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- 5th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment during the Great War -


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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment

5th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment



   5th Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment were a unit of the Territorial Force with their HQ in Rotherham. A and B Coys were based in Rotherham, C Coy in Barnsley, their Drill Hall is now used by the Barnsley Chronicle. D Coy were based in Wath on Dearne, E Coy in Barnsley, F Coy in Rotherham, G Coy in Treeton and H Coy in Birdwell with their Drill Hall in Sheffield Road (now a hair salon). When war broke out in August 1914, the units of the Division had just departed for their annual summer camp, they were at once recalled to their home base and mobilised for war service, moving to Doncaster. In November they moved to Gainsborough and in in February 1915 to York to prepare for service overseas, those men who had not volunteered for Imperial Service transferred tp the newly formed 2/4th Battalion. They proceeded to France on the 14th of April 1915, sailing from Folkestone to Boulogne. The Division concentrated in the area around Estaires. On the 15th of May the formation was renamed 148th Brigade, 49th (West Riding) Division. Their first action was in the The Battle of Aubers Ridge in May 1915. In 1916 They were in action in the Battles of the Somme. 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.

4th Aug 1914 Orders

6th Aug 1914 Concentration

7th Aug 1914 Reservists

10th Aug 1914 On the Move

18th Aug 1914 Move

20th Aug 1914 Reinforcements

4th Sep 1914 On the March

10th Jul 1915 5th Yorks & Lancs under heavy Fire.

19th Mar 1917 Trench Raid  location map

21st Mar 1917 Occasional Shells  location map

22nd Mar 1917 Trench Raid  location map

23rd Mar 1917 Trench Mortars

4th June 1917 Entertainment

14th June 1917 Horse Show

1st Nov 1917 Inspection

2nd Nov 1917 Training

3rd Nov 1917 Orders

4th Nov 1917 Orders  location map

5th Nov 1917 Demonstration

6th Nov 1917 Orders

7th Nov 1917 Orders

9th Nov 1917 Reliefs

11th Nov 1917 Reliefs  location map

12th Nov 1917 Reliefs  location map

24th Nov 1917 Shelling  location map

25th Nov 1917 Shelling  location map

27th Nov 1917 Reliefs  location map

29th Nov 1917 Reliefs  location map

1st Mar 1918 Raid

2nd Mar 1918 Prisoners Taken  location map

3rd Mar 1918 Raid

4th Mar 1918 Quiet

5th Mar 1918 Patrol

6th Mar 1918 Shelling  location map

7th Mar 1918 Information  location map

8th Mar 1918 Artillery Active  location map

9th Mar 1918 Counter Attack  location map

10th Mar 1918 Quiet  location map

11th Mar 1918 Trench Raid  location map

12th Mar 1918 Balloon  location map

13th Mar 1918 Trench Raid  location map

14th Mar 1918 Shellfire  location map

15th Mar 1918 Artillery Active  location map

16th Mar 1918 Artillery Active  location map

17th Mar 1918 Raid  location map

18th Mar 1918 Shelling  location map

19th Mar 1918 Quieter  location map

20th Mar 1918 Shelling  location map

21st Mar 1918 Gas  location map

22nd Mar 1918 Enemy Quieter  location map

23rd Mar 1918 Enemy Quieter  location map

24th Mar 1918 Prisoners  location map

25th Mar 1918 Raids  location map

26th Mar 1918 Orders  location map

27th Mar 1918 Reliefs  location map

28th Mar 1918 Quiet  location map

29th Mar 1918 Quiet  location map

30th Mar 1918 Reliefs  location map

31st Mar 1918 Quiet  location map

1st Apr 1918 Reliefs  location map

2nd Apr 1918 Intermittent Shelling  location map

3rd Apr 1918 Reliefs  location map

4th Apr 1918 Quiet

5th Apr 1918 Reliefs  location map

6th Apr 1918 Reliefs

7th Apr 1918 Raid  location map

8th Apr 1918 Prisoners  location map

9th Apr 1918 Orders

10th of April 1918 Under Attack  location map

10th Apr 1918 Attack Made  location map

11th of April 1918 Quiet...and then...  location map

11th Apr 1918 Rearguard Action  location map

12th of April 1918 Enemy Advances  location map

12th Apr 1918 Line Holding  location map

13th of April 1918 Under Heavy Attack  location map

13th Apr 1918 Line Holding  location map

14th Apr 1918 Attack Made  location map

15th Apr 1918 Attacks Made  location map

16th Apr 1918 Attacks Made  location map

17th Apr 1918 Attacks Made  location map

18th Apr 1918 Attacks Made  location map

19th Apr 1918 Snow  location map

19th Apr 1918 Reliefs  location map

21st of April 1918 On the March  location map

30th of April 1918 Reliefs and Attacks  location map

If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.





