On 9 June 40th Division completed its concentration around
Lillers near
Béthune in
First Army's area. Here it resumed training, as well as supplying working parties. On 16 June it moved closer to the front so that units could be sent up the line for attachment to
15th (Scottish) Division in the
Lens sector for their introduction to
trench warfare. 13th East Surreys were attached to
44th Bde, and each company was attached to a different battalion in the front line for four days: • A Company to 8th
Seaforth Highlanders • B Company to 8th/10th
Gordon Highlanders • C Company to 7th
Cameron Highlanders • D Company to 9th
Black Watch During these attachments the battalion suffered its first few casualties. On 11 July 13th ESR took over its own section of the front for the first time, facing the
Hohenzollern Redoubt. B Company amused themselves by going out at night and placing notice bards in the enemy wire giving news of
Allied successes. The battalion also carried out its first
trench raid. Enemy shellfire and snipers accounted for a steady trickle of casualties. On 8 August the British carried out a bombardment with rifle grenades and trench mortars to test the enemy response, and 13th ESR lost 5 men killed and 10 wounded from the Germans' retaliatory bombardment. For the rest of the summer the battalion alternated between trench duty and
billets in
Loos. 40th Division was taken out of the line and rested in September, but returned to the Loos sector later in the month.
Ancre All summer the
Somme Offensive had been raging further south. In late October 40th Division prepared to enter the fighting. First it marched to
Averdoingt to carry out training, then on 2 November it began the march south. It paused at
Vacquerie on 5 November for a further week's training. It then resumed its march via
Doullens to
Souastre. 120th Brigade was then loaned to
49th (West Riding) Division and took over a sector of that formation's front line at
Hébuterne on 15 November. Here the trenches were falling in under the wet weather and were impassable in places. Although the
Battle of the Ancre (the final phase of the Somme Offensive) had begun, 13th ESR's sector was quiet. However the battalion was caught by an enemy bombardment on 19 November; 2 ORs were killed and 5 wounded, and the battalion won its first gallantry medal when
Company Sergeant-Major R.J. Padget went forward under heavy fire to rescue men from collapsed shelters. He was awarded the
Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM).
Winter 1916–17 120th Brigade's attachment ended on 21 November and it joined the rest of 40th Division at
Couin, then marched back to billets, with 13th ESR at
Bussus-Bussuel from 24 November. It remained there, training, until 14 December, when it marched to
Pont-Remy where it entrained for
Dernancourt, where it went into camp. Much effort was spent on draining the camp, and 13th ESR contributed a detachment of men to '40th Division Works Battalion'. On 26 December 120th Bde took over the front line at
Bouchavesnes; each battalion went into the line with 20 officers and 600 ORs, the surplus details remaining in camp. When the battalion was relieved on 31 December it took 7 hours struggling along mud-filled communication trenches to meet the lorries waiting to take the exhausted men back to camp. The battalion went back into the line on 8 January 1917 in the
Rancourt sector, where the defences consisted of a string of small posts surrounded by mud, and 120th Bde had to organise mule trains to bring up supplies each night. Sickness began to take its toll of the battalion's strength. Lieutenant-Col Newton was in poor heath and during January Lt-Col
Ernest Atkins (
Leicestershire Regiment) was posted as second-in-command and frequently deputised for Lt-Col Newton. After one more spell in the front line, 18–22 January, 13th ESR left the sector at the end of January for rest billets in
Corbie and then to
Bray-sur-Somme, where it spent the next month in training and on working parties (3 ORs being killed while unloading ammunition from a train). The training emphasised
Lewis guns and the new 'fighting platoon' tactics. After six weeks out of the line, the battalion returned to the trenches at Bouchavesnes on 6 March, where it began alternating with 14th A&SH between the front line, support line, and brigade reserve at 'Howitzer Wood', in snow and under regular shelling.
