The 23 (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers

First Sportsman's

A Record of its service in the Great War, 1914-1919

The history of any New Army battalion is a valuable contribution to the history of the war. This applies particularly to a battalion like the 23rd Royal Fusiliers, which achieved a high morale and maintained excellent discipline throughout the war.

At the Front our only knowledge of the New Army before they came overseas was gained from the Brigade Staffs and Commanding Officers of the new Formations, who were sent over for short attachment to troops in the line.

• Forewords
  • The Sportsmen
  • From Major-General Sir C.E. Pereira, K.C.B., C.M.G.
  • From Major-General R.O. Kellett, C.B., C.M.G.
• Formation of the Battalion, the Honors gained, and its Record in Brief
• A New Type of Soldier—The Cosmopolitan Composition of the Battalion
• Training at Home—How the Finished Soldier Emerged from the Rough Material
• Service Overseas—Heavy Fighting all along the Front, and a Triumphal March into Germany
• Service Overseas - 1917
• Service Overseas - 1918
• Service Overseas - 1919
• Great Work accomplished—Holding up a German Advance— Silencing Snipers in a Derelict Tank—And some other Things
• Presentation of the King's Color—Major-General Sir C.E. Pereira, K.C.B., C.M.G., and his Pride in the Battalion
• "Good-bye and Good Luck"—Brigadier-General A.E. McNamara, C.M.G., D.S.O., and his Farewell to the 23rd Royal Fusiliers
• The Battle of Delville Wood—An Advance in Face of Hundreds of Machine Guns—A Personal Narrative
• Additional Delville Wood Stories
• Experiences as a Prisoner of War—Extracts from the Diary kept by "Mr. Brooks, the Schoolmaster"
• The Honors' List: Names of Officers and Men awarded Decorations and mentioned in Dispatches
• The Roll of Honor: Officers and other Ranks who died that England might live
• The Nominal Roll: Names and Numbers of the Original Members of the Battalion who joined either at the Hotel Cecil, London, or at Homchurch, Essex

The 23 (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers, 1920

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