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19th (3rd Salford Pals) Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers
19th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers were known as 3rd Salford Pals, the battalion was raised in Salford on the 15th of January 1915, by Mr Montague Barlow MP and the Salford Brigade Committee. They began training near home and in March they moved to Conway for training. They became part of the 96th Brigade, 32nd Division and moved on the 21st of June 1915 to Catterick in North Yorkshire.
using the firing ranges at Strenshall. In August 1915 they moved for final training and firing practice at Codford on Salisbury Plain. They proceeded to France, landing at le Harve on the 22nd of November 1915. On the 5th of January 1916 they transferred to 14th Brigade still with 32nd Division. Their first taste of action was at Thiepval Ridge on The Somme on the 1st of July 1916, the battle resulted in the Salford Pals being almost wiped out. On the 29th of July 1916 they transferred to GHQ and converted to be a Pioneer Battalion, joining 49th (West Riding) Division on the 7th of August. In 1917 they were involved in the Operations on the Flanders Coast and the The Battle of Poelcapelle during the Third Battle of Ypres. In 1918 they were in action during the Battles of the Lys, The pursuit to the Selle and the Final Advance in Picardy. At the Armistice, The 49th Division was resting at Douai, demobilisation began in early 1919.
16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme
1st Dec 1915 Derby Scheme Armlets
11th Sep 1915 Last day of Derby Scheme Recruitment
10th Jan 1916 Group System Reopens
9th February 1916 Call Ups
18th May 1916 Reliefs 
1st Jul 1917 Salford pals in action The 19th Lancashire Fusiliers, the Salford Pals, took part in attacking the village of Thipthate
5th Mar 1917 Reliefs
10th Mar 1917 Pioneers at Work
4th June 1917 Entertainment
14th June 1917 Horse Show
6th Nov 1917 Orders
7th Nov 1917 Orders
9th Nov 1917 Reliefs
11th Nov 1917 Reliefs
12th Nov 1917 Reliefs
13th Nov 1917 Some Shelling
14th Nov 1917 Shelling
15th Nov 1917 Reliefs
16th Nov 1917 Shelling
17th Nov 1917 Prisoners
18th Nov 1917 Shelling
19th Nov 1917 Prisoners
22nd Nov 1917 Orders
24th Nov 1917 Shelling
25th Nov 1917 Shelling
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Pte. John Long 19th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers John Long worked at Godwins Soap in Salford. He lied about his age 16 at the time to join the Lancashire Fusiliers. He died from the effects if being gassed during fighting in France
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Pte. Thomas Kenyon 19th (3rd Salford Pals) Btn. A Coy. Lancashire Fusiliers Thomas Kenyon joined the 19th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers in WW1. He was discharged due to lying about his age on 6th of June 1915.
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Pte. Isaac Thompson Army Cyclist Corps (d.1st July 1916) My Great Uncle Isaac Thompson was born 1895 in Aikton, Cumberland. He enlisted with his older brother John. He first served with the Cyclist Corps then was transferred to the 19th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers. He was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme near Thiepval. His body was never recovered and he is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial. His brother was serving with the Border Regiment and was fighting nearby. He survived the war but never spoke of Isaac.
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Sgt Harry Ledger 19th Btn. Lancashire Fusilers Harry Ledger also served as a regular in the East Lancashire Regt. during the Boer war when it was a mounted infantry regiment. He was wounded during the Great War. He was my grand father.
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Pte. Isaac Thompson 19th Btn. Lancashire Fusiliers (d.1st July 1916) I only found out about great uncle Isaac Thompson when I was researching our family tree. My granddad his older brother who also fought at the Somme in the Border Regiment, but survived.
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L/Cpl. John Albert Hollingsworth 19th Btn. Lancashire Fusiliers John Hollingsworth served with the 19th and 2/8th Battalions, Lancashire Fusiliers.
