1/4th (HALLAMSHIRE) BATTALION, YORK and LANCASTER REGIMENT 1914 – 1919

1/4th Hallamshire Bn of the Y & L (Yorks and Corks), the senior Territorial battalion of the Regiment, was based in Doncaster where it was fortuitously assembled, having just completed annual training, when war broke out.The battalion was part of 3rd West Riding Brigade, West Riding Division, later 148th Brigade, 49th Division; it remained in the same brigade and division throughout the war. In April 1915 the division arrived in France, the fourth TF division to join the BEF, and nominal roll of battalion officers embarking is given. Only two of them (and the RSM) were still with the battalion when it advanced into Germany in February 1919 as part of the Army of the Rhine. In the opening chapter the author notes that the task of the Battalion and of the division was more often to “stand and wait” in the trenches than to engage in the more widely-known and spectacular attacks of the war. They certainly had their fill of the Ypres salient. By the end of the first year in France, in April 1916, the total casualties amounted to 126 killed and 453 wounded. By the end the total dead numbered some 750 all ranks. The narrative provides a good account of the battalion’s experiences with frequent mentions of individuals, casualties and awards. Most useful is the fact that each page is headed with the date (month and year). There is a list of awards in the appendix and there is an index. There is one ‘howler’ which needs to be corrected: in the preface by the brigade commander (R.L.Adlercron) he refers to ‘50th Canadian Division’, there was no such division; he means the 50th Canadian Infantry Battalion