Want to know more about 5th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment?


There are:5315 items tagged 5th Battalion, York and Lancaster 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.


Those known to have served with

5th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment

during the Great War 1914-1918.

  • Beard Wilfred. Sgt. (d.27th July 1916)
  • Brown Henry. Pte.
  • Burroughs Albert. Pte. (d.24th Sep 1918)
  • Clayton-Smith MC. H. E. H.. Lt. (d.23rd July 1917)
  • Fawley Newman D.. Pte. (d.27th Feb 1917)
  • Gummer Stanley. Capt. (d.9th Oct 1917)
  • Henry MM. Alfred. L/Cpl. (d.11th Mar 1918)
  • Homer Arthur. Pte.
  • Hughes Henry. Pte. (d.10th Apr 1918)
  • Huitson Bertram. Pte. (d.9th Oct 1917)
  • Kaye Joseph. Pte.
  • Law Leonard. Cpl. (d.9th Oct 1917)
  • Lucas Ernest Henry Austin. 2nd Lt (d.7th Jun 1917)
  • Nicholson William Henry. Pte.
  • Priestley Walter Clark. Pte (d.15th April 1918)
  • Snaith Harry Craven. Pte. (d.13th Oct 1918)
  • Todd William Emery. Pte. (d.9th Feb 1917)
  • Walker Joseph Harold. (d.9th Oct 1917)
  • White George. Sgt. (d.10th Sep 1915)
  • Willis Charles F.. Mjr. (d.8th March 1918)

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, York and Lancaster Regiment from other sources.


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  Pte. Henry Brown 1/5th Btn. York and Lancaster Regiment

My Grandfather, Harry Brown, was a survivor of the Great War. He served from August 1914 til demob in March 1919. He died before I was born, but my parents had a framed photo of him in uniform, taken prior to the war. He was charged with desertion in 1918. His records show that he failed to return after being given a 2 week furlough from hospital. He was being treated for a severe head wound. The charge was dropped when he agreed to rejoin his unit in France. He wasn't back long before being readmitted to hospital with bronchitis. He never talked about his experiences, so I am trying to piece together a history for my children, although my father did recall a large scar on the side of his father's head.

Gina Morley






  Pte. Albert Burroughs 1st/5th Btn. York and Lancaster Regiment (d.24th Sep 1918)

Albery Burroughs was killed in action on the 24th of September 1918, aged 19 and is buried in Brown's Copse Cemetery, France. He was the son of Mary Ellen Burroughs, of 35, Rockley Street, Walton, Liverpool, and the late William John Burroughs His elder brother William John Burroughs served with the Lancashire Hussars and survived the war. He married and had a son who he named Albert after him.

s flynn






  Pte. Bertram Huitson 1/5th Btn. York and Lancaster Regiment (d.9th Oct 1917)

Bertram Huitson was one of many who went missing in action, giving his life for his country.

Peter Huitson






  Pte. Newman D. Fawley 1/5th Btn. York and Lancaster Regiment (d.27th Feb 1917)

I have recently had confirmation from the Commonwealth War Graves commission that, following a review of military records I had provided, they are, with immediate effect, to amend their records to show Newman's date of death to 27th February 1917, *not* 28th February, and that they are to take steps to have his gravestone in Bouquemaison Churchyard, Somme, France, altered. His grave is the only CWGC one in the churchyard. According to his Unit's Medical Officer, Newman died from a heart attack caused by the exertions of the 'route march' he was on!
  • Recruitment - At Halifax Attested: 7th Jun 1916
  • To Army Reserve: 8th Jun 1916
  • Mobilized: 13th Sep 1916
  • Posted: 15th Sep 1916 (4th Btn., York and Lancaster Reg.)
  • Embarked (Folkestone): 29th Dec 1916
  • Disembarked (Boulogne): 29th Dec 1916
  • Reported to 4th Inf. (Base Depot): 30th Dec 1916
  • Joined his Unit: 3rd Jan 1917 (1/5th Btn. York and Lancaster Reg.)
  • Died: Tuesday 27th Feb 1917 (death reported in Base Casualty List C. 1182)

      <p>Record of Newman Fawley's Date of Death

      <p>Newman Fawley's Grave

      Paul D. Firth






  Lt. H. E. H. Clayton-Smith MC. 1st/5th Btn. Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (d.23rd July 1917)

Lieutenant H.E.H. Clayton-Smith MC served with 1st/5th Battalion Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.

