A History of the 10th Battalion,
The Notts & Derbys

The 10th Battalion, the Notts & Derbys, The Sherwood Foresters, spent the whole of the Great War on the Western Front.  Consequently, this Kitchener Battalion saw action in most of the major engagements of the war.  Written using unpublished personal diaries from the Imperial War Museum and unit war diaries held at The National Archive, this book, Volume One, spans the time from the formation of the Battalion in Dorset in 1914 through its baptism of fire and service in the trenches of the Ypres Salient in 1915.

“Relieved the companies in the evening after 48 hours: two days without sitting or sleeping and standing in knee deep mud and slush is enough for all ranks”

10th Notts & Derbys war diary, the Ypres Salient, 2 December 1915.

The 10th Battalion, the Notts & Derbys, The Sherwood Foresters, spent the whole of the Great War on the Western Front.  This book, Volume Two, covers the battalion’s service at the Bluff, at Armentieres and on the Somme in 1916.

“Finding little or no resistance in the front lines the enemy continued to advance …”

10th Notts & Derbys war diary, the Bluff, February 1916.

The 10th Battalion, the Notts & Derbys, The Sherwood Foresters, spent the whole of the Great War on the Western Front.  This book, Volume Three, covers the battalion’s service from the Somme to Arras, Passchendaele and Cambrai in 1917.

“I sent a message to Geoffrey to push along the trench & find out if possible what was happening on the right.  The trench was in a bad condition, & rather congested, so he got out on top. Unfortunately the Boche snipers were very active & he was soon hit thro’ the lungs.”

Captain Daniel, 10th Notts & Derbys.