Royal Sussex Regiment - 12th (2nd South Downs) Battalion

Royal Sussex Regiment - 12th (2nd South Downs) Battalion

The 11th, 12th and 13th Battalions of the Royal Sussex Regiment, consisting of approximately 4,500 men, were known colloquially as “Lowther’s Lambs”. This was a reference to local MP Claude Lowther, who had taken personal responsibility for raising the battalions. The 12th and 13th Battalions, supported by the 11th, were sacrificed in a diversionary raid on the Boar’s Head salient at Richebourg on 30th June 1916 in an attempt to draw German attention away from the main Somme battle area further south. The Battle at Boar’s Head lasted less than five hours, but the Southdowns Brigade lost 17 officers and 349 other ranks. Over 1,000 men were wounded or taken prisoner, and the 13th Battalion was all but wiped out. June 30th 1916 was subsequently known as “The Day Sussex Died”. This community remembers the lives of men who served with the 12th Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment, whether they took part in the battle at Boar's Head or not, and includes all those who died, were wounded, or somehow survived relatively unscathed.

Created by: , Yvonne27542

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  • Profile picture for Reginald Buckwell

    Born 1893

    Died 1916

    British Army SD/1578 Private Royal Sussex Regiment 12th (2nd South Downs) Battalion

  • Profile picture for Alfred Harry Corke

    Born 1891

    Died 1916

    British Army SD/1675 Private Royal Sussex Regiment

    British Army SD/1675 Lance Corporal Royal Sussex Regiment 12th Battalion

    British Army SD/1675 Lance Corporal Royal Sussex Regiment 12th (2nd South Downs) Battalion

  • Profile picture for Edwin Baldwin

    Born 1896

    Died 1916

    British Army SD/1252 Private Royal Sussex Regiment

    British Army SD/1252 Private Royal Sussex Regiment 12th Battalion

  • Profile picture for Ernest Wilfred Hawes

    Born 1890

    Died 1916

    British Army SD/1596 Private Royal Sussex Regiment 12th (2nd South Downs) Battalion

  • Profile picture for Francis Turner

    Born 1878

    Died 1916

    British Army SD/2362 Private Royal Sussex Regiment 12th (2nd South Downs) Battalion

  • Profile picture for Richard Fry

    Born 1893

    Died 1916

    British Army SD/1330 Private Royal Sussex Regiment 12th (2nd South Downs) Battalion

  • Profile picture for Herbert Perigoe

    Died 1916

    British Army SD/1846 Private Royal Sussex Regiment 12th Battalion

  • Born 1888

    Died 1955

    British Army SD/1234 Private Royal Sussex Regiment 12th Battalion

  • Profile picture for Samuel Baker

    Died 1916

    British Army 4417 Private Royal Sussex Regiment

    British Army G/16288 Private Royal Sussex Regiment 12th Battalion

  • Profile picture for William Carver

    Born 1883

    Died 1916

    British Army SD/1799 Private Royal Sussex Regiment

  • Profile picture for Percy Bernard Johnson Gaut

    Born 1888

    Died 1916

    British Army SD/1227 Private Royal Sussex Regiment 12th (2nd South Downs) Battalion

  • Born 1892

    Died 1916

    British Army 2026 Acting Corporal Royal Sussex Regiment

    British Army G/24625 Acting Corporal The Queen's Regiment

    British Army G/24625 Corporal The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) 7th Battalion

  • Born 1887

    British Army 514234 Private Labour Corps

    British Army M/332886 Private Royal Army Service Corps 105th Battalion

    British Army SD/1436 Private Royal Sussex Regiment 12th (2nd South Downs) Battalion

  • Born 1880

    Died 1917

    British Army SD/996 Serjeant Royal Sussex Regiment 12th Battalion