Main Page

Welcome to the Lonsdale Battalion

The home of the
11th (Service) Battalion Border Regiment in the First World War

---

All will be more comfortable when our division takes over. The Commanding Officer's are well enough off always, apparently, having pretty good dug-outs and a chance of drying up, but I feel very bad about the men, and one can’t do enough for them.     —Lt. Col. P.W. Machell, Commanding Officer

For the first six months there was never a night that the C.O. did not go round the trenches. Not a casual walk round, but four or fives hours out…We had the name of being the best Infantry Battalion in France, among any of those who had to do with us.     —Major P.G.W. Diggle, 2nd in Command

Battalion history	Lonsdale war diary	Document library
The Lonsdale Battalion was formed by Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, and an Executive Committee with the approval of the War Office on 17 September, 1914. The Executive Committee raised four companies, all financed by the Earl of Lonsdale himself from his personal funds. Discover almost four years of the Battalion's history through formation, training and front line action.	Some regimental war diaries were sparse in detail, whilst others were incredibly descriptive. Today, they are pivotal to learning about the daily lives of the men and the bitter fighting they endured. The Lonsdale's war diary offers a complexity of daily reports on operations, intelligence summaries, casualties, maps and various other appendices covering their time in France and Flanders.	There were a wide range of documents recorded and compiled between the Lonsdale's formation and eventual disbandment in 1918. The documents offer detailed information on the actions and day-to-day running of the Battalion at a time of war. These include, but are not limited to: orders, reports, notes, instructions, messages, honours, awards and press appreciations.
Roll of Honour	Quotes	Image gallery
The 11th Battalion Roll of Honour has been transcribed as it was printed in HMSO’s Soldiers Died in the Great War, Volume 39, The Border Regiment. This is a complete list of men killed whilst serving in the Lonsdale Battalion during the war. Many men listed here served in many other regiments, the most common ones being the Herefordshire, Essex and Liverpool Regiments.	Read a selection of quotes from various source materials. The words offer the reader a glimpse into the lives of the men and officers and the very things they bore witness to first-hand. Quotes from the Battalion war diaries give a unique insight to the mundane duties of trench warfare, the horrors of battle and the praising of their fellow brothers in the course of their duties.	Peruse over a collection of images of the Lonsdales during their initial training period at Blackhall Camp, Carlisle, before being shipped over to France. See the men in their civvies lining up for roll call, engaged in bayonet training and aiming drills, digging entrenchments and physical exercise. Plus, see photos of officers, individuals, groups, obituaries, cap badges and other insignia.

---

Battalion motto

Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense — Evil be to Him who Evil Thinks

Want to find out more?

Discover the history of the Lonsdales and their actions in the First World War.
Press the button below to enter and begin your journey.

enter here