The Story of the 9th Kings in France

A free ebook from http://www.dertz.in


Story of the ''9th King's'' in
France, The

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of the "9th King's" in
France
by Enos Herbert Glynne Roberts This eBook is for the use of anyone
anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You
may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project
Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
www.gutenberg.net
Title: The Story of the "9th King's" in France
Author: Enos Herbert Glynne Roberts
Release Date: October 31, 2005 [EBook #16974]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
STORY OF THE "9TH ***

Produced by Irma Špehar, Christine D and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. (This file was produced

from images generously made available by The Internet
Archive/Canadian Libraries)

[Transcriber's note: Punctuation normalised, spelling normalised.]
The Story of the "9th King's" in France.
BY ENOS HERBERT GLYNNE ROBERTS.
LIVERPOOL: THE NORTHERN PUBLISHING CO. LTD., 17
GOREE PIAZZAS, AND 11, BRUNSWICK STREET. 1922.

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
ENGLAND.
CHAPTER II.
THE 1ST DIVISION.
CHAPTER III.
THE 55TH DIVISION.
CHAPTER IV.
THE 57TH DIVISION.
APPENDIX LIST OF DECORATIONS.
CHAPTER I.
ENGLAND.

Shortly after the commencement of the Volunteer Movement in 1859,
many members of the newspaper and printing trades in Liverpool were
desirous of forming a regiment composed of men connected with those
businesses. A meeting was held in the Liverpool Town Hall, and the
scheme was so well received that steps were taken towards the
formation of a corps. Sanction was obtained, and on the 21st February,
1861, the officers and men of the new unit took the oath of allegiance at
St. George's Hall. Thus came into being the 80th Lancashire Rifle
Volunteers, and on the 2nd April, 1863, the 73rd Battalion of the
Lancashire Rifle Volunteers was amalgamated with it. In the early days
of its existence the new unit attended reviews and inspections at Mount
Vernon, Newton-le-Willows and Aintree. Some time afterwards it was
renumbered the 19th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers. Later--in 1888--it
became the 6th Volunteer Battalion of The King's (Liverpool
Regiment).
The early parades of the Regiment took place at Rose Hill Police
Station, and the Corn Exchange, Brunswick Street, until Headquarters
were established at 16, Soho Street.
To those who took part in these parades great credit and thanks are due.
Through their efforts an organised battalion came into being, men were
trained for the bearing of arms and the defence of their country should
the occasion ever arise, and the soldierly spirit was inculcated in many
who followed a civilian occupation. Those who survived until the Great
War, though not privileged to lead on the battlefield, had at any rate the
satisfaction of realising that their work was not in vain. Directly
attributable to the efforts of the early volunteers is the fact that in 1915
the Territorial Force was ready for the reinforcement of the Regular
Army in the Western Theatre of the War, and this afforded the New
Armies which Lord Kitchener had formed ample time for the
completion of their training.
In 1884 the Headquarters in Soho Street were changed for more
commodious and better equipped premises at 59, Everton Road, where
the Battalion remained domiciled until 1914. During the South African
War the Battalion sent out a company, and the experience the men

gained there proved very useful at the annual camps. Several of the
men who went to South Africa were privileged to serve in the next war.
On the formation of the Territorial Force the Battalion was once again
renumbered and henceforth it was known as the 9th Battalion of The
King's (Liverpool Regiment) Territorial Force.
The recruiting area of the Battalion embraced the Everton district of
Liverpool, a locality inhabited chiefly by members of the tradesmen
and artisan classes, which furnished the Regiment with the bulk of its
recruits. There was a detachment located in the country at Ormskirk,
from which the Battalion drew some of its finest fighting material.
Agriculturalists make good soldiers, and this was evidenced on many
occasions later by the behaviour and ability of the men from this town.
In the ranks there was a sprinkling of sailors and miners, whose several
callings equipped them with knowledge which proved useful in their
new profession. The officers for the most part were drawn from the
professional class and business houses of the city.
There came on the 4th August, 1914, a telegram to Headquarters
containing only the one word "Mobilize." On that day Great Britain
declared war on Germany. Notices were sent out ordering the men to
report, and at 2-0 p.m. on the 6th there was only one man unaccounted
for. The