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Pte. Benjamin Brooks 19th Btn. Lancashire Fusiliers (d.24th April 1917) Benjamin Brooks was my Great Grandafather and I am hoping to visit grave site in Laventie Military Cemetery La Gourge. Benjamin was the father of two sons who also served in the First World War with 1/8th Lancashire Fusiliers Territorials.
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Pte. John Long 19th Btn. E Company Lancashire Fusiliers John Long was my Nan's brother. He worked at Goodwins soap factory in Salford and joined the Lancashire Fusiliers as an underage soldier. He lived at 3 Tintern Street with his family prior to joining the army. His father Ernest Long wrote to the front line to inform his officers that he was fighting in the machine gun section and was not actually 18 until 19th July 1916; he had already been on the front line since November 1915. He actually said he was 19 and 8 months on enlisting. He was sent back from Etaples station to Bury barracks but returned to the front line as soon as he was of age.
He fought right through the war even though he suffered trench fever and was treated in the field hospital. He spent 6 months as a German prisoner of war before returning home.
Sadly he only lived to the age of 24 as he died from the effects of the gas over the years he fought. His father Ernest was by his side when he died in Salford Royal Hospital. His death certificate was dated 20th Sept 1922 and causes of death were pernicious anaemia and gastric haemorrhaging. So terrible that having fought so many battles and been a prisoner of war he should die such a painful death. We shall remember them.
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Sgt. Thomas Riley 19th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers (d.24th Apr 1918) My maternal grandfather Thomas Riley was born in Hunslet, Leeds in 1888. He volunteered in February 1915 in the Salford Pals. He was wounded at Loos, fought at the Somme, Ancre, Beaumont-Hammel, Arras, Messines and Passchendaele, and was wounded Ypres 1917 for which he was mentioned in despatches. He died at Kemmel Hill during the Battle of Lys leaving a widow, Maria, and three children, Norah, Margaret, Alfred.
His photograph is not in the Lancashire Fusiliers Museum, Bury - which is a mystery, thought to be due to him volunteering very quickly in Manchester and then allowed to transfer after finding that his friends joined later in Salford.
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Pte. Louis Walker 19th Battalion, E Company, Platoon XIX Lancashire Fusiliers My sister and I never met our grandfather, Louis Walker, who died aged just 50 in 1944. All we know is what our Dad told us. Louis was the son of a publican, the youngest of nine children, and grew up in Salford, which was a very poor area at the beginning of the twentieth century.
He joined the Salford Lads Club, established to get young men off the street. Louis learned to box there and made many friends. These were the patriotic lads who responded to the call to arms by joining up as the 'Salford Pals'. My Dad said his father never recovered from seeing most of his friends struck down on the Somme.
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Pte. Wilfred Edward Clarke 19th Btn. Lancashire Fusiliers (d.13th Oct 1918) It's been a very long time since I lost my parents. On my mother's side she had a brother. His name was Wilfred Clarke, they were born in Hindley Green, Nr. Wigan,Lancashire.
Wilfred had six sibling's one brother and four girls. Alas, like a lot of people we always seem to ask the questions.
I have started out on this exercise after my husband found out about a long lost cousin who died during the ill-fated Arnem battle (Operation Market Garden). I am glad yet sad that I have found my uncle!! So on this anniversary 100 years later I have found him. Rest in peace Uncle Wilfred, God bless.
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Pte. Harry Sharman 19th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers (d.27th Jul 1917) Harry Sharman died of wounds and is buried in Le Treport.
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Sgt. John Charles Ravenscroft 19th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers (d.17th April 1918 ) John Ravenscroft entered the 1st World War on 23rd of November 1915 as a Sergeant in the 19th Lancashire Fusilers (19th Batallion). He is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial.
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Pte. George Leonard Ingham 19th Battalion, A Company, 3 Platoon Lancashire Fusiliers (d.15th July 1916)  I knew that my Grandmother and Grandfather on my Mother's side had both lost a brother in WWI. Stupidly, I never asked any questions. Last Nov. 11, I decided to research them on the internet as I knew their names. My Grandmother's Brother was named George Ingham. I easily found him on the Commonwealth War Graves' site. After finding his details I input his info in Google and was taken to a page that showed his gravestone and a scan of a letter. The letter was put there by the niece of its recipient, Alf Plater. Alf was a friend and co-worker of George's in a small mill call Thornton's outside Rochdale.
