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The ability of Kitchener's Volunteer Army of 1914 to train and house thousands of men who flocked to its ranks at the start of the war stretched its resources to breaking point.

Carlisle was no exception, and when the local Lonsdale battalion was formed in September 1914, the only suitable location for a training camp was the racecourse at Blackwell, situated on the edge of the city.

The Battalion was comprised of local men drawn from the railways, factories, shops and fields of Cumberland and Westmorland, who felt it was their patriotic duty to serve their King and Country.

Initially, conditions were so inadequate that soldiers who could return would go back home to sleep at night, and those that couldn't, made themselves as comfortable as they could in the empty horse boxes and grandstand.

Eventually wooden huts were erected but the 'make do and mend' approach continued, with the soldiers lacking even basic equipment like a rifle and a uniform until 1915.

Lord Lonsdale took a great deal of pride in the battalion named after him, and issued the men with a solid sliver cap badge that he commissioned from Garrard's the Crown jewellers.

But any hope the soldiers might have had that war would be over by Christmas was dashed by the war in Europe turning into a stalemate, and the Battalion embarked for France in November 1915.

The Lonsdale Pals first saw action in the battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916, and as they had joined forces, they fought together and died together. Out of 28 officer; 25 where killed or injured, and of 800 other ranks; 500 were injured or killed. The commanding officer's widow concluded that: 鈥渕en could do no more鈥�.

Location: Blackwell Racecourse, Carlisle, Cumbria CA2 4TS
Image shows Blackwell camp (March 1916)
Report presented by Andrew Carter

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