Nigel Atter - The 8th Lincolns at the Battle of Loos

This talk focuses on the actions of the 8th Battalion, the Lincolnshire Regiment, on 26 September 1915. This talk challenges the established historiography that the Lincolns - and the Reserves more generally - were routed at the Battle of Loos. It is based on Nigel's book 'In the Shadow of Bois Hugo - the 8th Lincolns at the Battle of Loos 1915'. It tells how the Reserves were called into action on the second day of the battle advancing just to the north of the village of Loos towards the Bois Hugo. Though determined to do their bit, they were woefully unprepared and inadequately trained. They soldiered on, but at terrible cost. By the day's end, every officer of the 8th Lincolns who had gone into action was either dead or wounded, and 444 other ranks were either dead or missing.