The letter is dated July 8th, 1915, one week before George's death. It describes the 3rd Salfords' disastrous attack on the Leipzig Redoubt near Thiepval on the first day of the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916. The Salfords were depth reserve for several other battalions in the first wave. When it came time for them to advance, the British front line and communications trenches were so clogged with wounded that the battalion had to advance over open ground to the British front line. Similar to the preceding Lonsdale battalion (11th Border) and the 1st Dorset battalion, the Salfords suffered crippling casualties form German machine guns firing in enfilade from a fortification call the Nordwerk. Of the battalion's 4 companies, only A, B and one half of C were sent 'over the top.' The other half of C and D company both remained under cover once it was realized that committing them would just add to the massacre.
From the battalion war diary: "In the meanwhile A, B and part of C Company had continued their advance from the front line trenches in waves of 30 or 40 men. The leading wave, led by Lt Huxley, got within 10 yards of the German trench but out of forty men only four remained and they could get no further."
"Capt Hibbert led the next wave and succeeded in getting into the German trench. He was followed by Lt Musker and 2nd Lt George with all the men that could be collected. These were the only three officers left with the two and a half companies that had advanced, the remaining officers having been killed or wounded."
"During these operations the battalion experienced 268 casualties, that’s to say 50% of its fighting strength, having 20 officers and 577 other ranks when going into action." Note that this 50% battalion casualty rate was incurred but just over one half of the battalion. Casualties in A, B and the part of C company that advanced were at a much higher rate. In George's A company, the CO Lt. Huxley was wounded at duty and all three platoon commanders were killed in action.
George's understated letter describing this catastrophe says:
'July 8th, 1916
Dear Alf
Excuse me being so long in writing to you. I am in the pink and best of spirits. Charles told me you had been inquiring about me so I thought I should write when I had the chance. Things have been pretty hot here lately. We went over the top last week and I shall never forget it. I lost a good many of my chums and it was heartbreaking to see some of the wounded men. There were many German helmets to be got but they would be in the way. We have quite sufficient to carry. The German bayonets are awful things one edge is like a razor and the other like a double saw. The sight of them makes you ratty. Well Alf I hope you don't have to come up. How many more have listed at Thorntons. I have nothing more to write about so I will close wishing you the best of luck.
George L. Ingham"
After July 1, the 3rd Salfords were reorganized into only 2 companies. They were next in the line on July 12 at Ovillers. Interestingly one of the neighbouring battalions was the 11th Lancashire Fusiliers, where JRR Tolkien was serving as the battalion signals officer. George's battalion had Tolkien's best friend, Lt. Geoffrey Bache Smith, as its Intelligence Officer. Smith would be killed weeks later, leaving Tolkien the only survivor of his school friends who joined the British army.
In the vicious close quarter warfare in the Ovillers trenches, George's combined company was heavily engaged, again losing two of three plat0on commanders killed and one wounded. George Ingham was mortally wounded, likely by a German sniper. Per the battalion war diary most of the casualties of this fighting were due to snipers. The fact that he was evacuated to the clearing station at Warloy Baillon in the rear supports this assumption as this clearing station focused on serious head and abdominal injuries. George Ingham died of his wounds July 15th, 1916 aged 19 years. He is buried in the Communal Cemetary Extensionn at Warloy Baillon.
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Pte. John Wagstaff 19th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers (d.13th Oct 1918) My great great uncle lived in Radcliffe, Manchester.
He was in the 19th battalion for the Lancashire Fusiliers and died in Haspres, France.
He was shot in the head on 13th october 1918 during night duty 2 days after sending a telegram to his family saying he would be home for Xmas and to get the turkey in the oven.
He was only 23 when killed
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