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In this gallery is a small collection of images showing newly enlisted Lonsdale men in training and parades, from a small booklet titled ''[[The Lonsdale Battalion Border Regiment, September 1914 to June 1915]]'' <ref>Images courtesy of Kevin Johnstone.</ref><ref>These images are digital copies of scans. They have been cropped slightly to remove the white border of the page.</ref><br>
The original booklet contains [[The Lonsdale Battalion - an introduction#September 1914 to June 1915|six additional pages of introductory text]]. It mentions the early formation where [[Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale|Hugh Lowther, the 5th Earl of Lonsdale]] and the Executive Committee decide to raise the "Lonsdale Battalion" in three detachments: Carlisle, Kendal and Workington.<ref>There were four companies in the three detachments:
:A and B Companies from East and North Cumberland were based at [[Blackhall Camp|Blackhall Racecourse]] in Carlisle,
:C Company from Westmorland was based at Kendal, and
:D Company from West Cumberland was based at Workington.</ref> Included also is the move to [[Blackhall Racecourse]], which later became Battalion HQ, the appointments of the Battalion's Commanding Officer [[Percy Wilfred Machell|P.W. Machell]] and the Captain and Adjutant, [[P. G. W. Diggle]]. High praise for the effectiveness of the Battalion was the order of the day where:
:"...the foundations of the Battalion were well and truly laid in a spirit of practical patriotism, with every consideration for local feeling and good comradeship, and for the democratic ideals of the twentieth century worker. During these formative days of the Battalion’s earliest history it became clear to everyone in the Border Counties that this really was a Battalion of 'Pals,' of comrades, and of Border men. From its Commanding Officer to the last joined recruit, all ranks worked together with a will, and in the friendliest spirit of unity, to make a Battalion which should eventually prove itself to be worthy of the best traditions of the British Army."
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File:Grandstand at Blackhall Racecourse.jpg|The grandstand at [[Blackhall Racecourse]]
File:Parade_of_recruits 01.jpg|Parade of recruits
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== References / notes ==
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[[Category:Training]]
[[Category:Image galleries]]
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