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Barnsley Pals (Paperback)

The 13th & 14th Battalions York & Lancaster Regiment

Military > Regimental History WWI > Battles & Campaigns > Somme WWI > By Year > 1916 WWI > Pals Battalions World History > UK & Ireland > England > Yorkshire & Humberside > Barnsley

By Jon Cooksey
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Series: Pals
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9781473891982
Published: 26th May 2016

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The "Pals" battalions were a phenomenon of the Great War, never repeated since. Under Lord Derby's scheme, and in response to Kitchener's famous call for a million volunteers, local communities raised (and initially often paid for) entire battalions for service on the Western Front. Their experience was all too frequently tragic, as men who had known each other all their lives, had worked, volunteered, and trained together, and had shipped to France together, encountered the first full fury of modern battle on the Somme in July 1916. Many of the Pals battalions would not long survive that first brutal baptism, but their spirit and fighting qualities have gone down into history - these were, truly, the cream of Britain's young men, and every single one of them was a volunteer. Barnsley Pals, the first of the highly successful "Pals" series is now released in paperback in the 100th anniversary year of the Battle of the Somme.

This is a book which one will come back to again and again, both for a wider understanding of the 'Pal's mentality, and also for a wider comprehension of this phase of the First World War, both on the Home Front and the Western Front.

Jon Sandison, Freelance

Article: 'They Shall Not Grow Old' as featured by

Barnsley Chronicle, 9th November 2018

This book is immensely detailed on the Battalions activities, and is hugely name-rich.

Kent Family History Society

A superbly researched work with many personal experiences of survivors, fascinating, contemporary photos and exceptionally fine maps.

Wartime Memories Project

As fetaured in

Barnsley Chronicle

This work is a fitting tribute to Kitchener's Barnsley volunteers.

Paul Nixon, Amazon Reviewer

...an excellent book

Around Town- Barnsley

About Jon Cooksey

The late Jon Cooksey was a leading military historian who took a special interest in the history of the world wars. He was the editor of Stand To!, the journal of the Western Front Association, and an experienced battlefield guide. His many books included The Barnsley Pals, Calais, Harry’s War and, as editor, Blood and Iron. 

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