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17th (1st City) Battalion, Kings Regiment (Liverpool)
17th (1st City) Battalion, The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was the first of all the Pals Battalions, raised by Lord Derby at the old watch factory, Prescot, Liverpool on the 29th of August 1914. They joined 89th Brigade, 30th Division which concentrated near Grantham. In the Autumn they moved to Larkhill, Salisbury and proceeded to France on the 7th of November 1915 landing Bologne, the division concentrating near Amiens. In 1916 they were in action during the Battle of the Somme, in which the Division captured Montauban. In 1917 they took part in the pursuit of the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, the Arras Offensive and The Battle of Pilkem Ridge. In 1918 They were in action on The Somme and in the Battles of the Lys suffering heavy lossed. On the 14th of May the battalion was reduced to cadre strength and on the 16th of June 1918 transferred to 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division. On the 30th they transffered to 75th Brigade, 25th Division and crossed to England. On the 9th of September the Brigade was retitled 236th Brigade and on the 11th of October they sailed from Glasgow for service in North Russia, where they remained until September 1919.
16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme
5th Nov 1915 Message
6th Nov 1915 On the Move
7th Nov 1915 On the Move
8th Nov 1915 On the Move
9th Nov 1915 In Billets
10th Nov 1915 In Billets
11th Nov 1915 In Billets
12th Nov 1915 In Billets
13th Nov 1915 In Billets
14th Nov 1915 In Billets
15th Nov 1915 In Billets
16th Nov 1915 In Billets
17th Nov 1915 On the March
18th Nov 1915 On the March
1st Dec 1915 Derby Scheme Armlets
11th Sep 1915 Last day of Derby Scheme Recruitment
1st of January 1916 Move 
1st of January 1916 Night-time Shelling
2nd of January 1916 Direct Hits
4th Jun 1916 Letters from the Pals
10th Jan 1916 Group System Reopens
11th Jan 1916 Mud Larks
13th of January 1916 5th Division in Reserve
2nd Feb 1916 Enemy Trench Raid
9th February 1916 Call Ups
27th Jun 1916 Heavy Shelling
28th Jun 1916 Bombardment
29th Jun 1916 Bombardment
30th Jun 1916 Heavy Bombardment
1st Jul 1916 Montauban Captured
1st Jul 1916 Assault Made
3rd Jul 1916 Attack Made
4th Jul 1916 Reliefs
5th Jul 1916 Reliefs Complete
6th Jul 1916 At Rest
7th Jul 1916 Cleaning Up
8th Jul 1916 On the March
9th Jul 1916 On the March
10th Jul 1916 In Action
11th Jul 1916 In Action
12th Jul 1916 In Action
13th Jul 1916 Reliefs
14th Jul 1916 On the Move
1st Dec 1916 In Support
2nd Dec 1916 Working Parties
3rd Dec 1916 Working Parties
4th Dec 1916 Reliefs
5th Dec 1916 Return
6th Dec 1916 Posting
7th Dec 1916 Holding the Line
8th Dec 1916 Holding the Line
9th Dec 1916 Holding the Line
10th Dec 1916 Reliefs
11th Dec 1916 Training
12th Dec 1916 Training
13th Dec 1916 Training
14th Dec 1916 Training
15th Dec 1916 Training
4th Dec 1917 Reliefs
13th Apr 1918 In Depth
18th Apr 1918 Reliefs
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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| Want to know more about 17th (1st City) Battalion, Kings Regiment (Liverpool)? There are:5292 items tagged 17th (1st City) Battalion, Kings Regiment (Liverpool) available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.
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Those known to have served with17th (1st City) Battalion, Kings Regiment (Liverpool) during the Great War 1914-1918. - Asbury Joseph. Pte. (d.12th Oct 1916)
- Bell Horace Creesor. Pte.
- Blabey John Richard. Lt
- Brooks David Henry. Pte. (d.5th Mar 1917)
- Brownlie Leonard Charles. Pte. (d.14 Jan 1916)
- Cocker Harold. Pte. (d.22nd Mar 1918)
- Cocker Harold. Pte. (d.22nd Mar 1918)
- Cross William Walter. Pte. (d.31st Jul 1917)
- Crowe James William. Pte. (d.12th July 1916)
- Cuddy George. L/Sgt. (d.29th Apr 1918)
- Evans Alfred. Sgt.
- Hancock Timothy. Pte.
- Hancock Timothy. Pte. (d.17th Nov 1917)
- Heatley George. Cpl.
