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The recruitment of pals battalions was confined to the 69 line infantry regiments of the British Army. The Guards Regiments [2] and regiments formed only from Territorial Force battalions [3] [a] did not form any pals battalions. Amongst the line infantry regiments, there was considerable variation in the number of battalions recruited ...
"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.
Most regiments had two regular battalions, supported by associated battalions from the Territorial Force ('part-time' soldiers) and Reserve Battalions. After the start of the war, many new battalions were raised and called "Service Battalions". Service battalions raised from a single locale were often called "Pals battalions".
The 1st Gwent Battalion was a Welsh 'Pals battalion' formed as part of 'Kitchener's Army' during World War I. Raised by local initiative in Monmouthshire and Glamorgan , it became the 10th (Service) Battalion of the local regiment, the South Wales Borderers ('10th SWB').
The battalion was to take part in an assault against the German lines in late afternoon, but by this time, it was apparent that the initial assault had been a catastrophic failure, which brought about a cancellation of further attacks. Thus, the Preston Pals escaped the heavy losses that were suffered by many other Pals battalions that day.
Like the 14th and 15th battalions, the 16th was returned to France April 1918. On 4 October 1918 it was transferred to 13th Brigade, 5th Division. The 17th (Reserve) Battalion was formed in Sutton Coldfield in June 1915 as a Reserve battalion, from depot companies of the City of Birmingham battalions.
West Ham Pals; 15th (Service) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment (1st Leeds) 16th (Service) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment (1st Bradford)
Leeds Pals Memorial at Colsterdale War memorial in Leeds. The Leeds Pals were a First World War Pals battalion of Kitchener's Army raised in the West Yorkshire city of Leeds.When the battalion was taken over by the British Army it was officially named the 15th Battalion (1st Leeds), The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment).