Book reading. | Vital Football

Book reading.

Charliejoejohn2

Vital Squad Member
I’m reading a book about the First word war called Forgotten Voices. It’s a collection of people’s true stories about enlisting etc. A young Sheffield women explains how men signed up at the Town Hall and were then sent to do some initial training at Bramall Lane football ground and Norfolk Park. She mentions a pub called The Three Merry Lads where a lot of the new recruits use to go. Does any of you lads that live in Sheffield know if this pub still exists?
 
Views from the 3 Merry Lads are great. Not a great pub but good on a lovely summers evening. Was great when Pete" Status Quo" Lightfoot had it until a few years ago.

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/uncovering-secrets-sheffields-students-somme-1774499
Very interesting SBT. It’s says in the book I’m reading that a lot that signed up in Sheffield were officer material. Also a lot of miners signed up as well. These were later used for tunnelling under German trenches to blown them up.
 
Called The Sheffield Pals I believe CJJ.

They were. The Pals battalions were later disbanded because in battle they were told you walk forward and keep going no matter what but as these were all local lads they had a camaraderie and if those around them started to fall the others, being their mates stopped to help. The other reason was that as time went by and numbers dwindled things were reassessed.
Just finished reading an excellent book called The Photographer of The Lost by Caroline Scott. She is a history professor specialising in the First World War. A very good read.
 
They were. The Pals battalions were later disbanded because in battle they were told you walk forward and keep going no matter what but as these were all local lads they had a camaraderie and if those around them started to fall the others, being their mates stopped to help. The other reason was that as time went by and numbers dwindled things were reassessed.
Just finished reading an excellent book called The Photographer of The Lost by Caroline Scott. She is a history professor specialising in the First World War. A very good read.
Try a book called Not for Glory. It’s about an Elsecar miner from Hoyland experience in the First World War.
 
The Sheffield Pals battalion lost 495 in 1 day at the Battle of the Somme overall British casualties that day were 20,000. Still to this day the worst day in British military history. The Battle cost 1 million lives on both sides mainly due to the incompetence of British generals. Black Adder 4 is a perfect parody of the futility of this war.

My dad was an orphan at an early age but I discovered his father and his brother volunteered at the start of the war to avoid conscription. They were in the Warwickshires and my Grandfather was promoted to Sergeant in the field. Four days before the Somme a German shell did him a favour and blew off part of his leg ensuring he returned Home and survived the carnage. His brother was in the Artillery and was awarded the Military Medal. Both survived and were paid paltry pensions for their efforts.

It is unimaginable what they had to endure and the war was a turning point for the lower classes standing up for their rights and deciding to no longer be cannon fodder for the Imperial families of Europe.