Home > Army Organisation > Infantry > The Suffolk Regiment
To trace the movements and actions of any battalion, click on the Divisions with which it served
Battalions of the regular army
1st Battalion:
August 1914 : in Khartoum, Sudan.
Returned to England 23 October 1914.
17 November 1914 : attached to 84th Brigade, 28th
Division.
2nd Battalion:
August 1914 : at the Curragh in
Ireland. Part of 14th Brigade, 5th
Division.
30 September 1914 : transferred to GHQ after suffering heavy casualties at Le
Cateau.
25 October 1914 : attached to 8th Brigade, 3rd
Division.
22 October 1915 : attached to 76th Brigade, 3rd
Division.
3rd (Reserve) Battalion:
August 1914 : in Bury St Edmunds. A training unit, it moved to Felixstowe for a role with the Harwich garrison and remained as such throughout the war. The first reinforcement draft for France left as early as 26 August 1914. Moved to Rugeley Camp in March 1919.
Battalions of the Territorial Force
1/4th Battalion:
August 1914 : in
Portman Road, Ipswich. Part of Norfolk and Suffolk Brigade, East Anglian
Division.
9 November 1914 : landed at Le Havre, having left the Division. Attached to the
Jullundur Brigade, the Lahore Division.
15 November 1915 : transferred to 46th Brigade, 15th
Division.
22 February 1916 : transferred to 98th Brigade, 33rd
Division.
15 February 1918 : transferred to 58th
Division as Pioneers.
2/4th Battalion:
Formed at Ipswich
in October 1914 as a second line battalion. Became part of 2nd Norfolk
and Suffolk Brigade (208th) , 2nd East Anglian Division.
December 1915 : disbanded in England
1/5th Battalion:
August 1914 : in Bury St. Edmunds. Part of Norfolk and Suffolk Brigade, East Anglian Division. Renamed 54th Division in May 1915
2/5th Battalion:
Formed at Bury St.
Edmunds in October 1914. Became part of 2nd Norfolk and Suffolk Brigade
(208th), 2nd East Anglian Division.
18 September 1917 : transferred to 202nd Brigade, 67th Division.
April 1918 : disbanded in England
1/6th (Cyclist) Battalion:
August 1914 : in Ipswich, joined 1st Mounted Division in August 1914. Remained in UK throughout the war
2/6th (Cyclist) Battalion:
Formed at Ipswich in September 1914. Remained in England throughout the war
3/4th and 3/4th Battalions:
Formed at Ipswich
and Bury St. Edmunds in April 1915.
April 1916 : became Reserve Bns and 4th then absorbed 5th on 1 September
1916. In spring 1917, it amalgamated with the Cambridge Reserve
Battalion while both were at Halton near Tring. The merged unit was
renamed the Cambridge and Suffolk (Reserve) Battalion. In August 1917
it moved to Crowborough and in September 1918 moved on again to Hastings.
3/6th (Cyclist) Battalion:
Formed at Ipswich in May 1915. Remained in England until disbanded in March 1916
18th Battalion:
Formed on 1 January 1917 from what had previously been the 64th Provisional Battalion of the TF. It had been formed in June 1915 from "Home Service only" personnel
15th (Suffolk
Yeomanry) Battalion
Formed in Egypt on 5 January 1917 from dismounted Yeomanry troops.
January 1917: attached to 230th Brigade, 74th
Division
Battalions of the New Armies
7th (Service) Battalion:
Formed at Bury St.
Edmunds in August 1914 as part of K1 and attached to 35th
Brigade, 12th
(Eastern) Division.
19 May 1918: reduced to cadre strength after suffering heavy casualties.
24 May 1918: transferred to 39th Division.
16 August 1918: transferred to 197th Brigade, 66th
Division
8th (Service)
Battalion
Formed at Bury St. Edmunds in September 1914 as part of K2 and
attached to 53rd Brigade, 18th (Eastern)
Division.
7 February 1918: disbanded in France
9th (Service)
Battalion
Formed at Bury St. Edmunds in September 1914 as part of K3
and attached to 71st Brigade, 24th
Division.
11 October 1915: transferred with Brigade to 6th
Division.
16 February 1918: disbanded in France
10th (Reserve) Battalion
Formed in Felixstowe in October 1914 as a Service battalion, part of K4, by breaking
off two recruit companies from the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion. Was attached
to 94th Brigade, original 31st Division. Early in 1915 was moved to Bury St
Edmunds.
April 1915: became a Reserve
battalion and moved to Colchester. Moved on to Dovercourt in March 1916.
1 September 1916: became 26th Battalion in 6th Reserve Brigade of the Training
Reserve
11th (Service) Battalion (Cambridgeshire)
Formed at Cambridge, 25 September 1914, by the Cambridge and Isle of Ely TF Association.
May 1915 : attached to 101st Brigade, 34th
Division.
26 May 1918 : transferred to 183rd Brigade, 61st
(2nd South Midland) Division
12th (Service) Battalion (East Anglia)
Formed at Bury St. Edmunds, July 1915, as a bantam Battalion.
November 1915: attached to 121st Brigade, 40th
Division.
6 May 1918: reduced to cadre strength.
16 June 1918 : transferred to 43rd Brigade, 14th
(Light) Division.
13th (Reserve) Battalion (Cambridgeshire)
Formed in Cambridge in September 1915 from two reserve companies of 11th (Service)
Battalion and attached to 94th Brigade, original 31st Division. Moved to Trowbridge
in early November 1915 and to Leamington in February 1916. In April 1916 it
moved to Lessness Park, Abbey Wood and at the end of July went to Chohole Gate
camp, Richmond Park.
1 September 1916: became 108th Battalion in 26th Reserve Brigade of the Training
Reserve . On 10 October 1916 it was converted into a reserve garrison battalion.
Other battalions raised by the regiment
16th
Battalion
Formed in Pirbright on 1 June 1918 and absorbed into 12th Bn on 18 June
1918.
1st
(Reserve) Garrison Battalion
Formed in Gravesend in March 1916. Remained in England throughout the war.
2nd (Home Service) Garrison Battalion
Formed in Harwich in May 1916.
August 1917: became 6th Battalion of the Royal Defence Corps. Remained
in England throughout the war.
| Did you know? There is a memorial to the regiment's 2nd Battalion on the battlefield of Le Cateau. |