Villers-Plouich , showing the destruction by the retreating Germans, 1917. On 17 March a raid by 40th Division under cover of bad weather reported the German front line to be only lightly held. That day the Germans had begun withdrawing from in front of the division. This was part of a large-scale retreat to the prepared positions of the
Hindenburg Line (
Operation Alberich). The division immediately began cautiously following up, with patrols out in front, in contact with German rearguards. 13th ESR was in brigade reserve at the time and was not ordered forward until the following day. Brigade HQ ordered 13th ESR's transport officer, Lt Beecroft, to take up ammunition and supplies to the battalion heading in the direction of
Péronne, but could not tell him where it might be found. Towards dusk Beecroft was approaching the town with no sign of the battalion. Although warned by an officer that the Germans might still be in the town, he decided to risk it and his column of pack mules passed through the deserted and burning town without opposition, to the amazement of a British cavalry patrol cautiously following him up the road. By chance he managed to find 13th ESR spending the night in abandoned farm buildings and
dugouts at
Allaines, having passed by Péronne. Leaving 13th ESR at Allaines as
XV Corps' reserve 40th Division continued its deliberate advance until 24 March when it was leapfrogged by another division taking the lead. The troops were then set to repairing the roads and railways that had been destroyed by the retreating enemy. 13th ESR was based at
Curlu from 21 March, working on the
Maricourt–Péronne railway. Once communications had been restored, 40th Division closed up to the line of fortified villages that formed the outpost screen for the Hindenburg Line. It was here that German resistance stiffened. 40th Division began operations against these outposts on 21 April. With both Lt-Cols Newton and Atkins absent on courses, the battalion was temporarily commanded by Capt L.B. Mills. 119th Brigade attacked 'Fifteen Ravine' with 120th Bde on its left. The battalions of 119th Bde had a stiff fight for the shallow ravine itself, but for 13th ESR it was an almost bloodless operation. Shortly after midnight on 20/21 April the battalion sent forward patrols that found no sign of the enemy, so it moved about forward and established a string of strongpoints roughly from the strongly-held village of
Villers-Plouich. The rest of the battalion held the main line of resistance back on the edge of
Gouzeaucourt Wood. Its casualties in this operation were just 3 wounded. On 24 April 13th ESR led the attack on Villers-Plouich, with the second objective being to establish a line on the rising ground behind ('Highland Ridge'). The battalion went into action with 24 officers and 600 ORs. At 02.00 the battalion moved forward and occupied the line between Fifteen Ravine. A Company was on the left, B Company on the right, supported by C and D Companies respectively; one platoon of each support company carried tools to dig in and consolidate the captured positions. The battalion crept up to the enemy wire in four waves and then attacked behind the
Creeping barrage when it came down at Zero (04.15). Although the enemy sent up signal rockets, their answering counter-barrage was erratic and caused little damage. The battalion was in the enemy front trench within seven minutes, and after a short struggle overcame all resistance and moved on towards the village. Strongpoints and machine gun emplacements caused trouble, but these were overcome with concentrated Lewis gun fire and bombing attacks. Reaching the village at 05.30 the battalion split into three parties. The left party stormed a strongpoint on the sunken road between Villers-Plouich and
Beaucamp, taking over 100 prisoners. The centre party went through the left of the village and established itself on Highland Ridge beyond. The right party met more opposition on its way towards a ravine north-east of the village, suffering casualties. At this point
Corporal Edward 'Tiny' Foster, a Wandsworth Council
dustman in civilian life, who was commanding two Lewis gun teams, stormed the German machine gun position that was holding them up, followed by
