Main Page

The home of the 11th (Service) Battalion Border Regiment in the First World War Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense — Evil Be To Him Who Evil Thinks

The Lonsdales   ·   Battalion History   ·   On This Day   ·   Roll Of Honour   ·   War Diary   ·   Border Regiment

  We Need You!

Do you have anything connected with the Lonsdale Battalion and the Border Regiment? If so, we are interested to learn more.

Here at the Lonsdale Battalion wiki we are firm believers that knowledge about our history should be shared freely, to better our understanding of a challenging and devastating period that affected hundreds of millions of people. We have included what little public domain information we have been lucky enough to find – information such as battalion histories, war diaries and newspaper articles. Other information has been kindly donated by enthusiasts and relatives of those who served during the war, such as photos and military background.

Your stories – Some men came back, many did not. For families who have stories to tell, we would very much like to hear about them, and how they may have impacted peoples' lives. We would like to provide a space for your stories, and the memory of your loved ones.

Your photos – We have an ongoing Roll of Honour project, where every soldier who fell has a remembrance page, dedicated to them and their families. We are interested in digital photographs of soldiers, military documents, paraphernalia and background histories to compliment the rolls we have already included, and for those we have yet to create.

Your information – Documents related to the Lonsdale Battalion and Border Regiment, no matter how small, will always have a home here so that the memories of individuals, and the larger units of soldiers, can be remembered for future generations. If you can assist in any way, please reach out to us here.

All photos and information remain the property of the original owner(s).

  The Lonsdale Battalion On This Day

A daily listing of movements, actions, events and political involvements of the Lonsdale Battalion that took place this day between 1914–1918. (This information refreshes daily.)

On this day in history (20 April)

1915 (Tuesday)

Events preceding the Lonsdales' arrival in France

• "....there has been a great amount of overcrowding in the horse boxes used as billets in the....Camp. Please inform me if this has been remedied."
• "....if it had been intended continue occupation horse boxes I would have recommended building huts but these boxes will not be re-occupied when Battalion leaves. Expect order leaving Carlisle daily. Meanwhile average daily sick Company occupy boxes six out of strength 262 which is far better than that of any other company."
• Thomas Norman (19492 Pte.) enlists to B Company.

1916 (Thursday)

• Contay Wood: Battalion in isolation camp (measles) involved in training and small working parties.
• A draft of 21 other ranks join the Battalion.

1917 (Friday)

• Hombleux: Day is occupied by physical, platoon and company drill. Training of specialists.

1918 (Saturday)

• Brigade Reserve: Day spent quietly in preparations for going into line in the evening. No shelling.
• Officers and advanced parties reconnoitre the line.
• Battalion finishes bathing at Monchy.
• Relives 2nd King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. A Company and B Company move into the front line, D Company moves into support and C Company into reserve. Relief completes 10.30pm.
• Deaths: George William Davie (15518 Pte.)

  Featured Images

A Discussion

A discussion is taking place between the Commanding Officer and one of his men

Aiming Drill

"This is how you do it lads." An aiming drill staged for the photographer

Digging Entrenchments

Learning how to "dig-in" and the rigid training involved of digging entrenchments

Inspection

Inspection of the troops by Lord Lonsdale, the men standing to attention as he passes by

Bayonet Training

Close quarter bayonet training with sandbags

A Watchful Stroll

Officers out for a stroll through the grounds keeping a watchful eye on the training

Officers

Officers of the Lonsdale Battalion

New Recruits

A parade of new recruits, many without uniform until these could be supplied at a later date

Physical Drill

There is no getting away from the morning stretches!

The PT Instructor

The Commanding Officer, Percy Machell and other officers, watch the physical drill instructor

Off to France

A route march through the streets of Carlisle

Off to France

A route march through the streets of Carlisle, the fanfare of the lads marching off to war

‹ ›

  Helping Our Projects

Interested in helping out around here? There is always something to write, discover and learn about the Lonsdales and the regiment to which they belonged, The Border Regiment.

Our largest on-going projects are The Lonsdale Battalion On This Day and Lonsdale Battalion Roll of Honour. But every project, however, no matter how large or small is just as important as the next, which is why they are of equal value and interest. Currently, there are several other site projects on the go or waiting to be started, and this is where we need your help in making these available for everyone. Take a quick look at the recent changes made to the site to see what has been happening lately.

If you are interested in helping out you can reach out to us with any questions you may have about any of the projects. Alternatively, if you have spotted any errors and omissions, would like to create new pages or simply edit some existing ones, you can do so by creating a new account and off you go. We look forward to seeing you around.

THE   LONSDALE   BATTALION

	Wikipedia Encyclopedia		Commons Media repository		Wikisource Source texts
	Wikiquote Quotations		Wikibooks Textbooks & manuals		Wiktionary Dictionary & thesaurus
			MediaWiki Wiki software