The Pals Battalions were formed of volunteers who joined up in the euphoric early days of the war. Over 500,000 men had come forward to join the Army at Kitchener’s invitation by September 1914, just five weeks after the initiative started.
Over a third of the volunteers came from four counties in the industrial north of England, these men mainly being recruited into the so called Pals Battalions.
Local authorities, industrialists or bodies of private citizens raised these battalions. As a rule, all the men came from one small community or shared a common social or occupational background and so knew each other well – hence the name ‘Pals’ Battalions.
The success of the concept of the Pals Battalions can be attributed to two factors.
The first was the pressure of war which brought about feelings of strong national patriotism and willingness to fight for the country.
The second was a product on increasing civic pride in the new industrial areas of the time which created a strong local loyalty.
The result was a powerful formula which brought men forward to volunteer for service on the basis they could all serve together under a local identity with their friends, neighbours or workmates.
Such was the appeal of the Pals Battalions that by the end of September 1914, just five weeks after the idea had been started, over 50 Battalions were either complete or in the process of formation.
On the positive side, this friendship between the men encouraged a feeling of comradeship. On the negative side, it meant the losses, when they came, were felt more acutely.
There were ultimately 134 Pals Battalions; 56 from Lancashire, 48 from Yorkshire, 19 form Northumberland and 11 from Durham.
Whilst each Pals Battalion had an official name – such as the 11th East Lancs – typically the Battalion would be referred to by its unofficial title such as ‘The Accrington Pals’.
By 1916 the New Army’s training was complete and its men were keen to go to war to fight. The Battle of the Somme was to be the first action in which the New Army was involved in any numbers. Sadly for many of the men, it was also their last.
Serre has been inextricably linked with the Pals Battalions because it was there so many of them went ‘over the top’ for the first time – with large numbers of them being killed or maimed in the first few minutes of the battle.
Serre remains as a memorial to the Pals. Very much a product of their times, strong local forces had brought the Pals together. These forces had created a powerful spirit amongst the men which now meant the severe losses they suffered were felt deeply, not just amongst the men, but also in the local communities from which they had come.
The Pals exemplified the spirit of Kitchener’s New Army, and the Somme was the first action in which the New Army was put to the test.
Despite the enormous losses they suffered, the Pals fought bravely. The irony is that Kitchener was not to see what happened as he had been killed three weeks earlier on 5 June 1916 when the ship he was on was sunk by a mine off the Orkneys.
