The Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's)

Others are better placed to detail events affecting the Regiments and Corps of the British Army during the Great War.  The intent here is to give the briefest of overviews of the situation immediately preceeding the fighting.  For more detail go the web pages of the Regimental Museum.  

This page covers the battalions of the Wiltshire Regiment where many Burbage soldiers served.  Numbers in brackets denote service in other battalions of the Wiltshire Regiment.

3rd Battalion Wiltshire Regiment.  The 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion mobilised on 8th August 1914 and proceeded, under Lieutenant Colonel Lord Heytesbury, to Weymouth where at first they were billeted on the inhabitants.  The duty of the Battalion was to garrison the town and protect protland harbour from attack.  The Battalion moved to Lodmor in early 1915.  It became a training and holding unit for the Regiment in the South of England for the duration of the war.

Burbage Soldiers Serving with the 3rd Battalion:

5th (Service) Battalion Wiltshire Regiment.  The first Wiltshire Battalion of the New Armies raised by Lord Kitchener at the outbreak of war.  Formed in August 1914 in Tidworth, they trained in Cirencester and Woking before leaving for Gallipoli in July 1915 under command of Lieutenant Colonel Carden.

6th (Service) Battalion Wiltshire Regiment.  Raised in September 1914, the Battalion was trained on Salisbury Plain, Basingstoke and Weston-Super-Mare.  It embarked for France in July 1915 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Jefferies.

7th (Service) Battalion Wiltshire Regiment.  The Battalion was raised in October 1914 and trained at Marlborough And other Wiltshire towns.  The Battalion proceeded to France in September 1915 under Lieutenant Colonel Rocke and then embarked at Marsaille, arriving at Salonica in November 1915.

8th (Service) Battalion Wiltshire Regiment.  Two battalions were raised at Weymouth & Trowbridge but both had a short existance.  Personnel were transferred to other battalions to make good the shortfall from losses.

1st Volunteer Battalion Wiltshire Regiment.  The battalion was raised in the early days of the war for the purpose of home defence and was composed largely of men who were too old or too young for more active service.