Royal Guernsey Light Infantry - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Royal Guernsey Light Infantry was a regiment in the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

that was formed from the Royal Guernsey Militia in 1916 to serve in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. They fought as part of the British 29th Division

British 29th Division

The British 29th Division, known as the Incomparable Division, was a First World War regular army infantry division formed in early 1915 by combining various units that had been acting as garrisons about the British Empire. Under the command of Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston, the division...

. Of the 2280 Guernseymen who fought on the western front with the RGLI, 327 died and 667 were wounded.

The regimental motto, Diex Aix, derives from the battle cry

Battle cry

A battle cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same military unit.Battle cries are not necessarily articulate, although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religious sentiment....

used by the Normans

Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

at the Battle of Hastings

Battle of Hastings

The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...

.

The Regiment lives on in the Guernsey Army Cadet Force (Det.) Light Infantry, who, although they do not wear the RGLI Cap Badge, still keep alive the history of the Regiment within the Detachment.

1916

17 December

Royal Guernsey Light Infantry established. (Royal Guernsey Militia disbanded)

1917

Training in Guernsey at Fort George

Fort George, Guernsey

Fort George is situated in St Peter Port, Guernsey, and is a former garrison for the British Army. Construction started in 1780, and was completed in 1812. It was built to accommodate the increase in the number of troops stationed in the island in anticipation of a French invasion during the...

, L'Ancresse and Beaucamps

1 June

To England - Bourne Park Camp near Canterbury for advanced infantry training.

September

Soldiers sent on a final leave

26 September

The RGLI 1st Service Battalion (44 Officers and 964 other ranks) boarded trains to Southampton and onwards to France.

9-14 October

Battle of Poelcappelle

The Battle of Poelcappelle marked the end of highly successful British attacks during the Battle of Passchendaele. Pitting the attacking forces against relatively intact German defences in rain and muddy conditions like those in August, the main attack was a failure and only the diversionary attack...

(Part of Third Battle of Ypres, or ‘Passchendaele’). After this, rest and training for Cambrai.

20 November - 3 December

Battle of Cambrai, where the RGLI's role was to go through the Hindenburg Line

Hindenburg Line

The Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17. The line stretched from Lens to beyond Verdun...

after the first wave and take 'Nine Wood' to the north of Marcoing. This went according to plan, and they then moved into Marcoing and on to the front line at Masnières. The Guernseymen found themselves defending the small town of Les Rues Vertes against a huge and determined German counter-attack. They suffered heavy casualties, with nearly 40% of the regiment either killed or injured during the battle, but only withdrew when ordered to by the high command.

After this, rest, refitting, training.

1918

18-26 January

RGLI went back into the front line at St Jean (north east of Ypres). After this, work parties, training.

8-29 March

In Battle zone, front line at Poelcappelle. After this, rest and training

3-7 April

In front line, Passchendaele sector.

10-14 April

Battle of the Lys

The Battle of the Lys was part of the 1918 German offensive in Flanders during World War I...

, east of Hazebrouck. German 6th Army under Von Quast smashes 5 miles through allied lines. The RGLI is bussed south to help stem the German advance. Hopelessly outnumbered, but holding the Germans in a fighting retreat from Doulieu to near Merris, the Battalion suffers appalling casualties for the second time in the war. The RGLI is relieved by the Australians.

30 April

The RGLI, withdrawn from the 29th Division and 86th Brigade, become GHQ troops well to the rear in Ecuires for the rest of the war and beyond.

Honours & Awards

Order of St. Michael and St. George (Companion)

T. L. de Havilland, Lieutenant Colonel

Royal Victorian Order (5th Class)

N. R. Ingrouille, Lieutenant

Military Cross

E. J. Stone, 2nd Lieutenant

H. E. K. Stranger, 2nd Lieutenant

H. A. Le Bas, Captain

Ambrose Sherwill

Ambrose Sherwill

Sir Ambrose James Sherwill KBE MC was Bailiff of Guernsey from 1946 to 1959.Sherwill was commissioned into The Buffs in 1916 and was awarded the Military Cross in 1917, being promoted Lieutenant shortly afterwards...

, Lieutenant

F. de M. Laine, Lieutenant

Distinguished Conduct Medal

W. H. Budden, 569 Acting Sergeant

W. J. Le Poidevin, 590 Sergeant

H. L. James, 586 Sergeant

Military Medal

T. R. Robin, 841 Private

C. H. Yeaghers, 610 Private

J. Sealley, 843 Corporal

W. Gannicott, 335 Corporal

W. T. Gregg, 87 Private

Médaille Militaire (France)

J. Sealley, 843 Corporal

Mentioned in Despatches

(Despatch from Sir Douglas Haig to the Secretary of State for War, 7 April 1918)

E. A. Dorey, Lieutenant

H. Jones, Lieutenant

C. C. Machon, 226 Lance Corporal

W. T. Robinson, 1131 Lance Corporal

Poetry

See ye Masnières canal a'flood

And where yon green graves lay?

There Norman warriors fled to their God

Ne'er more to glimpse the day.

But writ there, first, a name in blood-

Norman Ten Hundred.

At Doulieu, the night birds flit

Across yon blue-grey water.

And at dusk ghost warriors sit-

Wraiths of a fearsome slaughter.

There too in blood the name is writ-

Norman Ten Hundred.

And thus there the battle's flame

Laid men out fast and low,

So young Sarnia died, but Fame

Cast o'er their graves its glow,

And honours wove about the name

Norman Ten Hundred.

(From Blicq, A Stanley, Norman Ten Hundred, Guernsey Press, 1920)

The Channel Islands and the Great War Study Group

RGLI page includes Nominal Roll, Casualty Lists, War Diary
Transcript of RGLI War Diary

1916

1917

1918

Honours & Awards

Poetry

The Channel Islands and the Great War Study Group

Other Links