Woodbridge During the First World War

By September 1915 a total of 515 Woodbridge men were serving in the Armed Forces. The destinations of most of these men are listed here.  39.6% of them were in the Suffolk Regiment, 8.5% were in the Navy and 6.4% in the Royal Army Medical Corps. The remainder were distributed over another 57 regiments or units. The 15 units in which three or more Woodbridge men were serving are listed in the first column of Table on the right.  The other columns give the number who served in each unit and the percentage of the total.

Units in which more than 3 Woodbridge men were

serving by September 1915.

By combining the names on the various sources and then removing the duplicates, it has been possible to derive a list of 801 Woodbridge men who served during the First World War.  The units in which 6 or more of them were served are listed in the Table on the right.

It is noteworthy that the percentage serving in the Suffolk Regiment was significantly lower than the 39.6% in 1916. This might be because those who volunteered before conscription was introduced were given more freedom to choose the where they served. 

The list of 801 Woodbridge servicemen is not a complete one. Two methods of analysing the various records found to date leads to the conclusion that the total number lies between 940 and 1274. The average of 1107 is thus the best current estimate for the number of Woodbridge men who served in the armed forces. This is 51.8% of the male population in 1911. Nationally the figure was only 27.3 % so further work is needed to determine whether the higher figure for Woodbridge is matched by other rural towns.

It is noteworthy that the percentage serving in the Suffolk Regiment was significantly lower than the 39.6% in 1916. This might be because those who volunteered before conscription was introduced were given more freedom to choose the where they served. 

The list of 801 Woodbridge servicemen is not a complete one. Two methods of analysing the various records found to date leads to the conclusion that the total number lies between 940 and 1274. The average of 1107 is thus the best current estimate for the number of Woodbridge men who served in the armed forces. This is 51.8% of the male population in 1911. Nationally the figure was only 27.3 % so further work is needed to determine whether the higher figure for Woodbridge is matched by other rural towns.

Units in which more than 6 Woodbridge men are
known to have served.

Because Woodbridge men were spread over so many units their war time experiences would have been varied.  This is evident by just looking at the record of some of the battalions of the Suffolk Regiment.

 The 4^th (Territorial) Battalion was in France before the end of 1914. Their first major battle was a Neuve Chappell in 1915 and they went on to fight other battles during the rest of the war. The 5^th (Territorial) Battalion served in Gallipoli in 1915 and, thereafter, served in Palestine. The 15^th Battalion, of which the Suffolk Yeomanry were part, also served in Gallipoli and Palestine and from April 1917 they were on the front line in France. They were still there when war ended at 11 am on 11^th November 1918.

The Woodbridge & Wickham Market Reporter listed all the deaths and injuries of Woodbridge servicemen and it periodically updated a roll-of honour in which included short a biography and a picture of those who had died. Such constant reminder of the carnage would have been made worse whenever the rumble and thud of the guns on the Western Front were heard along coastal Suffolk.  Townspeople could also see newsreel films of the fighting and its aftermath at the Woodbridge Electric Theatre which opened in September 1915.

One hundred and forty men from Woodbridge, or who had close relatives in the town, died in action or of wounds received.  The regiments in which at least two of the fallen served are listed in the Table on the right. The Suffolk Regiment was the most probable destination for most Woodbridge men so it is not surprising that it had by far the largest number of those who fell.

Regiments in which at least two of the fallen served

Of the estimated 1107 Woodbridge men who served in the armed forces 12.7% fell. This is only slightly more than the national figure of 12.4%.  But an analysis of the Rolls of Honour from the Street Shrines reveals that the percentage of the servicemen who fell varied considerably from street-to-street. This data is presented in Table on the right. 

The percentage of the men from Seckford Street and Angle Lane significantly higher than for any other street.  It is probably unwise to jump to conclusions on such a small amount of data but it could be significant that poor rate returns for the late nineteen century show that Seckford Street and Angel Lane were the most deprived areas of the town.  Men with such a background would be unlikely to have the education and skills needed for many of the service regiments so instead they went to the regiments on the Front Line.

Analysis of the Roll-of-Honour

Last edited 15 Sep 21