Brave Oxfordshire soldiers fought at the Battle of Passchendaele 100 years ago

He is a volunteer at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock, and often travels to war memorial sites in France.

The archivist's latest research has been focusing on the Battle of Passchendaele in Belgium – the third Battle of Ypres – which began 100 years ago on July 31.

Before the battle concluded on November 10, 1917, there were 325,000 Allied casualties and 260,000 German casualties.

Yesterday members of the Faringdon and district branch of the Royal British Legion gathered at Shellingford church to pay their respects to soldiers from the area who died at Passchendaele.

A former corporal in the Royal Green Jackets, Mr Berridge's interest in regimental history started when he researched the life story of his great-grandfather Corporal George Berridge, who served in the 1st Buckinghamshire Battalion during the First World War.

The 53-year-old said his great-grandfather, also a corporal, joined up in 1902 and was allowed home before the actual Battle of the Somme in 1916 because of his age and length of service.

He died in 1956 at the age of 72 following a long illness that may have been related to being gassed during the First World War.

Mr Berridge has been focusing on the involvement of Oxfordshire soldiers at Passchendaele.

He said: "The successes at Messines in June 1917 paved the way for Field Marshal Haig's offensive in Flanders.

"The original intention had been to deliver this blow in the spring of 1917 but after the Battle of Arras the French situation on the Aisne necessitated the maintenance of British pressure on the Germans.

"When Haig was free to return to his plan the best of the year had gone, and the chances of fine weather from August onwards were poor.

"The Germans, of course, were well aware of what was coming, and the commander of the German Fourth Army, made his arrangements accordingly, and was favoured by the configuration of the ground.

"Unable to dig his troops in, on account of the proximity of water to the surface, he repeated the 'pillbox' tactics which he had already tried at Messines."

Mr Berridge said these 'pillboxes,' or miniature forts of reinforced concrete, holding garrisons of 20 to 40 men, and well supplied with machine guns, were built with the intention of enticing the attackers to get amongst them and rake them with machine-gun fire.

He added: "The Germans held their front line lightly, and trusted to counter-attacks from the second line to break up assaults when the attackers were held up by the pill-boxes.

"These new tactics successfully prevented our rapid advance and the appalling weather almost throughout the offensive prevented the British use of tanks and turned the whole area into a morass difficult to cross, even on foot."

The rain began on July 30 while the preliminary bombardment was in full swing, but cleared temporarily towards daybreak of the 31st, the first day of the offensive.

Mr Berridge added: ""At 3.50 am (zero hour) the bombardment increased in violence, and the assaulting troops went 'over the top, to meet with immediate success.

"French troops captured Het Saas, Steenstraat, and Bixschoote; General Gough's Fifth British Army took Pilkem, St Julien, Frezenberg, Verlorenhoek, Westhoek, and Hooge, as well as the banks of the Steenbeek and the woods on the Menin Road; while General Plumer's Second British Army took Klein Zillebeke, Hollebeke, and Basse Ville (on the Lys)."

The archivist said on August 16 Haig set his offensive in motion again, the Allies attacking at dawn (4.45am).

He added: "The French gained considerable ground, and the British XIVth Corps, on their immediate right, captured Langemarck; but elsewhere our men had little success, since the Germans offered a stubborn resistance everywhere, and the pillboxes played their part only too well.

"In this day's operations the 6th (Service) Battalion of the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry with the 20th (Light) Division distinguished itself at the capture of Langemarck suffering over two days 101 casualties.

The l/4th and the 1/1st Bucks Territorial Battalions of the Regiment, in the 48th Division had strenuous fighting among the "pillboxes" between Langemarck and Zonnebeke, with correspondingly heavy casualties.

"On relief on August 18, the 1/1st Buckinghamshire Battalion had suffered 291 casualties and the 1/4th Battalion 178 casualties.

"A fortnight or so of inclement weather followed, but it was not sufficiently bad to stop all local operations, and the process of nibbling into the enemy's front went on, the line being steadily advanced everywhere."

Mr Berridge said other Territorial Battalions of the Regiment now came into the fight, with the 2/4th (Oxford) and 2/1st Bucks Battalions, both in the 61st Division, involved in heavy fighting in the area south of St Julien towards Zonnebeke.

Casualties on August 22 were heavy, the 2/1st Bucks losing 349 officers and men and the 2/4th battalion losing 223 before being relieved.

In September the weather improved and the offensive began again on an eight-mile front, particularly along the Menin Road, and towards Passchendaele Ridge.

On September 20, during the phase of the battle known as the Battle of the Menin Road the 5th (Service) Battalion fought for Glencorse Wood and Inverness Copse with success.

Between September 20th and September 22 the 6th (Service) Battalion again saw heavy fighting around Langemarck this time around Eagle Trench, resulting in further losses of 212 all ranks.

Mr Berridge added that Field Marshal Haig decided it was 'imperative' to capture the Passchendaele ridge before the winter set in.

In spite of severe losses the attacks restarted in early October and despite another two-week check by terrible weather Passchendaele ridge and the village were finally captured by November 6.

During the three months of the Ypres battle, on a front of about seven miles between Langemark, Passchendaele and the Menin Road, the regiment's six battalions suffered over 80 officer losses and upwards of 2,000 casualties from other ranks.

A total of 543 soldiers of all ranks, who were killed in action and who still have no known grave, are listed as “Missing” on the Tyne Cot Memorial.

German losses were also very heavy. They lost 200 artillery pieces and mortars, 900 machine guns and 24,000 men were taken prisoner.

Historian Richard van Emden has focused on the bravery of the soldiers in his new book The Road to Passchendaele: The Heroic Year in Soldiers' Own Words and Photographs, which is published by Pen & Sword.

One of the soldiers featured is Captain Graham Greenwell, of the 1/4th Battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.

He writes in detail about the daily pressures of life on the frontline: "We live in daily expectation of a Hun retirement, and this hope is strengthened by the numerous large fires seen behind their lines in a large town in front of us.

"Every time a new fire is sighted, the generals for miles around leap out of bed and begin babbling of pursuit, open warfare and cavalry manoeuvres."