Lance-Corporal Reed. One of the Lewis guns was temporarily captured, but Foster threw bombs at the enemy, forcing them back, and then with both guns in action his party suppressed the enemy post, some 20 Germans surrendering to them. However, 14th A&SH had failed to take Beaucamp, so the right party did not move onto the ridge but formed a defensive flank. At 06.30 the British barrage ceased and the work of consolidation began. About 06.40 the Germans began bombarding the centre and right parties with heavy guns, so they withdrew into cover on the eastern outskirts of the village where the entrances were covered by Lewis guns. Just after 07.00 14th HLI reinforced 13th ESR and together the battalions pushed up to establish strongpoints east of the cemetery. Lieutenant
Gordon Alexander, a former
Olympic fencer, led a party forward, and rushed a machine gun post, turning the gun on the enemy. He was then killed while trying to rescue a wounded man. Captain Mills was wounded about 08.00 and Capt H.P. Naunton of C Company took over command. The enemy bombarded the village from 08.30 to 14.00 with heavy guns, paying particular attention to the tracks and entrances. Next day 11th KORL completed the capture of Beaucourt and at dusk 13th ESR was relieved and went back to
Équancourt. The battalion's casualties were 3 officers and 26 ORs killed, 8 officers and 152 ORs wounded, and 10 missing. For his gallantry Cpl Foster was awarded the
Victoria Cross (VC), and L/Cpl Reed the DCM. Witnesses felt that Lt Alexander deserved a posthumous VC, but he only got a posthumous
mention in dispatches. After the battle, British tench maps included 'Surrey Ravine' (where Foster won his VC), a communication trench known as 'Foster Lane', and a track named 'Surrey Lane'. Lieutenant-Col Newton returned to command the battalion on 26 April, but was sent to a rest centre on 6 May and Maj J.H. Foster of 14th HLI took command until the end of the month. Captain W.G. West (1st
Sherwood Foresters arrived as second-in-command and was promoted to temporary Major. 40th Division continued to hold the Villers-Plouich sector through the summer, the battalions alternating between the front, support and reserve lines, carrying out patrols, raids and working parties, and suffering a trickle of casualties. Lieutenant-Col Newton was away on sick leave again 1–11 July, when Maj West commanded the battalion, and Lt-Col Atkins officially left in August. On 18 August Lt-Col Herbert Warden, a
Territorial Force officer of the
Royal Scots who had previously commanded
25th Northumberland Fusiliers (Tyneside Irish), joined the battalion, and Lt-Col Newton was finally evacuated sick on 23 August, when Lt-Col Warden took over command.
Bourlon Wood After six months' continuous service in the line, 40th Division was relieved at the beginning of October and went to the
Fosseux area for rest. By then 13th ESR had been reduced to a strength of 19 officers and 480 ORs. It now moved with the division to the wooded area round
Lucheux to begin training for the forthcoming
Battle of Cambrai, with particular emphasis on fighting in woods and villages, ready for action in Bourlon Wood. The battle began with a massed tank attack on 20 November that broke through the Hindenburg Line, and the division moved up on 22 November in order attack Bourlon Wood next morning. The capture of the wood by 40th and
51st (Highland) Divisions would provide a defensive flank to allow Third Army to continue developing the successes of the first two days. The assault was launched at 10.30 by 119th and 121st Bdes with 120th Bde in reserve (it had only crossed the
Canal du Nord at dawn). Confused fighting went on for two days and nights, with troops from 120th Bde being gradually fed into the line. On the afternoon of 24 November 14th HLI together with some tanks attacked
Bourlon; although the HLI fought their way through the village, they became cut off on the other side. 40th Division ordered a renewed attack the following morning to break through and relieve them. The only troops available for this task were the uncommitted 13th ESR, with half of 11th KORL in support. The battalion commanders of 121st Bde holding the front line were convinced that 14th HLI had already been destroyed, but Lt-Col Warden observed that the German artillery barrage seemed designed to stop the HLI being reinforced. He made a reconnaissance in the dark and the battalion was assembled near the south-eastern edge of the village by 06.00. The leading three companies were each to send one platoon straight through to link up and reinforce 14th HLI while the rest 'mopped up', D Company being in reserve. The battalion advanced alone, without tank or artillery support, at 06.15, just before dawn. Almost immediately fire was opened from the trees in the right rear; this was dealt with by D Company which faced about and attacked the Germans in the wood. The East Surreys found the battalion HQ and remains of one company of the HLI in a building on the
