# Accrington Pals

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See also: [The Accrington Pals (play)](/source/The_Accrington_Pals_(play))

Accrington Pals 11th (Service) Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment (Accrington) Cap badge of the East Lancashire Regiment Active 2 September 1914 – 20 November 1919 Allegiance United Kingdom Branch New Army Type Pals battalion Role Infantry Size Battalion Part of 31st Division Garrison/HQ Accrington Patron Mayor and Town of Accrington Engagements Battle of the Somme Third Battle of the Scarpe Capture of Oppy Wood German spring offensive Battle of the Lys Hundred Days Offensive

Military unit

The **Accrington Pals**, officially the 11th (Service) Battalion (Accrington), [East Lancashire Regiment](/source/East_Lancashire_Regiment), was a [pals battalion](/source/Pals_battalion) of [Kitchener's Army](/source/Kitchener's_Army) raised in and around the town of [Accrington](/source/Accrington) during the [First World War](/source/World_War_I).[1]

## History

Recruiting was initiated by the mayor of Accrington following [Lord Kitchener](/source/Herbert_Kitchener%2C_1st_Earl_Kitchener)'s call for volunteers, and it took only ten days to raise a complete battalion. The battalion's nickname is somewhat misleading since of the four 250-strong [companies](/source/Company_(military_unit)) that made up the original battalion, only one was actually composed of men from Accrington. The rest volunteered from other nearby East Lancashire towns such as [Burnley](/source/Burnley), [Blackburn](/source/Blackburn), and [Chorley](/source/Chorley). The men from Chorley, who formed Y Company, were known as the Chorley Pals.[2][3][4] [5] The men from Burnley, who formed Z Company, were known as the Burnley Pals.

The Accrington Pals joined the [94th Brigade](/source/94th_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)) of the [31st Division](/source/31st_Division_(United_Kingdom)), a "pals" division containing many North Country pals battalions. With the 31st Division. The division was initially deployed to [Egypt](/source/Egypt) in early 1916 to defend the [Suez Canal](/source/Suez_Canal) from the threat of the [Ottoman Empire](/source/Ottoman_Empire)[3][4][6][7] The troopship carrying the Accrington Pals was narrowly missed by a [torpedo](/source/Torpedo), a fortunate miss because the ship also carried sixty tons of [lyddite](/source/Picric_acid) explosive.

The Accrington Pals next moved to France, where they first saw action in the [Battle of the Somme](/source/Battle_of_the_Somme). On the [first day on the Somme](/source/First_day_on_the_Somme), on 1 July 1916, the 31st Division was to attack the village of [Serre-lès-Puisieux](/source/Serre-l%C3%A8s-Puisieux) and form a defensive flank for the rest of the British advance.[3][4][6][7] The 31st Division's attack on Serre was a complete failure although some of the Accrington Pals made it as far as the village where they were killed or captured. One of the battalion's signallers, observing from the rear, reported:

- *"We were able to see our comrades move forward in an attempt to cross [No Man's Land](/source/No_Man's_Land), only to be mown down like meadow grass. I felt sick at the sight of the carnage and remember weeping."*

Approximately 720 men from the Accrington Pals went into action on 1 July; 585 men became casualties, 235 killed and 350 wounded in about half an hour. The battalion's commander, Lieutenant-Colonel A. W. Rickman, was among the wounded. A rumour spread around Accrington that only seven men had survived from the battalion, and an angry crowd surrounded the mayor's house and demanded information.

The Accrington Pals were effectively wiped out in a matter of minutes on the first day on the Somme. The battalion was brought back up to strength and served for the remainder of the war, moving to the [92nd Brigade](/source/92nd_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)) of the 31st Division in February 1918.[3][4][6][7]

## 12th (Reserve) Battalion

The **12th (Reserve) Battalion, East Lancashire Regimen**, was formed on 14 May 1915 at [Chadderton Camp](/source/Chadderton_Park), [Oldham](/source/Oldham), from the depot companies of 11th Battalion.[2][8] This was a *local reserve* battalion, that is, a reserve battalion for the locally raised (pals) battalion intended to provide trained reinforcements for its parent unit.[9] In the autumn of 1915 it was at [Prees Heath Camp](/source/Whitchurch_(Tilstock)_Airfield#Prees_Heath_Army_Camp) in the [17th Reserve Brigade](/source/17th_Reserve_Brigade).[8]

On 1 September 1916, it transferred to the [Training Reserve](/source/British_Army_First_World_War_reserve_brigades) (TR) as the **75th Training Reserve Battalion** in 17th Reserve Brigade. It was redesignated as the **233rd (Infantry) Battalion, TR**, (for those who had completed basic training) on 9 July 1917, and on 23 July it joined [205th Bde](/source/205th_(2nd_Welsh_Border)_Brigade) of [68th Division](/source/68th_(2nd_Welsh)_Division) at [Herringfleet](/source/Herringfleet) in [Suffolk](/source/Suffolk). On 1 November 1917 it was transferred to the [King's (Liverpool Regiment)](/source/King's_(Liverpool_Regiment)) as **52nd (Graduated) Bn**. Later it moved to [Lowestoft](/source/Lowestoft), and in the spring of 1918 it was at [Saxmundham](/source/Saxmundham). In June 1918 it moved to [Henham Park](/source/Henham_Park), where it remained for the rest of the war. After the war it was converted into a service battalion on 8 February 1919 and sent to join the [British Army of the Rhine](/source/British_Army_of_the_Rhine), where it served in [14th Bde](/source/14th_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)) of the [Lancashire Division](/source/32nd_Division_(United_Kingdom)) until October 1919. It was disbanded in Germany on 13 February 1920.[2][8][4][10][11][12][13][14][15]

