Liverpool Pals

A quick post today to answer a question that was emailed to me - someone researching their family tree was confused why they were being told their great-uncle wasn't a Liverpool Pal when they have his medals etc showing he served with the Liverpool Regiment.

The King's Liverpool Regiment

The King's Liverpool Regiment is not the same as The Liverpool Pals.

The King's Liverpool Regiment,

The King's (Liverpool) Regiment,

The King's Regiment (Liverpool).

However it's written, The King's Liverpool Regiment (KLR) is an old regiment and one of only four which are associated with a city rather than a county. At the outbreak of the First World War, the regiment consisted of 2 regular battalions, 2 reserve and 6 Territorial. Throughout the course of the war the KLR formed 49 battalions. They were not all Pals' Battalions.

The Liverpool Pals' Battalions

The Liverpool Pals' Battalions were formed with men who volunteered on certain dates, in Liverpool, in answer to a call by Lord Derby. The idea was to appeal to men who lived and worked alongside each other to enlist with the promise that they would be kept together. Liverpool wasn't the first city to do so, but it is where the name of Pals was coined as Lord Derby said those signing up should form:

"a battalion of pals, a battalion in which friends from the same office fight shoulder to shoulder for the honour of Britain and the credit of Liverpool".

(they were for a short time also called the Liverpool Comrades' Battalions by the press.)

Liverpool quickly provided enough men for 4 service battalions and 2 reserve battalions (each of around 1000 men). These battalions are the Liverpool Pals and they were numbered:

17th Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment. (1st City Battalion)

18th Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment. (2nd City Battalion)

19th Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment. (3rd City Battalion)

20th Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment. (4th City Battalion)

21st Reserve Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment.

22nd Reserve Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment.

A distinction of all the Pals battalions is that their training was paid for by the person who raised them - Lord Derby in Liverpool's case - and they were basically private armies until handed over to the M.O.D. The Liverpool Pals were further distinguished from the other battalions of the KLR when Royal permission was given for Lord Derby to use his family crest for the Liverpool Pals instead of the usual KLR badge.

Badge of KLR with the white horse of Hanover and the Liverpool Pals badge with the "eagle and child" crest of Lord Derby. Before the end of 1914 the original recruits for the 4 service battalions were all presented by Lord Derby with a silver version of the badge (pictured right).

*Thank you Ken Lees for pointing out I originally had a WW2 version of the regulars' badge*

So who can be called a Liverpool Pal?

In my time researching soldiers I've come across a few distinctions made about Liverpool Pals. Broadly speaking, if a man served with one of the battalions listed above, he can be called a Liverpool Pal. This includes men who served with the Pals for a while and were then posted to other regiments or transferred to other battalions of the KLR, and men who moved into a Pals' Battalion from elsewhere.

Within this group there are also the 'Original Pals' the men who enlisted on the 29th August and 16th October 1914 in Liverpool, who were presented with a silver badge by Lord Derby. Having met relatives of 'Original Pals' and been given the chance to hold one of the silver badges I can say there is some special pride to be had in this distinction.

Why were the Pals so special?

Sadly, the reason the Pals are so well remembered is that, for many of them, their first major battle was 1st July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme when many of the Pals battalions from around the UK suffered heavy casualties. The unintended effect of keeping local men together meant that the impact on their workplaces and local communities was huge.

The Liverpool Pals actually did well on 1st July 1916, achieving the taking of Montauban with a loss of around 200 men across all battalions. However this was overshadowed by stories such as the Accrington Pals, of an estimated 700 Accrington Pals who took part in the attack, 235 were killed and 350 wounded within the space of twenty minutes.

So my relative was 'just' KLR, not a Pal?

There is a tragic romance to the story of the Pals, and a certain pride in those who received the silver badge from Lord Derby but really the Pals were no more special than all the others who served in non-pals battalions and regiments. There is no 'second best' with finding out your relative served with a non-pals battalion of the KLR or indeed with any other regiment. All regiments and battalions have their own stories and sources of pride, it's just a little more well known with the Pals.

Where can I find out more?

Obviously, google and Wikipedia will be your friends here but I can make a few suggestions:

If you're passing Lime St Station, why not pop in to see the Liverpool Pals Memorial: https://liverpoolsculptures.co.uk/liverpool-heroes/the-liverpool-pals-memorial/

Looking for information on a Pal? Try the Liverpool Pals Memorial Website

The Imperial War Museum website has further information on Pals Battalions.

If you're looking for a book on the Liverpool Pals I can recommend:

• Liverpool Pals: 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th Service Battalions, The King's (Liverpool Regiment). by Graham Maddocks. Available on Amazon.

• A Singular Day on the Somme by Joe Deveraux - this book gives information on all the Liverpool Pals killed on 1st July 1916. I'm not sure if this is available to buy.

(I have both of these books and am happy to do lookups if you want to check if someone's mentioned in them before you buy them.)

The Museum of Liverpool, City Soldiers Gallery has information on the King's Liverpool Regiment and the Pals battalions and their website has plenty of links to information: https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/biographical-research

*Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the database of the KLR is not currently availabel in the museum.