Serre and the Sheffield City Battalion | Tony Bolton

Over the years, we have filmed quite a lot of speakers at the branch. These have been available to view on the WFA's YouTube channel, and can also be found as 'articles' on the WFA website. However these videos have not been separately grouped for those visiting the Yorkshire branch 'landing page' on the website.

By starting a process of loading these onto the branch page, this makes a number of talks that stretch back to about 2019 'visible'.

In this presentation, Tony Bolton talks about 'Serre and the Sheffield City Battalion' - which was given to the branch in January 2024.

On 1 July 1916 the ‘Pals’ battalions of the 31st Division went ‘over the top’ on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme. One of these war-time raised units was the 12th York and Lancs – better known as the Sheffield City Battalion. In this presentation, Tony describes the raising and destruction of this battalion: how the men were recruited, where they came from and what actually happened on that infamous day in July 1916.