“My Dear Hill, Please Accept This Little Sketch..."

The history of the 8th Battalion History, written in 1918 made mention to the Battalion's gallant actionat Thiepval:
“The attack on Thiepval in conjunction with 10th Essex, was a complete and immediate success. Close behind one of the finest barrages it was possible to imagine, advanced the attacking troops, who speedily overran the village, killing or capturing the entire garrison, and gained their objectives punctually, and with but small loss. The redoubtable fortress had fallen and the Battalion was everywhere on the summits, which for so long had looked down on the British lines.”
​Perhaps a finer accolade to the Battalion’s performance that day, came in the form of a Christmas present from the Divisional Commander, Major-General Ivor Maxse, to the Battalion Commander, Lieutenant-Colonel G.V.W. Hill. A personal letter accompanied the gift of a popular print of the action published in the Illustrated London News in the Autumn. It ran; “My Dear Hill, Please accept this little sketch representing an incident during your Battalions fine attack on Thiepval, on which occasion the 8th Suffolk Regt so greatly distinguished themselves. Yours sincerely, F. I. Maxse”
The print and the letter hang today, in the Suffolk Regiment Museum.

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