Caroline Hunt






  Sgt. Wilfred Beard 1/5th Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment (d.27th July 1916)

Wilfred Beard died on 27th July 1916 as a result of wounds received on the Somme.

Andrew Richardson






  Mjr. Charles F. Willis 1/5th Btn. York and Lancaster Regiment (d.8th March 1918)

Major Willis served with the 1/5th Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment and was killed in action on 8th March 1918. Charles Willis is buried in Polygon Wood Cemetery, Belgium. He was 35 years old.







  Capt. Stanley Gummer 5th Btn. York and Lancaster Regiment (d.9th Oct 1917)

Stanley Gummer served with the 5th York and Lancaster Regiment in France. He was killed in action, aged 27, on 9th of October 1917. He is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial and has no known grave.







  Pte. William Henry Nicholson 1/5th Btn. Yorkshire and Lancashire Regiment

William Henry Nicholson joined the North Eastern Railways Pals battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers. Upon arrival in France he was transferred to 1/5th Yorkshire and Lancaster Regiment, probably around September 1916. At a later point he was transferred to the Durham Light Infantry and was demobilised from there.

He returned home to work for what had become the London and North Eastern Railway. He married and had three sons, all of whom served in the Second War. He died after years of pain from rheumatoid arthritis which he ascribed to his years spent in the trenches of the First World War.

S.Nicholson






  Pte. Arthur Homer 5th Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment

Arthur Homer enlisted at Barnsley on the 2nd November 1914 and joined 5th Battalion The York and Lancaster Regiment. His address at that time was Masons Buildings, Shaw lane, Carlton, Barnsley. He was Married on the 28th of March 1915 to Lilly Thompson of Cudworth. He survived the war despite being wounded on two occasions.

David Stones






  Pte. Joseph Kaye 5th Btn. York and Lancaster Regiment

My Grandad Joe Kaye joined up on the 18th November 1914. He was severely wounded at the Somme and finally invalided out on the 14th July 1918. He had the War medal, the Victory medal and the Silver war badge. He finally succumbed to the effects of his wounds in 1937. I never had the honour of meeting him.

This link contains a film of the battalion during an inspection in 1915.

Bill Kaye






  Pte. Henry Hughes 1/5th Btn. York and Lancaster Regiment (d.10th Apr 1918)

Pte. Henry Hughes served with the Yorks and Lancs Regiment 1/5th Btn.He was executed for desertion on 10th April 1918 aged 27 and is buried in the Huts Cemetery in Belgium. The mass pardon of 306 British Empire soldiers executed for certain offences during the Great War was enacted in section 359 of the Armed Forces Act 2006, which came into effect on royal assent on 8th November 2006

s flynn






  L/Cpl. Alfred Henry MM. 1st/5th Btn. York and Lancaster Regiment (d.11th Mar 1918)

Alfred Henry who died aged 19 was born in 1898 in Jarrow to Robert and Margaret Ann Henry (nee Charlton) of 5 Askern Street Carbrook Sheffield (Natives of Jarrow). Alfred Henry age 12 at School is with his parents Robert and Margaret Ann Henry and family (all born Jarrow) at 311 Dunloy Street, Sheffield on the 1911 census. He lived in Sheffield.

Alfred is buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery.

Vin Mullen






  Pte. Harry Craven Snaith 1/5th Btn. York and Lancaster Regiment (d.13th Oct 1918)

My great uncle, Harry Craven Snaith was in the Royal Flying Corps at RAF Yatesbury in 1917 but was enlisted into the Army and sent to France in 1918 with the 1/5th Yorks and Lancs.

He was at Haspers in October 1918 and went over the top at 6.00am on the 13th October, by the end of the day the goal had not been taken and 50 to 60% of the 1/5th battalion had been killed, including Harry.

Adrian Snaith






  2nd Lt Ernest Henry Austin Lucas 8th Btn. The York & Lancaster Regiment (d.7th Jun 1917)

Ernest Lucas was born on the 10th of December 1890, the son of William Austin Lucas and Louisa Lucas. He worked for London County Westminster and Parr's Bank before the war. He enlisted into the Artists' Rifles in June 1915, and was commissioned into the York and Lancaster Regiment in November 1915. He was posted to the 1/5th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment in France in January 1916. He was wounded in action during the Battle of the Somme whilst attacking German trenches at Thiepval on the 6 July 1916.

On his recovery, he was posted to the 8th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, and was listed as missing on the 7th June 1917 at Messines. On the 18 April 1918 he was listed officially as having been killed in action on the 7 June 1917.

Louise Hudd






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