In May 1940 the Battalion were in a position at Steenwerck near Lille on the Belgian/French frontier. When the Blitzkrieg began they were ordered to move into Belgium to defend the line of the Escaut. The Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel Ivor Hughes, who later became Major-General Ivor Hughes KCVO, Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons. He ordered that the drums and bugles should be left behind, locked in a safe storage place. Accordingly, they were placed in an outbuilding in a brewery yard at Steenwerck and the Battalion went forward without them. Some more info: Band, Drums & Music
53228 Captain Richard Nigel James Rutherford, 1/6th Bn. The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) CWGC - Casualty Details
50467 Captain Reginald Holdsworth Pontifex, 1/6th Bn. The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) CWGC - Casualty Details