Fontaine-Notre-Dam road at the entrance to Bourlon, and Lt-Col Warden and his battalion HQ joined them (the CO of 14th HLI was mortally wounded about 07.00). C Company on the right had made no progress through the houses, and Warden used it with D Company to extend from the HQ strongpoint along Bourlon Ridge. These positions fought off attacks from north, east and south. The other two companies tried to fight their way through the village, but they were unable to get through to the HLI companies furthest forward, though one platoon took and held a trench north of the village that the Germans had recently captured from the HLI. Warden was then ordered to capture the railway line beyond the village, but realised that all he could do was to hold the edge of the wood and fringe of the village. As A and B Companies fell back from the village Warden added them to the HQ strongpoint, which protected the left flank of 119th Bde fighting in the wood. A section of 121st Bde's trench mortar battery also arrived and brought its two mortars to bear on houses containing German riflemen and machine gunners, the infantry providing carrying parties for the mortar ammunition. Warden's mixed force held on until darkness fell, relying on runners for communication with the rear. 40th Division was relieved that night but the incoming troops knew nothing of 13th ESR's positions, and Warden was sent a vague instruction to withdraw when the 14th HLI had been extricated by some tanks that had been ordered up (none arrived and 14th HLI had already been eliminated). Given this confusion, Warden decided to hold his ground through the night, and continued to do so until the following evening. By then the Germans had brought up heavy trench mortars to fire on the strongpoint and he was informed that his companies were occupying the barrage line for a major British attack next morning (27 November). 13th ESR and the survivors of 14th HLI were brought back to dugouts in the rear, where they established a new line. The rest of 14th HLI and the platoon of A Company beyond the village had been compelled to surrender. 13th ESR battalion did not leave Bourlon Wood until noon on 27 November, having lost 6 officers and 223 ORs in the battle out of a frontline strength of 21 officers and 602 ORs.
Winter 1917–18 13th ESR went back by bus and lorry for rest at
Blairville on 28 November, but the Germans launched a major counter-offensive on 30 November, taking back most of the gains of the Battle of Cambrai. By 10 December the battalion was back holding frontline trenches at
Fontaine-lès-Croisilles in severe winter weather and under regular
mustard gas shelling. Over just three days, 12–14 December, the battalion lost 3 officers and 51 ORs wounded or gassed, and 2 ORs killed. At the end of December the battalion moved to the
Bullecourt sector where it alternated between 'Horseshoe Redoubt' in the front line and a camp in the rear. Further moves in January 1918 took the battalion to
Suzanne and then to
Bapaume. 40th Division was withdrawn into GHQ Reserve at Hendecourt near
Arras on 10 February. Lieutenant-Col Warden was in temporary command of 120th Bde for part of the month, when Maj West commanded the battalion. By February 1918 the BEF was facing a manpower crisis. All brigades were reduced from four to three battalions and the surplus disbanded to provide reinforcements. Among the surplus battalions being disbanded was 7th East Surreys – the regiment's senior 'K' battalion – from
12th (Eastern) Division, and between 7 and 9 February 13th East Surreys received a draft of 8 officers and 180 ORs from that source. 119th Brigade, the 'Welsh Bantam Brigade', had almost disappeared, so on 16 February 13th ESR was transferred to it, leaving 120th Bde to become an all-Scottish formation. The Wandsworth battalion was now brigaded alongside 18th
Welsh Regiment (2nd Glamorgan) of the original 119th Bde and 21st
Middlesex Regiment (Islington) transferred from 121st Bde. 119th Brigade was commanded by the controversial
Brigadier-General Frank Crozier. Crozier was displeased with the reorganisation, believing that 13th ESR and 21st Middlesex had both let him down at Bourlon Wood. He had a particular disregard for TF officers such as Lt-Col Warden, despite the
Distinguished Service Order (DSO) that Warden had been awarded for Bourlon Wood. (Crozier wrote that 13th ESR 'deceived me, as I thought they were better than they were. Undoubtedly they could have been had they been better led'.) Crozier trained the brigade hard during March, using 18th Welsh as the demonstration battalion for his methods.
