Which First World War regiment did J.R.R. Tolkien serve with as an officer?

J.R.R. Tolkien served as a second lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers during the First World War.

Tolkien received his commission in the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1915 after completing his studies at Oxford. He served with the 11th Service Battalion, also known as the Accrington Pals, and went to France in June 1916. The battalion took part in the Battle of the Somme.

Tolkien became ill with trench fever and was sent back to England in October 1916. He spent much of the remainder of the war recovering and working on convalescent duties. Most of the other officers in his battalion were killed during the fighting, an experience that affected him deeply.

Tolkien’s war service is often discussed alongside the atmosphere of his fiction, but it would be too simple to treat Middle-earth as a direct retelling of the trenches. The war influenced his life and imagination, while his languages, myths, and stories also drew on much older literary traditions.