Martyn Gibson Posted 25 November , 2004 Share Posted 25 November , 2004 Can anyone shed some light on this for me. Sheffield only raised one Battalion and yet a few miles up the road Barnsley I believe raised three. I can't see it's because of reserved occupations as the Pals battalions all came from industrial areas. Thanks in advance Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 26 November , 2004 Share Posted 26 November , 2004 See Gibson (any relation?) and Oldfield's excellent book on the City Battalion. It was a criticism made at the time. They point out that the battalion was very selective in its recruitment and also that Sheffield had a very strong Territorial army tradition with the Hallamshires (4th Battalion York and Lancs) recruiting exclusively from the Sheffield area. The Hallamshires put three battalions into the field during the war and can be thought of as a Pals equivalent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John W Posted 26 November , 2004 Share Posted 26 November , 2004 The other thing to remember is that even if a town/City raised a number of Battalions not all of the people came from that city. For example The Leeds Pals it would appear that somthing in the region of 25% of its members came from areas outside the city. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 26 November , 2004 Share Posted 26 November , 2004 That's an important point to remember about possibly the most famous 'Pals' unit of all-The Accrington Pals. This originally had entire Companies of men from Chorley and Burnley, for example. The idea that one small town recruited an entire battalion has entered into the folklore however, and is even repeated in 'respectable' textbooks on the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Gibson Posted 26 November , 2004 Author Share Posted 26 November , 2004 Thanks for that guys, food for thought. I had forgotten about the Three Hallamshire Battalions, good point. Sometimes a possible answer is staring you straight in the face. Regards Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard_Lewis Posted 28 November , 2004 Share Posted 28 November , 2004 By the time the Mayor of Swansea answered Kitcheners call and appealed for volunteers for a 'Swansea Battalion' (became the 14th Welsh) many men had already joined the local TA battalion (the 6th Welsh) or any one of numerous other army or navy units. Add to this those who held back or were in key jobs and the pond was a bit shallow. They got there in the end though, and paid accordingly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 28 November , 2004 Share Posted 28 November , 2004 It is interesting but unfortunate that the popular concentration on Pals battalions today echoes the wartime situation where the New Army was set up partly to supersede the 'unsatisfactory' Territorials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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