The Sheffield City Battalion was a

Pals battalion The Pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who had enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbour ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Raised in 1914, it was designated as the 12th (Sheffield City) (Service) Battalion,

York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment ...

History

Recruits

The battalion found its recruits came from all walks of life; from £500 a year businessmen and stockbrokers to shop assistants and clerks. The post-war

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

performer Stainless Stephen was a member. By 5 December 1914, there were 1,131 officers and men in the battalion. It was brigaded in the 94th Brigade of the 31st Division alongside the 1st and 2nd Barnsley Pals from the Yorks and Lancs and the Accrington Pals from the

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59th (2nd Nott ...

The Destroying

The 31st Division had been assigned to the defence of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

but after arriving there it was sent back to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

where it found itself in the line opposite the fortified town of Serre in April 1916. For the

Somme offensive The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place be ...

, the Sheffield City battalion would have the dubious honour of being on the extreme left of the 15-mile British front. On

1 July Events Pre-1600 * 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. * 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the ...

, at 7.20 am, the battalion moved into No Man's Land while the German lines were mortared. The Germans responded with a counter-barrage while the second waves were coming out of the trenches. At 7.30 am the bombardment stopped and the four waves of the battalion rose and advanced into a devastating hail of machinegun bullets and artillery fire. They were caught in machinegun fire from their exposed left and their front. The third and fourth waves were cut in half before they even reached No-Mans land. A few survivors made it to the German wire (uncut) and on the right wing some even found their way into the German front line. Few of these were able to return. Corporal Outram, a signaller, recalled that;

''"as far as the eye could see, the last two men left standing on the battlefield were himself and another signaller, A. Brammer. They signalled to each other. Outram turned his head for a moment, and when he looked back Brammer had gone."''Sheffield City Bn history
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The remnants of the battalion were taken out of the line on the evening of 3 July, having lost 513 officers and men killed, wounded or missing; a further 75 were slightly wounded. Serre would remain uncaptured until the German withdrawal to the

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 191 ...

in 1917. The Pals character of the battalion would never be regained, losing many more casualties before the end of the Somme campaign. By the early weeks of 1918' the greatly weakened battalion was disbanded.

References

{{reflist Pals battalions Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 History of Sheffield Military history of Yorkshire 1914 establishments in the United Kingdom