Royal Sussex Regiment Southdown Battalions 1914-1918

Discover if your ancestor from Sussex, England served with the Royal Sussex Regiment, Southdown Pals Battalions during the First World War.

Each record includes a transcript compiled using information obtained from sources including medal index cards, service records and Soldiers Died in the Great War.

The amount of information listed varies, but the Royal Sussex Regiment, Southdown Battalions records usually include a combination of the following information about your ancestor:

Service history

• Name
• Soldier Number
• Regiment
• Battalion
• Rank

Entering a man’s name will enable the researcher to identify which battalion a man served with. This information is generally not included on medal index cards.

These records comprise the details of 4,535 men who served with the Southdown Battalions: the 11th, 12th and 13th (Service) Battalions, The Royal Sussex Regiment. The Southdown Battalions were Pals Battalions by any other name.

The poet Edmund Blunden was a junior officer serving with the 11th battalion and like many Pals battalions, the Southdown Battalions. Their first real test came in the summer of 1916.

These transcripts were compiled using information obtained from sources including medal index cards, service records and Soldiers Died in the Great War.