The Liverpool Press Guard was a Rifle Volunteer Corps raised in the city of Liverpool in Lancashire, North West England, in 1861. Initially drawn from the newspaper and printing trades, it later recruited more widely in the Everton and Ormskirk areas. In 1881 it became a battalion of the King's (Liverpool Regiment). A detachment served in the Second Boer War, and two battalions saw action during World War I distinguishing themselves at the Battle of Loos, on the Somme, at Ypres and at Cambrai. It fought in the Battles of the Hindenburg Line in 1918 and was the first unit to liberate Lille in October 1918. The battalion was amalgamated into the Royal Engineers after the war.
Volunteer Force The Liverpool Press Guard was formed in Liverpool on 10 January 1861 from employees of the newspaper and printing trades in the city, who were sworn in at St George's Hall. It was assigned the designation 80th Lancashire RVC, and the Liverpool Press Guard subtitle was officially added the following year. Initially of five companies, three more being added on 19 January, the unit was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel George McCorquodale, a successful printer from Newton-le-Willows. Many of the men from his printing works had already enrolled in the 73rd Lancashire RVC in that town, which was absorbed into the 80th as No 9 Company on 31 March 1863. Early parades of the unit took place at Rose Hill Police Station and at the Corn Exchange in Brunswick Street until headquarters (HQ) was established at 16 Soho Street.Beckett, Appendix VII.Frederick, pp. 126–8.Army List, various dates.Roberts, p. 7.Westlake, pp. 146, 151.
McCorquodale retired from the command on 3 October 1868, becoming the unit's first Honorary Colonel, and was succeeded as commanding officer (CO) by Lt-Col Charles Hamilton. The Honorary Chaplain was the Very Rev John Howson, Dean of Chester. The battalion later extended its recruiting to include other tradesmen and artisans in the Everton area of the city, and farm workers from nearby Ormskirk.Roberts, p. 8. The Volunteers were generally popular in the community. Volunteers in uniform were exempt from paying tolls, but in 1873 officials of the Woodside Ferry refused men of the Press Guard, and a fight ensued.Beckett, p. 100.
Cardwell Reforms Under the 'Localisation of the Forces' scheme introduced by the Cardwell Reforms of 1872, volunteer battalions were brigaded with their local regular and militia battalions. Sub-District No 13 (County of Lancashire) was formed in Northern District with headquarters at Liverpool and the following units assigned: 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot (2 battalions) 2nd Royal Lancashire Militia (The Duke of Lancaster's Own Rifles) (2 battalions) 1st Lancashire RVC 5th (Liverpool Volunteer Rifle Brigade) Lancashire RVC 64th (Liverpool Irish) Lancashire RVC 80th (Liverpool Press Guard) Lancashire RVC
The smaller RVCs were consolidated into larger battalions in 1880; the 80th Lancashire RVC was already battalion-sized and did not need to amalgamate, but was renumbered as the 19th (Liverpool Press Guard) Lancashire RVC on 3 September.
The Childers Reforms of 1881 took Cardwell's reforms further, the regular regiments dropping their numbers and adopting territorial titles, with the militia and volunteers formally affiliated to them. The 19th Lancashire RVC became a volunteer battalion of the 8th Foot (redesignated the King's (Liverpool Regiment)) on 1 July 1881 and formally became the 6th Volunteer Battalion of that regiment from 1 April 1888.
Lieutenant-Col C.A. Whitney took over as CO on 8 February 1882. In 1884 Battalion HQ left Soho Street for a larger and better equipped Drill Hall at 57–61 Everton Road. From 1884 the Isle of Man Volunteers were attached to the 19th Lancashire RVC for administrative purposes. This unit was formally redesignated as 7th (Isle of Man) Volunteer Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) on 1 March 1888, although it was only one company strong.Frederick, p. 130.Westlake, p. 112.
While the sub-districts were referred to as 'brigades', they were purely administrative organisations and the volunteers were excluded from the 'mobilisation' part of the Cardwell system. The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 proposed a more comprehensive Mobilisation Scheme for volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training.Beckett, pp. 135, 185–6.Dunlop, pp. 60–1; Appendix A.Spiers, pp. 228–9. Under this scheme the Volunteer Battalions of the King's (Liverpool Regiment), together with VBs from other regiments based in Lancashire and Cheshire, formed a large and unwieldy Mersey Brigade. By 1900 the brigade consisted only of the eight VBs of the King's. Lieutenant-Col Alfred I. Watts was promoted to CO of the 6th VB on 18 January 1899.
Second Boer War After Black Week in December 1899, the volunteers were invited to send active service units to assist the regulars in the Second Boer War. In January 1900 the War Office decided that one 114-strong Volunteer Service Company (VSC) could be recruited from the volunteer battalions of any infantry regiment that had a regular battalion serving in South Africa. The 6th VB, King's, accordingly raised a service company that included an Isle of Man detachment.Beckett, p. 213. The VSC gained the 6th and 7th VBs the Battle honour South Africa 1900–01, and these men's experience of active service proved valuable at postwar training camps.
