it is checked and
verified.
First World War Casualties
The formal dates of the First
World War as recognised by the UK Government are between
4th August 1914 and 31st August 1921 inclusive,
and any member of the UK and Commonwealth/Empire Armed Services who died
in this period, or as a result of their service
during this period, are officially registered
and commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves
Commission (CWGC) either by an approved
headstone on the grave, or if this is not
possible or practical, the name being inscribed
on a relevant Memorial to the Missing.
The
Dorsetshire Regiment in the Great War
After the Declaration of War on 4th August 1914
and at various stages up to 1st July 1918, the Dorchester
Regiment
had formed, disbanded, reorganised, and reconstituted up
to 14 Regular, Territorial Force, Service, Home Service,
Garrison and Reserve Battalions as described
here. These Battalions earned 57 Battle Honours
during the Great War and a list of these Honours can be
viewed
here.
Facts and Figures
A total of 235 officers of the Dorsetshire Regiment lost their lives in the Great War and a detailed
analysis of these casualties can be
viewed here.
232 are officially buried or commemorated on
Memorials To The Missing throughout the world as official war
casualties, and 3 who died after retirement from the Army are
not registered with the CWGC.
137 officers are buried or commemorated in
France and 22 in Belgium. 9 officers are commemorated
in Gallipoli and 24 are buried or commemorated in Mesopotamia
(now Iraq). Other burials or commemorations are in
Egypt, Germany, German East Africa (present day encompassing
Burundi, Rwanda and parts of Tanzania), India, Mozambique, Nyasaland
(now Malawi) and Palestine. There are 28 officers buried in the UK.
68 officers of the Regiment
who were killed or died whilst detached to other
Services, Headquarters, Units and fighting Battalions of other Regiments
are listed
here.
A total of 19 officers of other Regiments
lost their lives in the Great War whilst serving with fighting Battalions
of the Dorsetshire Regiment. A list of their names and
details of their death can be viewed
here.
Project
Development
In addition to the basic sources of
information outlined on the main Project
Home Page, an enormous
amount regarding officers of the Dorsetshire Regiment is available through the following organisations and
publications:
-
Commonwealth War Graves
Commission (CWGC)
-
"Officers Died in the Great War" (ODGW)
-
History of the Dorsetshire Regiment
1914 - 1918 (3 Volumes)
-
British Regiments
1914 - 1918: by Brigadier E A James
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The Keep Military Museum,
Dorchester
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General Register Office (GRO) Index To War
Deaths 1914 - 1921, Army Officers
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Army Lists (1914
- 1921) (from the National Library of Scotland)
-
Cross of Sacrifice - Officers Who Died 1914 - 1918)
-
Bond of Sacrifice
(Volumes 1 and 2)
-
De Ruvigny's Roll
of Honour 1914 - 1918
-
War Office
officers personal files held in Catalogues WO 339 and WO 374 at The
National Archives
-
Medal Index
Cards held in Catalogue WO 372 at The National Archives
-
Service Medal and Award Rolls
1914 - 1918 held in Catalogue WO 329 at The National
Archives
-
Battalion War
Diaries and Histories (available in Catalogue WO95 at the
National Archives)
-
British First World War Trench
Maps, 1915 - 1918 (from National Library of Scotland)
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National and Local
contemporary press.
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The Times Digital
Archive 1785 - 1985
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The
London Gazette
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War Memorials and
commemorative plaques
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The RAF Museum Archive (for RAF/RFC Casualty
Cards)
-
Royal Flying Corps Research Data Website
-
Fatal Air Accidents in Britain Website (Period 1914 -
1920)
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The
Great War Forum
-
The Long, Long
Trail - Discovering the British Army and its Soldiers in the
Great War
-
FreeBMD Project
-
The
Imperial War Museum National War Memorial Register
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The National Army
Museum
-
The Wartime Memories Project
-
Ancestry.co.uk
- Military Records
These sources, with others, together form the
basis of the
Roll of Honour of
Officers of the Dorsetshire Regiment who died in
the Great War.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The CWGC commemorates those official
casualties who died in service, or died due to service, during
the First World War. The formal inclusive dates of
the war are between 4th August 1914 to 31st August 1921 and any
member of the UK and Commonwealth/Empire Armed Services who died during this period are
officially registered and commemorated by the CWGC either by an
approved headstone on the grave, or if this is not possible or
practical, the name being inscribed on a Memorial to the
Missing.
There are some apparent
anomalies in the individual records in the Debt of Honour Register
maintained by the CWGC and these are
listed here with
the suggested corrective action taken, and the long term aim is to correct all of these
inaccuracies.
In December 2020, the Commission reviewed
their policy on amendments to the Casualty Database.
One of the outcomes of the review was that they would no longer
add Honours and Awards to the database where there is no entitlement to
post-nominal letters. Therefore the recording of
"Mentioned in Despatches", for instance, would no longer be carried out.
Officers of
Other Regiments Honoured in this Website/Project
Also
recorded and honoured in this website/project are the names of
fallen officers
of the following Yeomanry and Infantry Regiments:
Site Author/Webmaster
The site author/webmaster can be contacted here:
fallenofficersofthegreatwar@gmail.com
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