May | 2026 | The Observation Post

A few weeks ago I was asked to guide a group of family and friends from Nottingham to the Somme Battlefield. One of their ancestors was killed on 1st July 1916, the First Day of the Somme. He was a member of the 1/7th battalion, territorials and fell in the doomed diversionary attack on Gommecourt north of the main attack.
We could visit the site of the battle and find his name on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. The group had visited the Somme before. So I thought about an itinerary that would visit other places where the Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment) fought on the Somme.

Here is a summary of the Battalions of the Sherwood Foresters who fought on the Somme in 1916

Battalions	Recruitment	Formation	Comments
1^st	Regular	24th Brigade, 8th Division	In India in 1914
2^nd	Regular	71^st Brigade, 6th Division	In Sheffield in 1914
3^rd4^th 13^th & 14^th	Reserve and training		In UK
1/5^th	Territorial Force (TF)	139th Brigade, 46th (North Midland) Division	Drill Hall, Derby
1/6^th	TF	139th Brigade, 46th (North Midland) Division	Chesterfield
1/7^th (Robin Hood)	TF	139th Brigade, 46th (North Midland) Division	Nottingham
1/8^th	TF	139th Brigade, 46th (North Midland) Division	Newark
9th (Service)	K1 (Aug 14)	33rd Brigade, 11th (Northern) Division	Formed Derby
10^th (Service)	K2 (Sap 14)	51st Brigade; 17th (Northern) Division	Formed Derby
11^th (Service)	K3 (Sep 14)	70th Brigade in 8^th then 23rd Division	Formed Derby
12th (Service) Battalion (Pioneers	K3 (Sep 14	24th Division	Formed Derby
15th (Service) Battalion (Nottingham)	Feb 15 by mayor and committee	105th Brigade in 35th Division	Formed Nottingham as “bantams” below 5ft 2ins
16th (Service) Battalion (Chatsworth Rifles)	Jun 15 by Duke of Devonshire & Derbyshire TF Association	117th Brigade in 39th Division	Formed Derrby
17th (Service) Battalion (Welbeck Rangers)	Jun 15 by mayor and the committee	117th Brigade in 39th Division	Formed Nottingham

The 3rd, 4th, 7th,8th, 13th and 14th battalions were reserve or depot units while the 20th was a Labour battalion.

Chris McCarthy’s Somme Day by Day lists sixteen actions where battalions of the Sherwood Foresters are mentioned in the text. Some of these are part of the Big Battle Days of the Somme, such as the first day, Flers Courcelette on 15th September, Thiepval Ridge 26 September and the battle of the Ancre 13 Novembe. Others seem to have been more local operations.

The map shows the location of these actions.

	Date/weather	Location	Unit	Summary	Result	Casualties
1.	Sat 1 July 72^oF clear sky	Gommecourt	1/5,1/6,1/7 &1/8 Bns	Disastrous diversionary attack	Failure	236 dead for both actions
2.	1 July	Orvillers	11^th Bn	Failed attack N of Orvillers	Failure	236 dead for both actions
3.	Sun 2 July 75^oF clear sky	Fricourt	10^th Bn	Capture 100yards Railway Trench	Success	No dead 2 July CWGC
4.	Mon 3 July 68^oF fine with some cloud and thunderstorms	Fricourt- Capture of Railway Alley	10 Bn	“Bombers” of 10 bn involved	Success	7 dead 4-5 July CWGC
5.	Thu 20 Jul 75^oF fine morning, clear sky	Arrow Head Copse and Malzhorn Farm	15 Bn	At 5 am after a 30-minute bombardment one company attacked each location , suffering heavy casualties from MG and shellfire. Those parties that reached the trenches were shelled out	Failure	17 dead CWGC
6.	Mon 7 Aug 73^oF	Delville Wood	10 bn	At 4.30 pm 51 bde attacked to establish posts beyond Delville Wood. At midnight 10 bn do so	Success	8 dead CWGC
7.	Sun 3 Sep 72^oF 4mm rain	Ancre Operations Mary Redan	17 Bn	At 05.10 under intense barrage 116 and 117 bdes attacked on right & left, 116 captured front line trenches. 17 bn on left held up by MG fire.	Failure	61 dead CWGC
8.	Wed 13 Sep 72^oF overcast	Quadrilateral E of Ginchy	2 bn	At 6 pm 2^nd Bn and 9 Suffolks failed attack on Quadrilateral from SW. 521 casualties for two bns	Failure	7 dead CWGC
9.	Fri 15 Sep 59^oF	Quadrilateral E of Ginchy	2 Bn	Attack supported by a tank. 2 bn in second wave at 08.20 held up by uncut wire and MG fire. Survivors take shelter in shell holes.	Failure	38 dead over three days 15-17 Sep CWGC
10.	Sat 16 Sep 66^oF fine and sunny	SW Mouquet Farm	9 bn	9 bn stop Germans from recapturing Constance Trench	Success	2 dead CWGC
11.	Tue 26 Sep 75^oF fine day	Between Thiepval and Mouquet Farm	9 bn	As part of 33 Bde, capture Joseph,(12.45) Schwaben, Zollern(13.30) and all but 250m of the R side of Hessian Trench. (16.00)	Success	36 dead CWGC
12.	Sun 1 Oct 65^oF sunny day	Transloy Ridge SE Le Sars	11 bn	Formed up in no man’s land and took Flers trench and Flers support trench	Success	9 dead GWGC
13.	Sun 8 Oct 64^oF rain but clearing to a fine day	Schwaben Redoubt	16 & 17bns	German night attack on Schwaben redoubt with flamethrowers repulsed by 16 & 17 bns who have just taken over position.	Success	28 dead CWGC
14.	Mon 9 Oct 64^oF fine	Schwaben Redoubt	16 bn	At 0430 16 bn surprise attack in the dark on N face of Schwaben Redoubt. Right coy entered trench but forced out.	Failure	6 dead 16 &17 bn CWGC
15.	Sat 21 Oct 45^oF fine but very cold	“Pope’s nose”	17 bn	Subsidiary attack on “Pope’s nose “gained some ground” in support of attack on Stuff Trench	Success	No dead on CWGC
16.	Mon 13 Nov 54^o F	Ancre Valley	16 & 17 bns	At 0615 16 bn attacked with two coys to clear dugouts in river banks and one coy along the top of the river bank. Germans taken by surprise. St Pierre Divon taken by mix of 16 bn, and other units. 16 bn rescue a bogged in tank under attack by Germans. 721 soldiers &13 Officers PW	Success	One dead CWGC CO reports One officer KIA 4 ORs KIA 15 Missing 49 Wounded