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"Pals" departing from Preston railway station, August 1914. The pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours and colleagues, rather than being arbitrarily allocated to battalions.
On 21 October 1915 the depot companies of the 10th (Stockbrokers) and 26th (Bankers) battalions were combined at Colchester to form the 31st (Reserve) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, as a Local Reserve unit with the role of training reinforcement drafts for the two parent battalions. 31st (R) Battalion moved to Leamington Spa in Warwickshire and ...
Recruiting poster for the Football Battalion. This is a list of pals battalions (also called "service" or "locally raised" battalions) of the British Army during the First World War. Pre-war Territorial Force (T.F.) battalions have not been included, although they too usually recruited from a specific area or occupation.
The 'Pals Battalions' required extensive training before they could be allowed onto the battlefield. The Preston Pals did their training at Tidworth Camp, Bulford and Swindon before crossing over to Boulogne on 17 July 1915. Once in France, training for trench warfare and gas attacks continued for a further two months.
The 12th (Reserve) Battalion, East Lancashire Regimen, was formed on 14 May 1915 at Chadderton Camp, Oldham, from the depot companies of 11th Battalion. [2] [8] This was a local reserve battalion, that is, a reserve battalion for the locally raised (pals) battalion intended to provide trained reinforcements for its parent unit. [9]
On 6 October 1918 the 15th (Service) Battalion was disbanded, with personnel being posted to the 14th and 16th battalions. The 16th (Service) Battalion (3rd Birmingham) was also attached at first to 95th Brigade, 32nd Division. On 26 December 1915 it was transferred to 15th Brigade, 5th Division, and went to Italy with the Division in November ...
In July 1915 the depot companies of all three battalions were formed into 15th (Reserve) Bn, York and Lancaster Regiment. It was part of 21st Reserve Brigade, supporting all the Pals battalions of 31st Division. Its first CO was Lt-Col Raley, formerly of 14th Y&R. [3] [4] [5] [20] [21]
The battalion became part of the 93rd Brigade of the 31st Division, along with the two Bradford Pals battalions (16th and 18th Battalions, The West Yorkshire Regiment). In December 1915 the Leeds Pals were deployed to Egypt to defend the Suez Canal from the threat of the Ottoman Empire.