HOME
Museum &
Collections
Soldiers of the Regiment
Sales
Donations
Events
Contact Us
REGIMENTAL HISTORY
17th Century
18th Century
19th Century
20th Century
First World War
Second World War
Actions & Movements
Battle Honours
FAMILY HISTORY
Resources
Further Reading
PHOTO GALLERY
ENQUIRIES
FURTHER READING
LINKS
|
First World War1st/5th Battalion,
King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment
4 August 1914 |
Mobilised at
Lancaster, deposited Colours in the Priory Church on 5 August,
leaving for Barrow in Furness the next day in order to guard the
docks. Returned to Lancaster on 12 August 1914. |
14 August 1914 |
Battalion departs from
Lancaster Castle Station for the south. |
15 August
1914 - October 1914 |
Didcot
and area guarding lines of communication
see warning poster
Standing Orders whilst at Didcot |
October
1914-February 1915 |
Sevenoaks,
Kent |
15 February
1915 |
Arrived in
France at Le Havre |
March 1915 |
Attached to the 14th Brigade of the 5th Division |
April 1915 |
Transferred to the 83rd Brigade of the 28th Division |
April and May 1915 |
Second Battle of Ypres |
23 April 1915 |
Counter attack near St Jean
see Sergeant William's Cocoa Tin |
8 May 1915 |
Attack on Frezenberg |
28 September 1915 |
Battle of Loos |
October 1915 |
Transferred to the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Division |
January 1916 |
Joined the 166th Infantry Brigade of the 55th Division |
July to October 1916 |
Battle of the Somme |
August 1916 |
The Somme:
Battle of Guillemont |
15 September 1916 |
Battle of Flers |
10 May 1917 |
Occupation of Blakeley Crater |
31 July 1917 |
3rd Battle
of Ypres: Battles of Pilckem Ridge |
31 July 1917 |
Attack near Wieltje |
20 September
1917 |
3rd Battle
of Ypres: Battle of the Menin Road Ridge
Further attack on Wieltje |
20 to 30
November 1917 |
Battle of
Cambrai |
30 November 1917 |
Attack near Epéhy |
30 November 1917 |
Defence of Limerick Post |
9 April 1918 |
Festubert-Givenchy |
24 August
1918 |
Givenchy
Craters |
4 November
1918 |
Battle of
the Sambre - Advance on Ath |
12 December 1918 |
Moved to Brussels |
1 April 1919 |
Moved to Cologne |
5 September 1919 |
Returned to England then to Ireland |
16 October 1919 |
Cadre returned to Lancaster |
Photographs:
1st/5th (Territorial Force) Battalion, King's Own Royal Lancaster
Regiment
| 1st/5th (Territorial) Battalion,
King's Own, Lancaster in 1914 |
| Use of Caton Road, Lancaster, First
World War. |
| 1st/5th (Territorial) Battalion,
King's Own, Didcot in 1914 |
| 1st/5th (Territorial) Battalion,
King's Own, Sevenoaks, 1914-1915 |
| Essenhigh-Corke Collection of negatives,
Sevenoaks, First World War |
| Album: Harry Burrow, 1st/5th King's
Own, 1914-1915 |
| Album: Corporal W A Morris, 1st/5th King's
Own. 1914-1918 |
| Collection:
Major Fawcett,
1st/5th King's Own, 1914-1916 Page One |
| Collection: Major Fawcett:
1st/5th King's Own,
1914-1916 Page Two |
| Collection: Major Fawcett:
1st/5th King's Own, 1914-1916
Page Three |
| 1st/5th (Territorial) Battalion,
King's Own, crossing the Channel, 1915 |
| 1st/5th (Territorial) Battalion, King's Own,
France and Flanders - Domestic Life |
| 1st/5th Battalion, King's Own in France and Flanders |
| 1st/5th Battalion, 1915 Recruiting
Poster |
| Postcards of places on the Western
Front where the 1st/5th Battalion, King's Own was billeted etc. |
| 1st/5th Battalion, King's Own in France -
Groups September 1918 |
| 1st/5th Battalion, King's Own in 1919 |
Collections:
From the Museum Shop: The King's Own (Territorial Force) Being a Record of
the 1/5th Battalion, The King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment in the
European War 1914-1918. Compiled by Captain Albert Hodgkinson,
published 1921. Reprint. Sorry now out of print.
A digital version of the Battalion War Diary is available on
cd-rom from the Museum Shop.
The 1st/5th Battalion, King's Own In the War 1914-1919
Extracts from the Lion and the Rose. November 1928
Mainly owing to the deep personal interest taken in
work of the Battalion by the Colonel Lord Richard Cavendish, and the 2nd
in Command, Major J H Bates, together with the personality of the
adjutant, Captain J M Young, the outbreak of war found a united
Battalion imbued with the patriotic spirit. Two days after mobilization
while the battalion was acting temporarily as a guard at
Barrow-in-Furness, every Officer and man volunteered for foreign
service.
After a week at Barrow and two days at Lancaster, railway duties we were
taken over on the Great Western and Reading to Swindon, headquarters at
Didcot. The zeal and patience of all ranks were well displayed in the
way they dealt with an awkward situation at an hour's notice. With the
reserve the battalion was over strength, but quite a number of men were
rejected for foreign service, and went back to Lancaster to join the
newly formed 2nd/5th; originally intended as a home service Battalion,
to take over the duties of the 1st/5th Battalion when the latter
proceeded abroad. A draft of two hundred fine recruits who had not
previously served in the Territorials, made the Battalion again up to
strength. In November 1914 the 1st/5th was withdrawn from Railway
guarding and concentrated with the rest of the West Lancashire Division
at Sevenoaks and Tonbridge, the 1st/5th being at Sevenoaks. While the
Division formed part of the London Defence, its proper function was
preparation for foreign services. Circum-stances altered the plans.
