11th (Service) Battalion Border Regiment in the First World War
The Lonsdales were a 'Pals' battalion, volunteers answering Field Marshal Earl Kitchener's call to arms - to fight for King and Country.
Interested? Get started hereThe 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.
The Battalion HistoryOn this day is a listing of historical events associated with the actions of the Lonsdale Battalion, from formation in 1914 through to its disbandment in 1918. The Lonsdales were a 'Pals' battalion, volunteers answering Field Marshal Earl Kitchener's call to arms - to fight for King and Country. The actions of this Pals battalion throughout its four year's existence are included here as daily events 'on this day'. In this case, an event is the term used broadly to describe a particular action or set of actions. An event could be a reference to bayonet training, digging entrenchments, receiving orders by the commanding officer, detailed fighting on the front line, or it could be a simple report on casualty figures, among many others.
On this day 17 May · Find out moreThere 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.
The document librarySome regimental war diaries are sparse in detail, whilst others are 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.
The battalion war diaryThe 11th Battalion Roll of Honour has been transcribed as it was printed in HMSO’s Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-19, Volume 39, The Border Regiment. This is a complete list of men killed whilst serving in the Lonsdale Battalion during the war. Many of the soldiers that served in the Lonsdale Battalion also served in other battalions of the Border Regiment, some even transferring from entirely different regiments, the most common of these being the Herefordshire, Essex and Liverpool Regiments.
The roll of honourAll 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.
Read a selection of quotes from various source materials. The words offer a glimpse into the lives of the men and the sights they bore witness to first-hand. Quotes from the Battalion War Diary give a unique insight to the mundane duties of trench warfare, the horrors of battle and the praising of fellow brothers in the course of their duties.The Lonsdale quotesFor 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.
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Digging entrenchments
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Inspection of the Battalion by Lord Lonsdale
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.
The image galleriesSeveral Cumberland and Westmorland newspapers reported on the Lonsdales between 1914 – 1918. Reports on the war, notes of the week, the terrible conditions at the front, casualties and obituaries, to name a few provide the reader with a glimpse into a world where hardships were a fact of life, and the horrors of war and losing your friends were a daily routine. Here's one fine example of a chap writing home about his experience of being wounded.
Lonsdales Wounded On Way To Trenches
Corporal J. Smith, 11th Borders in a letter to his parents on December 19th, says: -
Just a few lines to let you know that I have been wounded, but I am going on champion.
—Workington Star and Harrington Guardian, Published 24 December, 1915.
Living day to day surrounded by death and the fear of never seeing loved ones again made the propaganda drive all the more effective as those at home learned about their sons and fathers fighting for the freedoms that many of us today take for granted. The press in recent times, however, enlighten us with stark reminders of bygone times and more often than not, heartwarming tributes of those who served over 100 years ago.Lonsdales in the press