German Spring Offensive The Germans launched the first phase of their long-anticipated
Spring Offensive (
Operation Michael) on 21 March and secured immediate breakthroughs. At the time 40th Division was in GHQ reserve. During the first day 119th Bde was around
Mercatel at half an hour's notice to move; as it grew dark about 17.30, the brigade was ordered towards the threatened Henin Hill in the second line of defences. Despite chaos on the roads the brigade arrived by 22.30, beginning to dig in on and behind the hill. However, at 00.15 it had to make another night march to go into reserve to
34th Division, which had been engaged all day, and a company of 13th ESR was sent up to Croisilles to assist that division. By dawn 18th WR had taken up position in the
Sensée Switch trench west of
St-Léger, with 13th ESR in support and 21st Middlesex in reserve. By 14.15 there were no British troops in front of 18th WR. At 18.00 news came that St-Léger had been captured and two companies of 13th ESR were ordered to attack the village with two tanks, but 18th WR saw an opportunity, commandeered the tanks, and carried out the attack instead, stopping the Germans. By nightfall 13th ESR, facing east, formed the end of 119th Bde's semicircular frontage. During the night firing broke out in the right rear and 119th Bde was informed that the enemy had broken through at
Mory. 13th ESR's right was now 'in the air', and the brigade extended its line to the right. A and B Companies of 13th ESR found
Ervillers still in British hands, but Mory had been captured. In the morning Crozier launched attacks on Mory, first with 21st Middlesex supported by B Company 13th ESR, which regained most of the high ground, No 5 Platoon of B Company being stopped just short of the crest. Warden reported that Mory itself was not strongly held and 119th Bde ordered him to attack. He sent B company supported by C Company to attack the west side of the village while A Company seized the high ground to the left. D Company in reserve was to be ready to attack the south side and 'mop up'. Battalion HQ, with Lewis gunners and snipers, covered the attack from the spur to the south, while the battalion transport ferried up ammunition and bombs under shell and machine gun fire. At 14.30 13th ESR advanced by short rushes and reached the western outskirts of Mory. Here they were stopped by machine gun fire; among the wounded were the commanders of B and C Companies (both were led for the rest of the action by their company sergeant-majors) and the Medical Officer (MO), Lt D.E. Berney of the
US Army Medical Corps, who continued dressing the wounded after being hit three times. Crozier later alleged that at this point he had to order the unnamed CO of 13th ESR (Lt-Col Warden) to press on even when he reported being held up by machine gun fire. Warden went up to the village himself, reorganised his three attacking companies and brought up the reserve company. At about 17.00 he launched them forward again to complete the recovery of Mory and the Green Line trench. This was achieved, but the East Surreys found that the trench was so battered by shellfire that afforded little or no cover. In the face of German reinforcements the brigade quietly left the village after dark and then had easy targets to fire into, causing enormous casualties to the Germans massed to attack the empty village. During the night Lt-Col Warden commanded the front line troops of all three battalions of 119th Bde east of Ervillers, and established contact with
4th Guards Bde (
31st Division) on the left, though touch had been lost with 12th ESR (Bermondsey) of
41st Division off to the right. In the morning (24 March), when the Germans moved in mass up the valley below, 119th and 4th Guards brigades' small-arms fire from
enfilade, together with 40th Divisional Artillery, overwhelmed them and stopped the movement. The two brigades stopped another attack (this time by small parties) about 15.00. However, by 18.00 German forces had broken through from the direction of St-Léger and 4th Gds Bde was withdrawing. The position of 119th Bde in Ervillers was critical but Crozier had no orders. He now had to put into practice the lesson of the
Battle of Spion Kop that he had drummed into his officers: 'don't retire unless you're ordered to'. He expected his brigade to be 'mopped up' at daybreak on 25 March, but just in time he received permission to withdraw. The battalions fell back in turn, 13th ESR leaving last, to a line north of Ervillers. All through 25 March 40th Division held off attacks, but it was relieved that night. 119th Brigade went back to
Bucquoy, then next day to
Bienvillers-au-Bois in response to rumours of a breakthrough by German armoured cars. 13th ESR and 18th WR at
Monchy-au-Bois formed the left flank of 40th Division. No attack came (the 'armoured cars' were French farm tractors), and the division finally left the line overnight. Its dogged defence of the spurs overlooking the Sensée Valley had done much to prevent the Germans expanding their breakthrough north towards
Arras. 13th ESR's casualties for March were 1 officer and 17 ORs killed, 9 officers and 139 ORs wounded, and 52 missing, and the battalion still had a strength of nearly 800. Among other awards, Lt-Col Warden received a
Bar to his DSO, and Lt Berney became the first US recipient of the British
Military Cross.
