The Public Schools Battalions were British First World War Pals battalion

Pals battalion

The Pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted units of the British Army comprising men who had enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours and work colleagues , rather than being arbitrarily...

s of Kitchener's Army

Kitchener's Army

The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, Kitchener's Mob, was an all-volunteer army formed in the United Kingdom following the outbreak of hostilities in the First World War...

, originally made up exclusively of former public schoolboys

Public School (UK)

A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...

. When the battalion

Battalion

A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

s were taken over by the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 they became variously the 16th (Service) Battalion (Public Schools), Middlesex Regiment

Middlesex Regiment

The Middlesex Regiment was a regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms when the 57th and 77th Regiments of Foot were amalgamated with the county's militia and rifle volunteer units.On 31 December 1966 The Middlesex Regiment was amalgamated with three...

 and 18th (Service) Battalion (1st Public Schools), 19th (Service) Battalion (2nd Public Schools), 20th (Service) Battalion (3rd Public Schools) and 21st (Service) Battalion (4th Public Schools), Royal Fusiliers.

History

The original battalion began privately recruiting on 1 September 1914 and membership was by application only; over 1,500 applications were received including from retired officers who wished to serve in the ranks. Such was the spirit of adventure that many men wished to serve as private

Private (rank)

A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...

 soldiers alongside their mates, rather than as officers. Amongst the recruits were enough former international players for the battalion to field two rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 and one football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 team.

Following the success of the original recruitment drive, four further battalions formed at Epsom

Epsom

Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...

 from 11 September.

However, Kitchener's Army was faced with a dire shortage of officers and so the exclusive nature of the Public Schools Battalions was doomed. "Young gentlemen" — public school and university graduates — were encouraged to apply for commissions and eventually the battalion's ranks were depleted. The numbers were made up with ordinary volunteers but the Public Schools Battalion titles would remain, some of the battalions would be disbanded during the course of the war.

16th (Service) Battalion (Public Schools)

After its formation the battalion moved to Kempton Park Racecourse

Kempton Park Racecourse

Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, which is a western suburb of London 16 miles from the city centre. The site is set in of land....

, and in December to Warlingham

Warlingham

Warlingham is a large village on the south-eastern boundary of London, England, just across the border in Tandridge district, east Surrey. Neighbouring villages include Sanderstead, Hamsey Green, Whyteleafe, Farleigh, Fickleshole, Tatsfield and Woldingham...

. From July 1915 it was attached to 100th Brigade, in 33rd Division, and based at Clipstone

Clipstone

Clipstone in north Nottinghamshire is a small working class ex-coal mining village built on an old army base.-History:George Sitwell, Ironmaster mined iron locally and built a furnace here in the seventeenth century.- General description :...

 Camp, moving again in August to Perham Down

Perham down

Perham Down is a village located near Ludgershall and Tidworth, located on the edge of Salisbury Plain about 10 miles outside Andover, and is often referred by locals as Perham.-Army:...

.

In April 1916, the 16th (Service) Battalion (Public Schools) joined the 86th Brigade of the 29th Division

British 29th Division

The British 29th Division, known as the Incomparable Division, was a First World War regular army infantry division formed in early 1915 by combining various units that had been acting as garrisons about the British Empire. Under the command of Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston, the division...

, a regular division

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

 that had served with distinction at Gallipoli

Battle of Gallipoli

The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...

. With the 29th Division, the Public Schools Battalion first saw action in the Battle of the Somme

Battle of the Somme (1916)

The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...

. On the first day on the Somme

First day on the Somme

The first day on the Somme, 1 July 1916, was the opening day of the Battle of Albert, which was the first phase of the British and French offensive that became known as the Battle of the Somme...

, 1 July, the battalion was in the supporting wave during the division's attack on Beaumont Hamel.

Like the leading battalions, the Public Schools Battalion advanced into withering German machine gun

Machine gun

A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....

 fire. A few men reached the German barbed wire

Barbed wire

Barbed wire, also known as barb wire , is a type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strand. It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property...

 but got no further. Most were cut down or trapped in no man's land

No man's land

No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...

. After nightfall those that were pinned down near the German wire were rounded up and made prisoners of war. The Public Schools Battalion suffered 522 casualties on 1 July, 22 officers and 500 other ranks

Other Ranks

Other Ranks in the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force are those personnel who are not commissioned officers. In the Royal Navy, these personnel are called ratings...

.

The 16th (Service) Battalion (Public Schools) was disbanded in February 1918.