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5th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment
5th Battalion South Lancashire Regiment was a unit of the Territorial Force, at the outbreak of war they were part of the South Lancashire Infantry Brigade, West Lancashire Division and had their HQ in Mill St, St Helens, behind Lowe House RC Church (today used by Cadets as TS Scimitar). They proceeded to France on the 13th of February 1915 landing at Le Havre and joining 12th Brigade, 4th Division. They were in action in The Second Battle of Ypres and spent the winter on the Somme attached to 36th (Ulster) Division, with 12th Brigade training the newly arrived Division. On the 6th of January 1916 the 1/5th South Lancashires transferred to 166th Brigade in the newly reformed 55th (West Lancashire) Division in the Hallencourt area. On the 16th of February 1916 the Division relieved the French 88th Division south of Arras, they moved to The Somme in late July taking over a section of front line near the village of Guillemont. They were in action at the The Battle of Guillemont, The Battle of Ginchy, The Battle of Flers-Courcelette and The Battle of Morval. The Division moved to Flanders in october 1916 and took over the front line between Wieltje and Railway Wood. In 1917 they were in action at Pilkem Ridge and Menin Road Ridge during the Third Battle of Ypres. They moved south to Cambrai where they suffered very heavily during the German Counter Attacks on the 30th of November 1917. In the Spring of 1918 they were in action in the Battle of the Lys including the Defence of Givenchy on the 9th to the 17th of April. In October they took part in the Final Advance in Artois. After the Armistice they were ordered to advance through Belgium and occupy the Rhine bridgeheads, but these orders were withdrawn and the Division was demobilised in Brussels between January and April 1919.
6th Feb 1915 Instruction
13th February 1915 On the Move
14th February 1915 On the Move
15th February 1915 On the Move 
17th February 1915 Post
18th February 1915 Instruction
20th February 1915 Instruction
21st February 1915 Casualties
22nd February 1915 Casualties
24th February 1915 Casualties
25th February 1915 Instruction
27th February 1915 Instruction
28th February 1915 Instruction
2nd Mar 1915 Instruction
3rd Mar 1915 Instruction
4th Mar 1915 Instruction
5th Mar 1915 Relief Complete
8th Mar 1915 Trench Work
9th Mar 1915 Reliefs
10th Mar 1915 In the Line
12th Mar 1915 Holding the Line
13th Mar 1915 Relief
17th Mar 1915 Reliefs
18th Mar 1915 Holding the Line
19th Mar 1915 Holding the Line
20th Mar 1915 Holding the Line
21st Mar 1915 Front Line
22nd Mar 1915 In the Line
24th Mar 1915 Into Trenches
25th Mar 1915 Reliefs
26th Mar 1915 Holding the Line
27th Mar 1915 Shelling
31st Mar 1915 Reliefs
1st Apr 1915 Reinforcements
2nd Apr 1915 Holding the Line
6th Apr 1915 Air Raid
9th Apr 1915 Heavy Fire
10th Apr 1915 In Trenches
11th Apr 1915 In Trenches
12th Apr 1915 In Trenches
20th Apr 1915 Reorganisation
21st Apr 1915 Accident
23rd Apr 1915 Holding the Line
24th Apr 1915 Heavy Shelling
25th Apr 1915 Holding the Line
27th Apr 1915 Orders Received
28th Apr 1915 Reliefs
29th Apr 1915 Into Billets
30th Apr 1915 On the March
1st May 1915 At Rest
2nd May 1915 Gas
3rd May 1915 Heavy Shelling
16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme
21st of October 1915 Into Trenches
24th Oct 1915 Reliefs
1st of November 1915 Marching Orders
7th of November 1915 Present Stations
29th of November 1915 Moves Completed
1st Dec 1915 Derby Scheme Armlets
11th Sep 1915 Last day of Derby Scheme Recruitment
6th of January 1916 Moving Around
8th of January 1916 Moves
10th Jan 1916 Group System Reopens
15th of January 1916 Divisional Transfers
9th February 1916 Call Ups
1st Aug 1915 On the March
2nd Aug 1916 Shelling
5th Oct 1916 Reliefs
8th Oct 1916 Trench Work
17th Sep 1917 Reliefs
18th Sep 1917 Reliefs
20th Sep 1917 Heavy Fighting
20th Sep 1917 In Action
21st Sep 1917 In Action
22nd Sep 1917 Reliefs Complete
17th of June 1918
5th Sep 1918 Bands 
© IWM (Q 9459)
Massed bands of the 166th Brigade Near Bethune, 5th Battalion, Royal Lancaster Regiment, 10th (Scottish) Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment), 5th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment.
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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| Want to know more about 5th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment? There are:77 items tagged 5th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment 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 with5th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment during the Great War 1914-1918. - Amos MM. Joseph. L/Cpl.
- Andrews DCM. Thomas Joseph. Rflmn.
- Benbow John Henry. Pte. (d.17th Oct 1916)
- Corrigan MM Bernard. Pte.. (d.4th Dec 1917)
- Evans Reginald Arthur. (d.17th Sep 1918)
- Hamilton Harry. Bglr (d.1st Dec 1917)
- Johnson DCM. John William. Pte. (d.2nd Aug 1916)
- Myers James Thomas. Pte. (d.3rd March 1915)
- Parkinson Edgar. Pte.
