Article - The Pals Battalions
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“A little word of advice,” the Mayor concluded. “It has been marvellous to see how many young fellows wanted to join this company – boys who by no stretch of the imagination could be put down as 19. (Laughter.) Well, there are some with us this afternoon. They are men in inches, but only boys in years. I am asking the older men to keep an eye on them. (Hear, hear.) Live clean and live straight, as well as shoot straight.”
What were Pals Regiments?
Within weeks of the outbreak of war it was clear that the manpower of a small professional British Army was not sufficient for a major global conflict. In a show of patriotic fervour, thousands of men volunteered for Kitchener’s New Armies. The War Office realised that local ties could be harnessed for national gain. Many men would enlist if they could serve alongside their workmates, friends and relatives. On 21 August 1914, the first Pals battalion began to be raised from the stockbrokers of the City of London. In days 1600 men had joined what became the 10th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. It was Lord Derby who first coined the phrase ‘battalion of pals’ and recruited enough men to form three battalions of the King’s (Liverpool) Regiment in only a week. These battalions were numbered 17 to 20. Private Robert Beardsworth, who was born and lived in Leyland, served with the 17th Battalion. He had enlisted in Liverpool and was killed in action 31 July 1917. Sergeant George Hull who lived in Farington served with the 19th Battalion and died at home (in the UK) 6th June 1915, aged 28. George enlisted in Southport, a big recruiting centre for the King’s Liverpools. •Many pals battalions were raised in the towns of northern Britain. Men from places like Manchester, Accrington, Leeds, Newcastle, Hull, Glasgow and Edinburgh all enlisted in their thousands in 1914 and 1915. •After their basic training, many pals battalions saw their first action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916 Many of these units sustained heavy casualties, which had a significant impact on their communities. Conscription was introduced in 1916 and the close-knit nature of the Pals battalions was never replicated The Preston Pals
The Preston Pals were raised by Cyril Cartmel, the son of the mayor of Preston, Harry Cartmel. The company was built up of clerks, businessmen, journalists, architects, undergraduates and others. It was raised in four days and was attached to the 6th Battalion of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. The Preston Guardian reported that very few of the men were rejected on medical grounds. A total of 225 men entrained on Monday 7 September from Preston station, bound for their training camp. The recruits were drawn from the Preston and Fylde districts. As far as is known, no Leyland men were among them but there were some from the South Ribble area: Jno. Beatson, J.E. Barnish and Fred Blackburn from Lostock Hall; H. Siddle and Thos. Siddle from Bamber Bridge; F.N. Thompson from Walton-le-Dale; Jas. Heald and C. Turton from Longton; J. Kirkham, E. Roughley, Geo. Williams, W. Whistlecroft and P.W. Park from Penwortham. |
Men line up on the flag market square in Preston.
Image in the Public Domain 
An example of a recruitment poster for a ‘Pals’ battalion. This poster is for a sportsman battalion. There were many examples of sportsman battalions from footballers to cyclists.
Image in the Public Domain |
Charles O'Donnell 2018
Originally published as part of an exhibition at Leyland library September 2014
Originally published as part of an exhibition at Leyland library September 2014
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