Pals battalions

E765753

Pals battalions were First World War British Army units composed of men from the same communities, workplaces, or social groups who enlisted and served together, often suffering heavy collective casualties.

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Label Occurrences
Pals battalions canonical 1

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf British Army unit type
military formation concept
associatedWith Lord Kitchener NERFINISHED
basedOn Kitchener's Army recruitment scheme NERFINISHED
commemoratedBy war memorials in British towns
conflict World War I
surface form: First World War
consequence concentrated local losses when battalions suffered casualties
country United Kingdom
documentedIn British military history
engagedIn Battle of the Somme NERFINISHED
Western Front operations
etymology named from colloquial term "pals" meaning friends
formedDuring 1914
1915
hasCharacteristic locally raised units
recruited from same communities
recruited from same social groups
recruited from same workplaces
served together
suffered heavy collective casualties
volunteer units
languageOfName English
legacy symbol of communal sacrifice in First World War Britain
notableExample Accrington Pals NERFINISHED
Glasgow Boys Brigade battalion NERFINISHED
Grimsby Chums NERFINISHED
Leeds Pals NERFINISHED
Liverpool Pals NERFINISHED
Tyneside Irish NERFINISHED
Tyneside Scottish NERFINISHED
operatedIn Belgium NERFINISHED
France NERFINISHED
organizationalLevel battalion
partOf British Army
purpose encourage enlistment through local solidarity
rapid expansion of British Army
recruitmentBasis geographical community
occupational group
social or sporting club
recruitmentEnded after introduction of conscription in 1916
recruitmentPolicy friends could enlist together
men from same town could serve in same unit
risk high probability of simultaneous loss of many local men
serviceBranch infantry
socialImpact devastated individual towns and communities
subclassOf infantry battalions
timePeriod 1914–1918
typicalSize about 1,000 men

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Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.