Battle of the Lys After the first phase of the German spring offensive, 40th Division was sent north to
Merville to join
First Army in a quiet sector to rest and refit. Lieutenant-Col Warden was admitted to hospital suffering from exhaustion (Crozier claimed that the MO 'found [ Warden ] fighting under his bed with a pillow, swearing it was a Boche') and Maj West deputised in command. On the night of 6/7 April 119th Bde went into the line at
Armentières next to the inexperienced
Portuguese Expeditionary Corps. 13th East Surrey (left) and 18th WR (right) were in the front trenches, 21st Middlesex in brigade reserve. The brigade also reconnoitred possible defensive flank positions if the Germans broke through the Portuguese. On the night of 8/9 April patrols from 13th ESR and 18th WR entered the enemy front line, finding it unoccupied at 03.00. However, at 04.15 on 9 April the Germans launched the second main phase of their offensive (Operation Georgette, the
Battle of the Lys) with a massive bombardment: while trench mortars bombed the forward trenches, heavier guns shelled strongpoints, HQs, villages and crossroads with high explosive and gas. At 05.55 18th WR reported large numbers of Germans advancing on the Portuguese positions as the barrage lifted to the support line, and shortly afterwards German troops penetrated between the outposts of 18th WR and 13th ESR. Initially 13th ESR holding
Fleurbaix was not attacked, though it was shelled heavily with gas and high explosive. However, as the Portuguese were overrun, first the forward posts and then the right company of 18th WR were 'mopped up' by Germans appearing out of the dense morning fog. About 8.30 these Germans began rolling up the line towards Fleurbaix and half an hour later 13th ESR's support trench was attacked from the right and rear. Soon the whole fighting part of the battalion was surrounded. Brigadier-Gen Crozier's telephone call to 13th ESR's HQ was answered by a German voice: battalion HQ had been overrun and captured without firing a shot. Some of the battalion's strongpoints held out until the afternoon, though Crozier was later critical of the speed with which the main body of 13th ESR surrendered. A few men of 13th ESR fought their way out and got away to
Sailly-sur-la-Lys. Here they took up positions south of the
River Lys where Crozier had improvised a line with the remnants of 119th Bde and the divisional pioneer battalion (12th
Green Howards). Between 13.00 and 14.00 Crozier withdrew over the river and the
Royal Engineers blew the bridges. The survivors of 13th ESR joined up with those 18th WR at Le Petit Mortier Farm, behind the
Steenwerck Switch trench, where they were later joined by the 'details' (2 officers and 150 ORs) of 13th ESR who had been back at the transport lines. Next morning a draft of reinforcements joined the battalion, which moved forwards to join the other remnants ('119th Composite Battalion') holding Steenwerck Switch trench. However, they were forced back and despite a counter-attack by 119th Comp. Bn regaining some of the lost ground, by the end of the day they had retired to Le Verrier, near
Le Doulieu, where they spent the night. Next morning (11 April) the composite units drove back three more attacks. The brigade was relieved that evening and moved off to
Strazeele, though it was still daylight and the troops were harassed by German aircraft while on the move.
