Fallen Officers of the Great War   |   South Wales Borderers

No

Date Died

Surname

Forenames

Rank

Decs

Age

Cause

Country

Location/Sector

Cemetery/Memorial

Notes

1916

1

14th June

LLEWELLYN

Harold Alfred

Lt

-

?

AK

Salonika

Kriston

Sarigol Military Cemetery, Kriston (C.498)

-

1917

2

15th April

SPENCE

Geoffrey Shalders

2Lt

-

22

DOI

UK

Hospital at London

Bedford Cemetery, Beds (F.6.209)

(1)

1918

3

5th April

HESLOP

Walter

Lt

-

27

DOI

UK

Barnard Castle

Darlington West Cemetery (R.7P.53)

(2)

Officers of Other Regiments Who Died in the Great War Whilst Serving With 8th Battalion South Wales Borderers

1

8th May 1917

MONTAGUE

Reginald Marcus Henry Cruise

2Lt

-

31

KIA

Salonika

"Claw Ravine", near Doiran

Karasouli Military Cemetery (E.1013)

(3)  (p374)

Notes:   (Those numbers marked with a "p" in the Notes column refers to the page in "The History of the South Wales Borderers 1914 - 1918" by C T Atkinson where the death of the officer is mentioned or indicated).

1.   SPENCE had been medically evacuated from Salonika and died of malaria.

2.   HESLOP had been medically evacuated from Salonika and died of malaria.

3.   MONTAGUE was detached from The Buffs (East Kent Regiment).

Battalion History

The Battalion assembled and commenced training for active service at Lewes and Seaford at the end of September 1914, where it was assigned to 67th Infantry Brigade of 22nd Division.   The Battalion moved to Hastings on 1st December 1914 where it remained until February 1915 when it moved in succession to Battle, Hawkhurst, Maidstone, Seaford and finally, at the end of May 1915, to Aldershot where it remained until embarking for Le Havre on 6th September 1915.   On arrival in with the BEF in France the Battalion entrained initially to Amiens  then marched to Bertangles, to the north of Amiens, and commenced training for trench warfare near Maricourt.   The 22nd Division was selected to join the British Salonika Force and the Battalion embarked for Salonika, at Marseilles, on 30th October 1915, arriving on 12th November 1915.

Served in Salonika for the remainder of the war and a detailed list of engagements and operations can be viewed in a history of the 22nd Division.   The Battalion amalgamated with 7th Battalion SWB on 6th December 1918 at Stavros.

The Battalion lost 3 officers, 1 officer from another Regiment and 90 other ranks.

Regimental History

The South Wales Borderers was formed on 1st July 1881, as part of the Childers Reforms, which saw the two separate Battalions of the 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot become the Regular 1st and 2nd Battalions of the retitled Regiment, with the Regimental Depot based at The Barracks, Brecon. 

The 1881 reforms also redesignated the Militia and Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVC) within the Regimental District as numbered Battalions of the Regiment - the 3rd (Militia) Battalion was formed from the Royal South Wales Borderers Militia and the 4th (Militia) Battalion from the Royal Montgomeryshire Rifles.  The four (later five) Rifle Volunteer Corps, the 1st Brecknockshire RVC, 1st Monmouthshire RVC, 2nd Monmouthshire RVC, 3rd Monmouthshire RVC and 1st Montgomeryshire RVC were retitled as 4th to 8th Volunteer Battalions respectively.

The 1908 Haldane Reforms reorganised the Regimental Militia and Volunteer Battalions, with the 3rd Militia Battalion forming the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion.   The 4th (Militia) Battalion was transferred to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers with the Montgomeryshire Volunteer Battalion.   The three Monmouthshire Volunteer Battalions were reorganised as the newly formed Monmouthshire Regiment of the Territorial Force (TF).   The 4th Volunteer Battalion became the 1st Brecknockshire Battalion of the Regimental Territorial Force (TF).   After the Declaration of War on 4th August 1914 and up to 1st July 1918, the South Wales Borderers had formed, disbanded, reorganised or reconstituted 20 Regular, Territorial Force, Service, Reserve, Graduated and Young Soldier Battalions.

A detailed history of the South Wales Borderers can be viewed here.