The "Pals" battalions were a phenomenon of the Great War, never repeated since. Under Lord Derby's scheme, and in response to Kitchener's famous call for a million volunteers, local communities raised (and initially often paid for) entire battalions for service on the Western Front. Their experience was all too frequently tragic, as men who had known each other all their lives, had worked, volunteered, and trained together, and had been shipped to France together, encountered the first full fury of modern battle on the Somme in July 1916. Many of the Pals battalions would not long survive that first brutal baptism, but their spirit and fighting qualities have gone down into history. This is the story of the four Salford battalions, many of whose original members were recruited from one of the most notorious, oppressive and desolate slums to arise from the Industrial Revolution. Salford was late in recruiting, but within a year had raised four Pals battalions and a reserve battalion - an enormous achievement for a town of its size, as Liverpool and Manchester each raised only four such battalions, and Sheffield just one. The book records the impact of the war on Salford (noting, for example, the widespread anti-war feeling in the early days), follows the difficulties and triumphs in raising the Pals battalions, and describes the subsequent events and actions, both great and small.

The Salford Pals: The History of the Salford Brigade, the 15th, 16th, 19th and 20th (Service Battalions the Lancashire Fusiliers, 1914-1919)

History

Stedman, Michael

Europe

Combined Books

Manchester Pals: 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, & 23rd Battalions of the Manchester Regiment

Military

Pen & Sword Paperbacks

This addition to the growing series of battlefield guides has been written by Michael Stedman, author of Thiepval. Drawing upon the wealth of material available in both national and local archives, documentary evidence, personal reminiscence and British and German unit histories, La Boiselle will add enormously to the experience of any visitor to this extraordinary location on the Somme battlefield. This distinctive volume has ample detail to satisfy the discerning expert whilst retaining the accessible style which will ensure that anyone new to these magnificently informative places will feel at home with the text. Apart from the historical detail, La Boiselle is illuminated by a distinctive and detailed array of maps and aerial photographs which will guide the reader both at home and in the field. To support the maps a sequence of contemporary and comparison present-day photographs will enable students to plan and execute a series of enjoyable, informative and evocative tours through the locality. These walks will guide people to little-known sections of still existent front-line and assembly trenches, dug-outs, gun-pits and observation posts, past the memorials and cemeteries, with an eye for detail as well as to the human and personal experience of the conflict. If you are researching the story of a family member who served or is commemorated here, if you wish to deepen and illuminate a visit to a new Western Front location, if you are a student of the battlefield and the military tactics employed here, La Boiselle will add enormously to your knowledge and understanding of this powerful place. In an unsentimental manner, La Boiselle can transport you back across eight decades to understand something of the experience of the Tommies and their German counterparts who fought and died here during the Great War.

La Boiselle: Somme (Battleground Europe)

Pen and Sword Military

<p>The fighting at Fricourt and Mametz was frequently punctured by the denotation of mines. This series is designed for both the battle field visitor and the armchair traveler. The historical significance is described with the aid of maps and photographs. '</p>

Fricourt-Mametz: Somme (Battleground Europe)

<p>The battle for Guillemont raged throughout August 1916. Like so many of the battles into which the 'Big Push' degenerated, the struggle centred around a wood, Trones, and a heavily fortified village. It was in this battle that Noel Chavasse won the first of his two Vcs.</p>

Guillemont: Somme (Battleground Europe)

The Battleground series is designed for both the battlefield visitor and the reader at home. For the former, this book is an invaluable guide and each site is described in detail. For everyone there are graphic descriptions of action, often through firsthand accounts, supported by illustrations, diagrams and maps.

Advance to Victory 1918: Somme (Battleground Europe)

Unlike its near neighbor, working-class Salford, Manchester proved able to raise eight Pals battalions.  Initially, these battalions were composed of middle-class men who experience before the war years was within the commercial, financial and manufacturing interests which formed the foundations of Edwardian Manchester’s life and prosperity.  Manchester was undeniably proud of its pals battalions; that the area was capable of raising.  Seven months after their arrival in France the battle of the Somme was launched, on the fateful 1st July, 1916.  On the right of the British Army’s extraordinary efforts that day, the Manchester Pals were part of one of the few successful actions, taking the villages of Montauban and Mametz and making a deep incursion into the German defenses north of the River Somme.

Manchester Pals

Unlike its near neighbor, working-class Salford, Manchester proved able to raise eight Pals battalions. Initially, these battalions were composed of middle-class men who experience before the war years was within the commercial, financial and manufacturing interests which formed the foundations of Edwardian Manchester’s life and prosperity. Manchester was undeniably proud of its pals battalions; that the area was capable of raising. Seven months after their arrival in France the battle of the Somme was launched, on the fateful 1st July, 1916. On the right of the British Army’s extraordinary efforts that day, the Manchester Pals were part of one of the few successful actions, taking the villages of Montauban and Mametz and making a deep incursion into the German defenses north of the River Somme.

The Somme Offensive which opened on 7 July 1916 is the battle that symbolizes the horrors of the Great War, with its appalling carnage and waste in return for negligible tactical achievement.  Thiepval was pivotal to the campaign and many of the units who fought here were ‘Pals’ (such as the Salford) – their decimation meant disproportionate losses for the communities from which the Regiments were drawn.This book not only describes the action but has many personal accounts.  It gives details of numerous walks and explains the locality’s military significance.

Thiepval (Battleground Somme)

Salford was late in recruiting for its Pals battalions, with many of its men already joining Territorial units and a new Pals battalion in Manchester.  Yet within a year it had raised four Pals battalions and a reserve battalion.  Raised mainly from Lancashire’s most notorious slums, the men trained together in Wales, North East England and on Salisbury Plain, they had great expectations of success.  On the 1st of July 1916 the Somme offensive was launched and in the very epicenter of that cauldron the first three of Salford’s battalions were thrown at the massive defenses of Thiepval - the men were decimated, Salford was shattered.Michael Stedman records the impact of the war from the start on Salford and follows the difficulties and triumphs. Whether the actions small or great the author writes graphically about them all.Unusual photographs and a variety of sources make this both a readable and a scholarly account.

The Somme 1916: And Other Experiences of the Salford Pals

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Books by Stedman, Michael

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Stedman, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Salford Pals: The History of the Salford Brigade, the 15th, 16th, 19th and 20th (Service Battalions the Lancashire Fusiliers, 1914-1919)

Manchester Pals: 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, & 23rd Battalions of the Manchester Regiment

La Boiselle: Somme (Battleground Europe)

Fricourt-Mametz: Somme (Battleground Europe)

Guillemont: Somme (Battleground Europe)

Advance to Victory 1918: Somme (Battleground Europe)

Manchester Pals

Manchester Pals

Thiepval (Battleground Somme)

The Somme 1916: And Other Experiences of the Salford Pals