Prisoners of War The battalion's casualties were reported as 1 officer and 7 ORs known killed, 2 officers and 80 ORs wounded, 18 officers and 437 ORs missing (killed or prisoners). It later emerged that 11 officers and around 377 ORs had been taken prisoner. They were marched back through the German lines, narrowly avoiding being hit on the road by 12-inch shells being fired by a
Royal Navy battery. The badly wounded were sent to hospitals, the officers were separated and sent directly to Germany, and the remaining ORs were marched back by stages to
Lille where they were held in Fort Macdonald for a few days. They were then sent by train to a new
Prisoner-of-war camp at
Dülmen in
Westphalia. Until the
Armistice they were put to work, for example in the coal mines, while facing severe malnourishment (the Allied blockade was causing food shortages across Germany).
Reconstitution and disbandment After suffering crippling losses in these actions, 40th Division was withdrawn from the line and temporarily formed composite units. Lieutenant-Col Warden returned from hospital on 14 April to command the remnants of 13th ESR. On 18 April two companies were attached to the 12th
Suffolk Regiment to form 'C' Battalion of '40th Division Composite Brigade', and one of these was then moved to 12th Green Howards in 'B' Battalion. Meanwhile, the rest of 13th ESR reorganised and refitted at
Moulle, carrying out training and absorbing some reinforcement drafts. From 27 April 'B' Battalion joined 'No 2 Composite Brigade' under Brig-Gen Crozier employed in digging the
Poperinghe Line in case of further German breakthroughs. It was withdrawn on 2 May. Because of the shortage of trained reinforcements, GHQ decided that several divisions could not be brought up to strength but instead would be reduced to 'Training
cadres' (TCs) as instructors to the
US Army divisions now arriving. 40th Division was among those selected, and its infantry battalions were each reduced to TCs of roughly 10 officers and 45 ORs: their surplus personnel were drafted as reinforcements to other units. On 5 May 1 officer and 447 ORs of 13th ESR went by train to the base at
Calais for drafting, while those retained for the TC were billeted in Booninghem. 40th Division moved to Lederzeele and the staff and TCs continued to reconnoitre new defence lines. The officers and NCOs of 13th ESR received specialist training from senior instructors to prepare for its training role. On 3 June 13th ESR and other TCs left 40th Division and travelled by train to
Hardinghen, where they joined 34th Division, which would be training the US troops. On 13 June the 1st and 3rd Battalions,
310th US Infantry Regiment (
78th US Division) arrived to be instructed by 13th ESR, with Lt-Col Warden commanding 310th Regimental School. This continued even though 13th ESR was formally transferred to 39th British Division on 17 June. On 29 June the training staff of 13th ESR (9 officers and 47 ORs) went to
Boulogne to join
25th Division, which was proceeding to England to be reconstituted. They arrived at Aldershot on the evening of 30 June and were posted to
7th Bde, and were granted leave while awaiting orders. On 16 July they left 25th Division and travelled to
Lowestoft where 13th East Surreys was to be reformed under the administration of
225th Mixed Bde in
68th (2nd Welsh) Division. They established their HQ at the Empire Hotel and were joined by a number of officers from various regiments to help rebuild the battalion. The first draft of 74 men from the 3rd and 5th Reserve Bns, East Surreys, arrived on 17 July and were organised into companies. The bulk of the ORs were to be found by absorbing
15th (Service) Battalion, East Surreys, a new battalion of conscripts formed at Lowestoft on 1 June, though many came directly from the various reserve battalions stationed in the area. By the end of the month the battalion was roughly 400 strong, and this rose to 825 by the end of August. However, medical inspection showed that only 393 were fit for overseas service. Clearly this was unacceptable, so on 7 September the battalion was ordered to disband. The officers and men were drafted to other units, 23 officers being sent to France on 18 September to participate in the final actions of the war. By the end of the month the battalion had been reduced to a cadre of 11 officers and 74 ORs to complete the disbandment. The last few moved to the East Surreys' depot at
Kingston upon Thames, where the battalion ceased to exist on 3 November, just before the Armistice. ==Insignia==