- Hufton Harry. L/Cpl. (d.27th June 1916)
- Jones Leonard Maelor. Pte. (d.30th July 1916)
- Lang Matthew. (d.27th Jun 1916)
- Richards Richard Alfred. Pte. (d.11th Oct 1916)
- Russell Patrick Joseph. Pte. (d.30th Jul 1916)
- Smith James. Pte. (d.5th Sep 1917)
- Taylor Edwin. Pte. (d.22nd March 1918)
- Walker Frank. Pte. (d.30th Jul 1916)
- Young William Henry. Pte (d.31st Jul 1917)
All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please Add a Name to this List
Records of 17th (1st City) Battalion, Kings Regiment (Liverpool) from other sources.
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Did you know? We also have a section on World War Two. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
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Cpl. George Heatley 17th Btn. Kings (Liverpool) Regiment George Heatley was fighting in France when he was shot.
He was listed on 13th of April 1918 as wounded and missing.
On the 30th of October 1918 he is listed as a prisoner of war at Steñdal.
He is also listed as being in a German hospital at Beaumont la Chappille.
He was demobbed on 2nd of April 1919.
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Pte. Richard Alfred Richards 17th Btn. Kings Liverpool Regiment (d.11th Oct 1916) Richard Richard's wartime effects were found in a safe deposit box. A letter from Record Office in Preston and 2 war medals (British War Medal and Victory Medal) sent to family, dated 5th Feb 1922 along with an assurance of appreciation from The King for his service.
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Sgt. Alfred Evans 17th Btn. Kings Regiment (Liverpool) My Grandfather Alfred Evans was a Sargent in the King Liverpool Regiment, I come across a photo album and am collating the material to make up a scrapbook for my grandson.
He was in Aberlour Military Hospital and Lamsdorf POW camp. I am interested to fill the gaps.
I have other postcards naming
Charlie Bingham, East Lancs Regiment, Lagerette Lamsdorf, dated 15th December 1918, also A. Bango Royal Field Artillery, P. Flanders North East Lancashire Regiment, F. Harbridge Royal Army Medical Corps, Tom Scott Machine Gun Corps and Pte William Shepperson (Old Bill).
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Pte. Horace Creesor Bell 17th Btn. Kings Liverpool Regiment Horace Bell served with the 17th Battalion, Kings Liverpool Regiment.
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Lt John Richard "Jack" Blabey 17th Btn King's Liverpool Regiment  Jack Blabey was my maternal grandfather. In 1914, he was an upper sixth former at Liverpool College, where he had served in the Officers' Training Corps from 1911, reaching the rank of Corporal OTC. Along with OTC colleagues, Jack volunteered on 1914-08-28, at Lord Derby's invitation to form a 'Battalion of Pals'. Such was the uptake that three Battalions of Liverpool Pals (the first of the Pals Battalions) were provided for on that day.
Jack, however, was under-age, as the Attestation age for active service was 18 years and 6 months. However, Jack's name was taken and, in October, Jack received his papers to attend for duty.
By then, the first three Battalions were provided for, so he enlisted into the 20th Battalion - the '4th City Pals'.
The Pals Battalions spent months acquiring soldierly skills, and were short of officers. As OTC members, Jack and his colleagues knew much and were deemed to have officer-lie qualities. He was trained and commissioned into the 17th Battalion (1st City Pals) as a Second Lieutenant, KLR in February 1915.
Training of the Liverpool Pals Brigade was completed at Knowsley, Belton Park and Larkhill, before the Brigade was deployed to France, in the Somme sector, in November 1915.
The Liverpool Pals served with distinction in the Battle of the Somme, achieving their objectives on the first day, seizing the village of Montauban, with the 17th, 19th and 20th Battalions suffering relatively few casualties.
The 18th Btn suffered heavy casualties and required refitting before further service. Later in the battle, the Liverpool Pals were back in action, in an attempt to move forwards and take the village of Gillemonte, attacking over open ground and with German machine gunners firing from an enfilade on the left. As the attack progressed on 30th July, Jack suffered a serious head wound, when a German machine gunner sighted his platoon moving. Fortunately, he had his helmet pushed back as he scanned the horizon with his binoculars and his Brodie helmet stopped the bullet; however several shards of the helmet, which shattered, pierced the back of Jack's skull and knocked him out. He was found by his soldiers and recovered back to a field hospital, from where he was evacuated for a series of operations, over the next three months, to remove most of the shrapnel.
