In this gallery is a small collection of images of the Battalion's other ranks. Currently, they come from a couple of sources: a small booklet titled The Lonsdale Battalion Border Regiment, September 1914 to June 1915 [1][2] and The Lonsdale Battalion 1914-1918.[3] The former contains six additional pages of introductory text. It mentions the early formation where Hugh Lowther, the 5th Earl of Lonsdale and the Executive Committee decide to raise the "Lonsdale Battalion" in three detachments: Carlisle, Kendal and Workington.[4] Included also is the move to Blackhall Racecourse, which later became Battalion HQ, the appointments of the Battalion's Commanding Officer 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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Squad of recruits
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Squad of recruits
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Parade of recruits
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Parade of recruits
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Early group
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Early group
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![Early recruits of C Company[5]](//static.miraheze.org/thelonsdalebattalionwiki/thumb/9/9f/Early_Recruits_of_C_Company.jpg/120px-Early_Recruits_of_C_Company.jpg)
Early recruits of C Company[5]
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Pte. Billy Wilson of Orton
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Pte. Herbert Copeland
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Pte. William Copeland
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Frederick Francis, B Company
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Pte. Richard Hartness
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Pte. Thomas Hartness
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The Watt Brothers of Skelton
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Pte. William Nash of Orton
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Pte. Robert Coates of Orton
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Four 'Pals' from Orton
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L/Cpl. Tom Moffat of Shap
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Joseph Hebson Taylor of Orton
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Physical drill
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Aiming drill
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Bayonet training
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Bayonet training
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Digging entrenchments
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Medical detention room
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Battalion cooks
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Dining hall
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Hut in the lines
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On parade
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D Company
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Bugles and drums
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Bugles and drums
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Route march through Carlisle
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Route march through Carlisle
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Route march through Carlisle
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Route march through Carlisle
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Route march through Carlisle
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Transport presented by Lord Lonsdale
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Football group
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Football group
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Representative group
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Inspection by Lord Lonsdale
![Early recruits of C Company[5]](/wiki/File:Early_Recruits_of_C_Company.jpg)
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References / notes
- ↑ Images courtesy of Kevin Johnstone.
- ↑ These images are digital copies of scans. They have been cropped slightly to remove the white border of the page.
- ↑ Images from this publication were granted permission by the author for use on the Border Regiment Wiki (now discontinued), the original sister site of The Lonsdale Battalion.
- ↑ There were four companies in the three detachments:
- A and B Companies from East and North Cumberland were based at Blackhall Racecourse in Carlisle,
- C Company from Westmorland was based at Kendal, and
- D Company from West Cumberland was based at Workington.
- ↑ A group photo of some early recruits, from left to right: Front row: L/Sgt. Kirkby, Pte. Christopher Thwaites, Pte. Herbert Harrison and L/Cpl. William Wilkinson. Back row: Pte. Billy Schofield, Sgt. Gilbert Thomas Hogg and Pte. Freddy Haddrick.