The Sheffield volunteers included stockbrokers, students, journalists, clerks, teachers and shop assistants. In Accrington, recruitment began on 14 September, with men accepted for service in the first three hours. Brothers, cousins, friends and workmates enlisted together and within ten days the Accrington Pals had reached full strength of some 1, men. The situation in Sheffield was similar.
Doors opened on 10 September and the new battalion reached full strength in only two days, no doubt encouraged by the optimistic placards reading 'To Berlin - via Corn Exchange' where the recruitment was taking place. The Sheffield volunteers, like so many others, were a cross-section of society, including stockbrokers, students, journalists, clerks, teachers and shop assistants.
Battalions such as the Hull Commercials shared an occupation; others, like the Glasgow Tramways Battalion, shared an employer; the Tyneside Irish had a common background. While the name Pals was usually reserved for battalions raised in the North, the same phenomenon was occurring throughout the country. In East Grinstead a sportsman's battalion was raised, including two famous cricketers and the England lightweight boxing champion; London formed a footballers' battalion and there were also units comprised of artists and even public schoolboys.
These numbers were too many for the army to handle alone; in the short term, local dignitaries and magistrates acted on behalf of Lord Kitchener and organised, drilled and fed the men until the military machine was ready to take over. By mid-September, , men had volunteered; another , had joined them by the end of the year. Why were so many so keen to join? The year witnessed a heady rush of patriotic optimism nationwide, fuelled further by tales of invariably fictitious German atrocities that led to a common desire to help 'plucky little Belgium'.
Most people - on both sides - believed that, even if the war would not be over by Christmas, that it would nonetheless be relatively short. Consequently, army service promised opportunities, excitement and travel denied to most Britons of the time. Many would-be volunteers were rejected on medical grounds, suffering from the cumulative effects of poor diet, medicine and housing.
Furthermore, for many in the industrial heartlands of the North - as in Scotland, Wales and Ireland - the army promised a break from the grinding poverty of everyday life. Army life meant regular pay one shilling a day for privates as well as proper food and clothing, not to mention barracks that would most probably have compared favourably with the living conditions experienced by many at the time. Even with an establishment eager to recruit, many would-be volunteers were rejected on medical grounds, suffering from the cumulative effects of poor diet, medicine and housing.
To many, the army must have seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime and areas dominated by heavy industry and mining provided a disproportionate number of recruits. By the time the initial euphoria had faded, as Christmas passed and casualties rose, military service had become as much a duty as an opportunity for able-bodied men. Recruitment continued throughout , bolstered by immense social and peer pressure that partly replaced the early enthusiasm.
But preparations were under way for a major offensive on the Somme that was intended to relieve the pressure on the French at Verdun, breach German lines and force an early victory. The offensive would take place over about 30km 20 miles and would be the first major battle for most volunteers.
For many it would also be their last. The first day of the Somme was disastrous. The preceding artillery barrage had failed to destroy the heavily fortified German trenches and, in many cases, had not even cut their barbed wire defences.
Military commanders, concerned with maintaining discipline in their new volunteer army, instructed them to walk in formation towards German lines when the attack began. On August 5, Kitchener was appointed Secretary of State for War and immediately warned the government that the war would be decided by the last million men that Britain could throw into battle.
He decided to raise a new army of volunteers to increase Army strength by , men. It had to be an army of volunteers as British hostility to the idea of conscription was deeply ingrained, making it politically unpalatable. Days later Kitchener issued his first call to arms for , volunteers, aged between 19 and 30, at least 1. Three weeks later, another , were called for and the age limit raised to The most famous Kitchener poster appeared on 5 September. Probably the most famous recruitment poster ever.
The call to arms was augmented by the decision to form the units that became known as Pals Battalions. Men often went to the recruiting office with their friends and ended up in the same group or battalion of the army, and General Henry Rawlinson suggested that men would be more willing to join up if they could serve with people they already knew. Lord Derby was the first to test the idea when he announced in late August that he would try to raise a battalion in Liverpool, comprised solely of local men.
Within days, Liverpool had enlisted enough men to form four battalions. Soon groups of men from the same workplaces, villages, churches, and even football teams were joining the army together. On 21 August, , for example, a Pals Battalion began to be raised from the stockbrokers of the City of London and in a matter of days 1, men had joined what became the 10th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers.
By the end of September, , over fifty towns had formed Pals Battalions. They were a uniquely British phenomenon since Britain was the only major power not to begin the First World War with a mass conscripted army. Pals Battalions were most often linked with the towns of northern Britain. In September, , Colonel Claude Lowther, the owner of Herstmonceux castle, raised a battalion of local men.
He set up recruitment offices all over the county, but principally in the seaside towns of Hastings, Bexhill, Eastbourne, Brighton, Worthing and Bognor. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Cookie Settings Accept All. Manage consent. Close Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website.
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