Jack was pronounced medically fit for active service in April 1917 and, in view of the seriousness of his wound, sent to a quiet front - the Macedonian Front, at Salonika. This was far from quiet, however, and Jack fought with the 14th Battalion, King's Liverpool Regiment, including the action around Doiran and was wounded, once more, on active service, and also caught malaria. He was hospitalised and evacuated back to Britain, in August 1918.
In view of his injuries and malaria, Jack was no longer fit for overseas service, so was sent to help training with the 3rd Battalion KLR, then posted to their barracks in Cork.
So, while his First World War was over, he soon became tied up with the Anglo-Irish War, in which he lost two friends - but that is another story. Jack was demobbed in 1919, retaining his rank as Lieutenant.
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Pte. James William Crowe 17th Btn. King's (Liverpool Regiment) (d.12th July 1916) James Crowe and his younger brother John (Coldstream Guards) both fought in France in WW1. James was killed in action on his 30th birthday on 12th July 1916. John (married to Ethel, with son John) was killed in action on 27th September 1918, he was just 28.
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Pte. Joseph Asbury 17th Battalion The King's (Liverpool Regiment) (d.12th Oct 1916) Joseph Asbury is my great uncle. Fortunately I inherited his WW1 War Medals and an original photograph of him in uniform.
Long Gone but Not Forgotten.
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Pte. Edwin Taylor 17th Btn. Kings (Liverpool Regiment) (d.22nd March 1918) I never met my grandmother (Edwin's mother) but my older sister tells me that every time she saw her she was crying over the death of her firstborn, Edwin.
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Pte. Leonard Maelor Jones 17th Btn King's Own Liverpool Regiment (d.30th July 1916) Leonard Jones was the son of the late Mr and Mrs W R Jones of Denbigh.
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Pte. Harold Cocker 17th Btn. Kings (Liverpool) Regiment (d.22nd Mar 1918) Harold Cocker died on 22nd March 1918, aged 26 and is buried in the Berlin South Western Cemetery in Germany.
He was the husband of Mrs. L. G. Cocker, of 115 Cog Lane, Burnley.
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L/Cpl. Harry Hufton 17th Battalion Kings Liverpool Regiment (d.27th June 1916) Harry Hufton was my father's uncle, being the older brother of my grandmother. He enlisted immediately the Liverpool Pals were being formed and was billeted at the old watch factory in Prescot. He arrived in France in November 1915 after a long training period. Surviving the first tours in the trenches he was killed during a counter bombardment during the build up to Battle of the Somme. He is recorded as having died on 27th of June 1916. A number of his comrades were killed at the same time.
He is buried in Cerisy Gailly Military Cemetery with around 750 other casualties.
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Pte. David Henry Brooks 17th Battalion Kings Liverpool Regiment (d.5th Mar 1917) David Brooks served with the 17th Battalion, Kings Liverpool Regiment. I had no knowledge of my great uncles service or death until I looked him up today. I would love to know more.
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Pte. Timothy Hancock 17th Liverpool Regiment My grandfather Timothy Hancock was killed in action in the Battle of Arras 1917. I still have original death notice army records.
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Pte. Harold Cocker 17th Btn. Kings Liverpool Regiment (d.22nd Mar 1918) Harold Cocker served with the 17th Battalion Kings Liverpool Regiment during WW1 and died on the 22nd March 1918, aged 26. Probably a POW as he is buried in the Berlin South-Western Cemetery, Germany.
He was the husband of Mrs. L. G. Cocker, of 115, Cog Lane, Burnley.
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Pte. James Smith 17th Btn. Kings Liverpool Regiment (d.5th Sep 1917) Pte. James Smith was the son of James William and Elizabeth Smith, of 52, Noble St., Bolton.
He served with The King?s (Liverpool Regiment), 17th Barralion and was executed for desertion on 5th September 1917, aged 26. He is buried in the Kemmel Chateau Military Cemetery in Belgium.
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Pte. Leonard Charles Brownlie 17th Liverpool (d.14 Jan 1916) My father's uncle died in France during World War One. Whilst researching our family tree, I found a photo of him taken in his uniform when he joined the Liverpool Pals. I then tracked down his Medal record but, sadly, have been unable to find out any more details of exactly where he died or where, if at all, he was buried.
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L/Sgt. George Cuddy 17th Btn. King's Liverpool Regiment (d.29th Apr 1918) I came across George Cuddy while doing the family tree of his relation.I thought he should be mentioned here.
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