On the 5th August
1914, Territorials and
Reservists were mobilised
by County Regiments
such as The Loyal North
Lancashire Regiment.
The 1st Battalion of
the North Lancs. were
based at Fulwood Barracks
in Preston and on the
13th August 1,007 of
them embarked from Southampton,
heading for France.
Recruitment Offices
sprang up in towns and
cities across the County
as thousands of men
rushed to join-up, believing
it would be “all over
by Christmas”. When
War broke out in early
August 1914, Captain
James Milton from Chorley
took steps to form a
‘Pals’ battalion in
Chorley and district.
By the 3rd September,
thirty men had signed
up and they were eventually
formed into a Company
to join a newly raised
battalion at Accrington.
By the end of September
the Chorley Pals Company
as they became known
was up to full strength,
with some 212 men and
3 Officers. They became
C Company of the 7th
Battalion of the East
Lancashire Regiment,
being changed to the
11th Battalion on the
10th December 1914 and
known thereafter as
the ‘Accrington Pals’
(although men from Chorley,
Blackburn and Burnley
were in the ranks).