- Speake William Henry. Pte.
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 5th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment from other sources.
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Pte. John William Johnson DCM. 5th Btn. South Lancashire Regiment (d.2nd Aug 1916) My uncle John Johnson DCM was killed in action 2nd of August 1916 at Oxford Copse. The war diary records that the Valley was shelled by 8 inch Howitzers for 15 minutes, at 8am and again at 2p.m.
Casualties:- 15 Killed, 17 Wounded.
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L/Cpl. Joseph Amos MM. 5th Btn. South Lancashire Regiment Joe Amos was my father. I regret I have no written or photographic records of his service with the South Lancs but from what he told me (war stories) he was amongst it.
He was awarded the Military Medal but never discussed it with me. I am now 94 years of age and would like to see my father's name recorded.
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Pte. William Henry Speake 1/5th Btn. South Lancashire Regiment Bill Speake was my paternal grandfather. He was born 28th September 1896 and died 23rd July 1982. He was injured twice whilst serving on the Western Front during the war, but he survived and come home to marry and have four children. He and his wife eventually moved to America.
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Reginald Arthur Evans 1/5th Btn. South Lancashire Regiment (d.17th Sep 1918) Reg Evans, age 19, was killed in action on Tuesday 17th of September 1918 near Cuichy when a German mine exploded under the shelter where he as taking refuge. He is buried in Guards Cemetery, Windy Corner, Cuinchy, France.
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Rflmn. Thomas Joseph Andrews DCM. 1/5th Btn. South Lancashire Regiment My late grandfather Thomas Andrews was listed in the London Gazette on the 2nd of December 1919. He was awarded the DCM for 'Marked gallantry and fearless leadership on the 7th November 1919'.
His personal history was just tragic. He was born in 1893. His mother committed to an asylum when he was 10 months old. His father died 4 years later and he was, after a short stay with aunts, sent to a Catholic children's home. I was unable to track down the name of the home. He surfaced again at 18 in Salford and married a year later, his wife Jane in 1912. They had 2 children, my mother and her brother, Tommy.
He joined up in 1915 and was with the 1/5th South Lancashire Regiment where he obviously served with great bravery. In 1918 his wife died in the Spanish Flu epidemic at the age of 24. He was demobbed in 1920, no job, no wife and the children in the care of his mother-in-law. We, his daughter's children, have little contact with our grandfather, although we did meet with him on occasion, as his mother-in-law had very jealously kept his children to herself.
Thomas married again in 1937 when he was working at a cable works in Prescot, to a lady named Frances Winifred Lewis. They had two boys, Philip and John whom I've unfortunately been unable to make contact since my mother and all the family left England in the late '50's. Through research I found that Thomas died at Oldfield, Whiston in July 1975 at the age of 82.
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Pte. James Thomas Myers 1/5th Btn. South Lancashire Regiment (d.3rd March 1915) James Thomas Myers was born in 1888 in Widnes. He was killed in action at Ypres on the 3rd of May 1915. He is one of the many without a grave but is remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial.
He was married and had children. Prior to the war he worked as a bricksetter's labourer according to the 1911 Census.
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Pte.. Bernard Corrigan MM 1st/5th Btn. South Lancashire Regiment (d.4th Dec 1917) Bernard Corrigan lived at Elliot Street, St Helens before the war. He was employed as a glass blower. He arrived in France on 13 October 1915 and the records show he was awarded the Military Medal. As it was gazetted on 6th January 1917, it seems almost certain, Bernard was awarded the medal for the action on 5th November 1916.
During 4th and 5th November the 55th Divisional Artillery successfully cut two gaps in the wire, each about 25 yards wide; these gaps were kept open during the night by occasional 18 pounder and machine gun fire.
Zero was fixed for 12.30 a.m. on the 6th November at which time a rolling barrage was opened on to the enemy's trenches.
Some 12 months later on 30th November 1917 the Battalion were in the line close to Villers-Guisalin. The diary reports that the enemy attacked in large numbers around 7.20 a.m. Many of them worked their way southwards and attacked the battalion from the rear, and long after the enemy had advanced fighting could be seen around Battalion HQ. The fighting qualities of the Regiment were displayed at their best and a wonderful example had been given.
It would appear 60 men were killed in this action. None of them has a known grave and they are all remembered on the Cambrai Memorial. About 16 more died of their wounds over the next few days. Amongst them was Bernard Corrigan who died of wounds on 4th December 1917, aged 21 years. He rests in Honnechy British Cemetery.
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Pte. John Henry Benbow 1st/5th Battalion South Lancashire Regiment (d.17th Oct 1916) I am proud to say that John Benbow was my great uncle. He joined up early by lying about his age. Rumour is that he signed up in Shrewsbury with his friend who was 18. He was the only son of Jonathan and Sarah Benbow who ran he farm at Attingham Estate. Even though the family were proud of him they were also devastated by the fact that he had been accepted. The remainder of the family - 3 girls - had to do their share on the farm plus his chores. He became a casualty in the square at Ypres in 1916 and died as a result of those wounds on 17th October 1916 at the age of 18. He is buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. None of his immediate family ever travelled to visit his grave but that has now been rectified by the remainder of the family who have all been there since.
The only thing we now want to do is to find out what and where he served during those two years as we have no further details. If anyone can be of any help and advice we would be most grateful.
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