Navy

The Sailors Who Became Soldiers On The Somme

They were often regarded as the best navy in the world, but during World War One, sailors from the Royal Navy also earned a reputation as tenacious and fierce soldiers as they fought from the trenches of the Somme.
 
Former soldier Aidan Wood has been researching World War One and the Royal Naval Division for years.
"They move up to northern France, where they begin training - they know they're going to be involved in the big push, everybody knows the big push is going on at sometime very soon, and they begin training. The officers had to learn what a battalion was all about and how it operated".
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Despite serious losses at the Battle of Jutland, many Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists were not needed at sea during the war.
 
The division fought at Antwerp in 1914 and Gallipoli in 1915 before being transferred to the British Army as the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division, where it took part in the Battle of Ancre, the final phase of the Battle of the Somme.
 
Aidan Wood now works at RAF St Mawgan where he's put on a display about the Royal Naval Division for those working at the base.
 
 

 

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