Territorials were wanted immediately to reinforce the overworked
regulars in France. Only those units whose second lines were available
to take over their home duties were sent abroad at first, which explains
why the 1st/5th was one of the first Battalions to cross on 14th
February 1915. The Battalion was first attached to the 5th Division for
Wulverghem. The history of the 1st and 2nd Battalions will have dealt
with the state of the trenches at this time. Let it only be said that
the Territorials struck it well. After instructions the 1/5th Battalion
joined the 28th Division which included our 2nd Battalion. Very
fortunate was the 1st/5th to be in the 83rd Brigade with the 2nd, who
gave helpful suggestion and brotherly assistance freely. From March to
October 1915, the history of the two Battalions as regards incidents in
France is identical except for a short period when the 2nd Battalion
battle of Ypres began. The 2nd were holding trenches on a part of the
Salient, Zonnebeke, not in line of the German attack while the 1st/5th
were in reserve at Ypres. Consequently when the first gas attack broke
the French line at St Julien, the 1st/5th were called on to form part of
a hastily gathered Brigade of reserve. Units called Colonel Geddes
Brigade. The Canadians were filling the gap and Geddes' Brigade
completed the scattered line. On Friday 23rd April the 1st/5th joined in
a counter attack which did not reach its objective, but enabled the
British and French to close the gap and so saved the situation. A few
days later the Salient was made healthier by withdrawing from the
Zonnebeke sector, and forming the new Frezenberg Line, the 1st/5th
rejoined its Brigade and along with the 2nd Battalion on May 8th was
called upon to resist a smashing German attack. The 1st/5th again
suffered heavily, the 2nd even more so, the result being that the
1st/5th were reduced to 11 Officers and 300 men, including transport. As
the Colonel had been wounded and Major Bates and the Adjutant gone to
England, sick, Captain F. Eaves was now in command with Lieutenant G.C.
Milnes Adjutant. A veil must be drawn over the humiliating summer of
1915. The Battalion was too short of Officers and men to take its turn
in the line, and the Territorials draft were few. This was while the
28th enabled the 1st/5th to take a share in the Battle of Loos. Shortly
afterwards the 28th Division went to Salonika, leaving behind its
Territorial Units and the 1st/5th was attached to the 2nd Brigade of the
1st Division. November and December 1915 were spent in the mud before
Loos, but early in 1916 the Battalion rejoined the West Lancashire
Division whose units had been scattered amongst the Regular Divisions.
The 55th Division as it was now called, took over comfortable trenches
south of arras, and in July moved south to take its share in the Somme.
No outstanding incidents occurred to the 1st/5th here, except that the
Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Anderson, and the Medical
Officer, Captain Deighton, were killed by a shell outside Flers. The
1st/5th lost many men on working parties, and were twice commended for
finishing 'jumping off' trenches under nerve shattering conditions.
Still, since leaving Ypres, they had not had much chance, and they were
glad the Somme even to return to Ypres. The 55th Division were in Ypres
from October 1916, to October 1917. Useful work was done in the winter
in the Potijze and Railway Wood Sectors. The 1/5th joined another
Battalion in the Division to commence the
Passchendaele offensive on 31st July
their objective was the Blue Line which was achieved with the loss in
the 1st/5th of 14 Officers and 211 men killed and wounded. Again on 20th
September the Division took up the attack, this time on Schuler
Galleries. Captain Bennett reformed the line with fragments of scattered
units in readiness for a German counter at-tack, which, however, the
Divisional artillery broke up. From the Salient the 55th Division went
south to Cambrai, being on the right of the surprise British tank attack
on 20th November. Ten days later the Germans counter attacked on the
Division front, overwhelming the South Lancashire Regiment and the
Liverpool Scottish, but were held up by the North Lancashire Regiment,
and 1st/5th King's Own who were in reserve in strong points. Captain
Bennett again distinguished himself at Limerick Post. Though surrounded
for the best part of the day, along with a section of the Scottish, the
whole party was extricated under cover of darkness.
After a complete rest for re-organization, the division took over the
Festubert. Givenchy Section before Bethune in February 1918, much good
work in preparation was rewarded on 9th April when the memorable defence
of Givenchy held up the German advance on that side, and the Portuguese,
enabled the British to reform the line when the Portuguese were
overwhelmed.
In advance the 55th Division took over the direction of Festubert
Section, Tournai and reached Ath on 11th November. By Christmas they
were in Brussels, where the 1st/5th were given the task of entertaining
football, boxing and cross-country running team from the six armies in
France and Flanders during the competitions which were decided at
Brussels early in 1919. On 1st April the 1st/5th Battalion left the 55th
Division for service in the Rhine Army, Provost-Branch guarding the
Belgium-German Frontier and various railway stations and river centres
in Rhine area. In September, the Battalion returned to England but
crossed immediately to Ireland. On arrival at the Curragh demobilization
at once commenced. Finally on 16th October the Cadre of 4 Officers and
10 NCO's and men arrived at Lancaster, where they received a most
cordial civic reception. It has not been possible in this short time to
name the various Commanding Officers, Adjutants etc., but the transport
officer and Quartermaster served throughout the war unchanged. The
Battalion had eight Commanding Officers, ten 2nd in Commands and seven
Adjutants.
In honours there was one C.M.G. three D.S.O's 24 Military Crosses, with
four first bars and one second bar, 10 D.C.M's, 87 M.M's, 3 Foreign
Decorations, 17 Officers (2 Officers 3 times) and 18 NCO's and men
mentioned in despatched.
Killed or died of wounds 27 officers 537 NCO's and men. Wounded and
missing 98 Officers 1919 NCO's and men. Sick 102 Officers 2267 NCO's and
men.
|