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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.
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 ...
While most of the 'Pals battalions' formed in 1914–15 by local initiative were based on single towns or professions, one of the last to be formed was the 21st (Service) Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps, known as the 'Yeoman Rifles' because it was raised from farmers across a wide area of rural Northern England. [3]
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.
The 22nd (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (Kensington) was a 'Pals battalion' raised in London for 'Kitchener's Army' in World War I. Half of the volunteers came from the Royal Borough of Kensington , the other half were 'Colonials' from around the British Empire .
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.
M. Manchester Bantams; Manchester Pals; 16th (Service) Battalion, Manchester Regiment (1st City) 17th (Service) Battalion, Manchester Regiment (2nd City)
The concept of a 'battalion of pals' serving together originated with the 'Stockbrokers Battalion' of the Royal Fusiliers raised in the City of London and was taken up enthusiastically as the 'Pals battalions'. These local and pals battalions formed Kitchener's Fifth New Army, or 'K5', authorised on 10 December 1914. [2] [3]