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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
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. |
Lonsdale Battalion war diary
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. |
Document library
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. |
| On this day... | ||
| On 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. Learn more about this project. | ||
| Roll of Honour | Lonsdale 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. |
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