Liverpool In The Great War

Author : James Yates
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781091544888
Total Pages : 341 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (448 download)

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Download or read book More Brave Hearts - Personal Stories of the Liverpool Scottish in the Great War written by James Yates and published by . This book was released on 2019-05-14 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Liverpool Scottish, the 10th Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment, was one of the foremost Territorial Force units which fought in the Great War. It was one of the first Territorial Force battalions to be called up to support the Regular Army in November 1914 when the German army had virtually overrun Belgium and threatened France. The Territorial Force was comprised of volunteers who were civilian part time soldiers. They were sometimes commanded by regular army officers seconded to lead them. The Liverpool Scottish were to remain a fighting force on the western front for the remainder of the Great War. However, from the initial 26 officers and 829 other ranks strong, the battalion had already reduced to 370 by January 1915. The 1st Battalion Liverpool Scottish served in the Ypres sector and later on the Somme, its ranks being supplemented by drafts of soldiers to replace those killed or wounded. The 2/10th (Scottish) Battalion the King's (Liverpool Regiment) served in France and Flanders from February 1917 until its amalgamation with the 1st Battalion in Spring 1918. This book is about the lives of ordinary soldiers rather than a battalion history. Before his untimely death James Yates amassed a treasure trove of information about the Liverpool Scottish during the Great War. I was lucky to be given the opportunity to assess his research to see if it could contribute to the knowledge about the regiment. James did not try to duplicate the content in comprehensive published works, Bravest of Hearts, by Hal Giblin, and The Liverpool Scottish 1900-1919 by A.M McGilchrist. He attempted to discover new material about the men (and women) not covered in detail in those books, and he gives fascinating information about the wide range of people who joined the ranks of the Liverpool Scottish in the Great War. Therefore, the book does not replicate the dates, the campaigns of the Liverpool Scottish 1914-1919; these are found in the battalion histories. This book is more about the soldiers as people.The book includes the stories of men who came from Australia, Canada, and South America to enlist, and the stories of men who survived the sinking of S.S. Titanic and S.S Lusitania to join the regiment. There are also the tales of deserters, of a conscientious objector who went on to win the Military Medal for bravery, and the biographies give insight into the family background and occupations of recruits. The book is not just about those who were killed during the war, it contains a large section on those who survived and what they went on to achieve. It was not possible to include all the men researched by James Yates in this book. It was my role as editor to select a range of interesting biographies James discovered; stories of private soldiers and officers, people from varying social background, religion, nationality, and occupation. It was necessary in some cases to go back to source material to check original research and to add information if it enhanced the biography. It is not always possible to see through the biographical facts to have insight into the character of the people in these biographies, but I hope some of the human qualities come through. There was a tendency for newspaper obituaries and letters from officers to next of kin to emphasise the heroic qualities of the fallen, but some of the vivid, harsh, and brutal descriptions of warfare do come out in the descriptions of battle. It is now over a hundred years since the end of the Great War and all the major commemorations of the centenary of the conflict are over. We will continue to remember them and where possible tell their stories with accuracy to show their courage and sacrifice.