Pompey Pals - Heritage Talk With Chris Pennycook

In the Langstone Room

A talk by Chris Pennycook

During the First World War groups of men from the same workplaces, villages, churches and even football teams joined the army together in Pals Battalions. Over 6500 Portsmouth men enlisted, forming not one but two Pals Battalions.

They went on to serve with distinction in many of the famous Battles on the Western Front, like Flers and Guillemont on the Somme and the Third Battle of Ypres. Over one thousand of them made the ultimate sacrifice and never returned home. Though formally known as the 14th and 15th Battalions of the Hampshire Regiment, they were regarded locally as the 1st & 2nd Pompey Pals. Come and hear their story.