[8] This half-company, under Major R. E. Power, had not rejoined the battalion the previous night, having been detailed to occupy an unfinished trench in the front line. Lieut. J. W. Butts Archer was killed whilst superintending a working party.
[9] Augustus David Geddes was born on the 6th June, 1866, and joined the Buffs on the 5th February, 1887; he was adjutant of the 2nd Battalion from 1898 until 1900, when he was severely wounded, in the South African War. After being some years on the staff, he was promoted to command the 2nd Battalion in 1911.
[10] No. L/8907 Pte. David Alexander served in France continuously throughout the war until he was killed a few weeks before the Armistice, having won the Military Medal and attained the rank of company sergeant major.
[11] In those days many firms promised extravagant terms to those of their employees who enlisted, but in many cases such undertakings were not fulfilled. Messrs. Cory and Son, let it be said to their undying credit, played the game throughout by their men and their dependents, and were moreover the most liberal supporters of any fund that was for the benefit of the battalion.
[12] The Dean, the Very Rev. Henry Wace, D.D., in arranging the service wrote as follows: “I assure you we regard it as one of our first and most honourable duties in the Cathedral to welcome the County Regiment.”
[13] “A4 Boys” were lads of eighteen passed fit, but retained at home for a year on account of age.
[14] Claude Arthur Worthington, son of Captain Arthur Worthington of the Buffs, who carried the Colour into Sevastopol, was born on the 25th May, 1874, and joined the Buffs in 1898. He served with the 2nd Battalion in the South African War, acting as adjutant from February to May, 1900. He was later adjutant of the 2nd Battalion from 1905–8.
[15] This operation was known as “mopping up” and really meant finishing and completing work that the leading troops had to leave undone, such as the capture of men remaining in the dug-outs and so on.
[16] The following is an extract from a letter to Sir Courtenay Vyvyan (late the Buffs) from the A.A.G. 6th Division:—
“Your old battalion is going very strong. It is commanded by Green, and Gould is second in command. Otherwise I don’t suppose you know anyone. They did splendidly on the Somme and never lost their discipline for a moment. I saw them on parade after the fight of the 13th/18th September, when they only had 314 men left, and they might have been parading for the King’s birthday. It really was a magnificent sight.”