SIXTEENTH, SEVENTEENTH, EIGHTEENTH & NINETEENTH BATTALIONS THE MANCHESTER REGIMENT 1914-1918 (Manchester Pals)

These four battalions were raised on the same day, 28 August 1914, by the Lord Mayor and City and designated 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th City of Manchester Battalions, 1st City Brigade: The Manchester Pals. In December 1914 all the locally raised battalions were numbered and the four battalions became 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th Battalions, The Manchester Regiment, forming the 90th Brigade of the 30th Division, an entirely Lancashire division with the crest of the Earl of Derby as its divisonal sign. They arrived in France in November 1915. Their first major battle was on 1st July when the division recorded one of the few successes of that awful day by securing all its objectives, including Montauban. This achievement is recognised by a memorial to the Manchester and Liverpool Pals battalions erected in Montauban and unveiled in 1994. In this action Sgt Evans of the 18th Battalion won the VC. In 1918, in the German March offensive the 16th Battalion fought a rearguard action on a feature known as Manchester Hill, where the CO, Lt Col W Elstrob was awarded a posthumous VC. There is an excellent map showing the dispositions of the battalion, still useful for anyone visiting the site today.The book is divided into four parts, one for each battalion, each with its own contents list, and the pattern for each battalion is the same: formation and training, roll of officers embarking for France, and description of the fighting. Each battalion record ends with its own honours and awards list and roll of honour in which the officers killed are shown in order of date and the other ranks lists are taken from Soldiers Died. Finally there is a section containing congratulatory messages to formations in which the battalions served.