After the Boer War the Volunteer Infantry Brigades were reduced to a more manageable four or five battalions each, and in 1902 some VBs of the King's (Liverpool Regiment), including the 6th, transferred from the Mersey Brigade (renamed the Liverpool Brigade) to a new South Lancashire Brigade alongside VBs of the South Lancashire Regiment.
The 6th VB added a Cyclist company in 1902, but one of the battalion's companies was disbanded in 1907.
Territorial Force
When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908,Beckett, pp. 247–53.Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. the 6th VB became 9th Battalion, King's (Liverpool Regiment) on 1 April.London Gazette, 20 March 1908. The battalion was organised as on eight-company establishment, all based at Everton Road.The battalion continued in the South Lancashire Brigade of the TF's West Lancashire Division.Conrad.James, p. 51.Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 133–9.King's at Long, Long Trail.55th (West Lancashire) Division at Long, Long Trail.
World War I Mobilisation At the outbreak of World War I the West Lancashire Division had just begun its annual training and when mobilisation was ordered on 4 August 1914 the units were sent back to their drill halls. The 9th King's mobilised at Everton Road under the command of Lt-Col Luther Watts, VD, CO since 4 February 1911. On the first night the men were accommodated at the Hippodrome Theatre, where additional performances were laid on for them. Afterwards they were billeted at Liverpool College and fed at the Newsboys' Home in Everton Road. A variety of horsedrawn civilian vehicles were pressed into service for the regimental transport; twice these were taken away for other units and had to be replaced by further impressment. On 13 August that battalion entrained for Edinburgh to go to the South Lancashire Bde's war station in the Forth Defences. The battalion was housed in tents and later billeted in Dunfermline. Blankets for the men were donated by local people, and the Hon Colonel, William Hall Walker, gave money for extra clothing and other comforts.Roberts, pp. 9–10.
The TF was intended to be a home defence force for service during wartime and members could not be compelled to serve outside the country. However, on 10 August 1914 TF units were invited to volunteer for overseas service and the majority did so. On 15 August, the War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had signed up for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. In this way duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas. Later the 2nd Line was prepared for overseas service and 3rd Line units were formed to train reinforcements.Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 1–7.
1/9th King's In October 1914 the South Lancashire Bde moved to Tunbridge Wells, to join the West Lancashire Division, which was concentrating in Kent. Here the battalion reorganised on the standard four-company establishment and carried out route marching and field practice, with musketry training at Sandwich. The men also worked on digging defences for the coastline and London, and posted guards on vulnerable points. The regimental historian relates that little if any assistance was given by higher formations.Roberts, pp. 10–1. Indeed, as its units achieved a good level of efficiency the West Lancashire Division was progressively broken up to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force fighting on the Western Front. One of the units to leave was the 1/9th King's, which embarked at Southampton Docks and landed at Le Havre on 13 March 1915 to join 2nd Brigade in 1st Division.Becke, Pt 1, pp. 33–9. It was commanded by Lt-Col J.E. Lloyd, VD, who had been promoted to command the 1/9th King's in December when Lt-Col Luther Watts was posted to the 2/9th Bn at Blackpool.Roberts, pp. 13–5.
Aubers Ridge The battalion's companies went into the line in turn at 'Port Arthur' near Neuve-Chapelle to be instructed in Trench warfare by the regular battalions, and suffered their first casualties. Lieutenant-Col Lloyd was invalided home in April and Major T.J. Bolland took temporary command. The battalion took over its own section of the line at Richebourg-St-Vaast, where it was subjected to a heavy artillery bombardment on 1 May.Roberts, pp. 16–7. 1/9th King's first action was 1st Division's attack at Rue du Bois at the Battle of Aubers Ridge on 9 May. The battalion was in the third (reserve) line for 2nd Bde's attack, but was called forward and passed over the support line to reach the front line. Here they simply contributed to the confusion following the failure of the initial attack, with the trenches providing inadequate shelter and under heavy fire. Major Bolland was killed, and Maj J.W.B. Hunt, who took over command, decided that there was no question of renewing the attack without further artillery preparation: the enemy barbed wire was virtually intact and the only two gaps were covered by enemy machine gun fire. The battalion was ordered to make a fresh attack at 11.15, but this was repeatedly postponed and then cancelled. 1/9th King's was withdrawn at 16.00, having suffered around 100 casualties, though these were insignificant compared to the attacking battalions of the brigade. Major Frank Ramsay, a regular officer from the Middlesex Regiment, was posted to command the battalion.Edmonds, 1915, Vol II, pp. 20, 26.Roberts, pp. 18–20.
1/9th King's returned to the front line on 20 May and spent the following weeks in the dangerous area of the Cuinchy brickstacks, where the trenches were so waterlogged that the men cut down their trousers as improvised shorts. The battalion was relieved on 7 July and after spending two weeks in brigade and division reserve it went back into the line at Vermelles, in front of the Hohenzollern Redoubt. In late August the whole battalion went out into No man's land each night to dig jumping-off trenches for the forthcoming offensive in this sector (the Battle of Loos).Roberts, pp. 20–3.
Loos