## Victoria Cross

Basil Arthur Horsfall VC

The [Victoria Cross](/source/Victoria_Cross) is the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to [British](/source/United_Kingdom) and [Commonwealth](/source/Commonwealth_of_Nations) forces. One member of the battalion won the award. [Second Lieutenant](/source/Second_Lieutenant#United_Kingdom_and_Commonwealth) [Basil Arthur Horsfall](/source/Basil_Arthur_Horsfall), 1st Battalion attached to the 11th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment,[16] won the award on 21 March 1918, between [Moyenneville](/source/Moyenneville%2C_Pas-de-Calais) and [Ablainzevelle](/source/Ablainzevelle), [France](/source/France). The award was posthumous.[17]

## Legacy

A song telling their story was written and recorded by English folk singer and comedian [Mike Harding](/source/Mike_Harding).[18] A play based on the unit, [*The Accrington Pals*](/source/The_Accrington_Pals_(play)), was also later written by [Peter Whelan](/source/Peter_Whelan_(playwright)).[19][20][21]

## Memorial

A memorial to the battalion stands in the Sheffield Memorial Park in France. Built from [Accrington brick](/source/Accrington_brick) and dedicated in 1991, the memorial stands close to the location of the trench line from which the Accrington Pals advanced on the first day of the Somme.[22]

## See also

- [United Kingdom portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:United_Kingdom)

- [List of pals battalions](/source/List_of_pals_battalions)

- [Recruitment to the British Army during the First World War](/source/Recruitment_to_the_British_Army_during_the_First_World_War)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Turner_1-0)** [Turner 1990](#CITEREFTurner1990)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Frederick_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Frederick_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Frederick_2-2) Frederick, p. 187.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-James_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-James_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-James_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-James_3-3) James, p. 74.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-TrailEL_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-TrailEL_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-TrailEL_4-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-TrailEL_4-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-TrailEL_4-4) [East Lancashire Regiment at Long, Long Trail.](http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/east-lancashire-regiment/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["The Chorley Pals"](http://www.chorleypalsmemorial.org.uk/the-pals/the-chorley-pals/). Chorley Pals Memorial. Retrieved 24 May 2015.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Becke31_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Becke31_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Becke31_6-2) Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 11–9.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Trail31_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Trail31_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Trail31_7-2) [31st Division at Long, Long Trail.](http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/31st-division/)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-James74_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-James74_8-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-James74_8-2) James, p. 74

1. **[^](#cite_ref-JamesAppII_9-0)** James, Appendix II to Part II.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Frederick, p. 130.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** James, p. 53.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** [Training Reserve at Long, Long Trail.](http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/training-reserve/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [King's (Liverpool Regiment) at Long, Long Trail.](http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/kings-liverpool-regiment/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 83–90.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** [Rinaldi.](http://www.orbat.info/history/volume5/518/OriginalBAOR.pdf)[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Horsfall, Basil Arthur"](http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/784223). [Commonwealth War Graves Commission](/source/Commonwealth_War_Graves_Commission). Retrieved 24 May 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["No. 30697"](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30697/supplement/6058). *[The London Gazette](/source/The_London_Gazette)* (Supplement). 21 May 1918. p. 6058.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Harding"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070404061928/http://aftermathww1.com/harding.asp). Archived from [the original](http://www.aftermathww1.com/harding.asp) on 4 April 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** *The Accrington Pals* (play, 1984), Peter Whelan [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-413-77305-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-413-77305-1)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** Jackson, Andrew C. ["The Accrington Pals"](http://www.pals.org.uk/pals_e.htm). pals.org.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** ["Previous credits"](http://www.munin.co.uk/previouscredits.html#pals). Munin Productions. Retrieved 24 May 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** ["Accrington Pals | Visiting the Serre Battlefield"](http://www.pals.org.uk/visit.htm). *www.pals.org.uk*. Retrieved 20 October 2018.

## Bibliography

- Maj A.F. Becke,*History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions,* London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-39-8.

- Maj A.F. Becke,*History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 3b: New Army Divisions (30–41) and 63rd (R.N.) Division*, London: HM Stationery Office, 1939/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-41-X.

- J.B.M. Frederick, *Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978*, Vol I, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-007-3.

- Andrew Jackson, *Accrington's Pals: The Full Story*, Barnsley, Pen & Sword, 2013, ISBN 9781-84884-469-8.

- Brig E.A. James, *British Regiments 1914–18*, London: Samson Books, 1978, ISBN 0-906304-03-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84342-197-9.

- [BAOR.pdf Richard A. Rinaldi, *The Original British Army of the Rhine*, 2006.](http://www.orbat.info/history/volume5/518/Original)

- Turner, William (1990). *Pals: the 11th (Service) Battalion (Accrington), East Lancashire Regiment*. Barnsley: The Barnsley Chronicle. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9507892-4-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9507892-4-0).

## External links

- [Chris Baker, *The Long, Long Trail*](http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk)

- Jackson, Andrew C. ["The Accrington Pals"](http://www.pals.org.uk/pals_e.htm). pals.org.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2015.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Accrington Pals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accrington_Pals) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accrington_Pals?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.