The following notes have been kindly supplied by Mary Cartwright, who like many of our volunteers is also involved in other centenary projects on the Chase.
The visit was organised by Anne Walker from Cannock Chase AONB who drove us by
minibus to Astley Park in Chorley, a beautiful 17th century house
now owned and administered by Chorley Council.
There we were greeted by John Garwood and Steve Williams, Chorley Pals
historians and trustees of the Chorley Pals Memorial Trust.
Steve and John presented a very interesting talk starting
with a brief history of the Chorley Pals, the main points as follows:
- In August 1914, Captain James Milton set about raising a
Pals Battalion in Chorley. Eventually
212 men and 3 officers from Chorley, Blackburn, Burnley and surrounding
villages became Y Company of the 11th Battalion East Lancashire
regiment known as The Accrington Pals.
Steve stressed that the Chorley Pals had a distinct identity within the
Accrington Pals regiment.
- In May 2015 the Pals travelled from training at Caernarvon
to Rugeley Camp where they trained until July before moving on to Ripon.
- John told us that the Pals were not issued with rifles at
Caernarvon or in training at Rugeley Camp; they had to wait until they arrived
at Salisbury Plain in September 1915.
- Chorley boys sent postcards and letters home during their
training on the Chase. L/Cprl Richard
Ormerod writes to his sister Polly 'It is a terrible place; no one has a good
name for it'. There is more information on the Pals time on the Chase together
with some of the letters and images included in the presentation at this link: http://www.pals.org.uk/training.htm
- Steve also gave an entertaining account of the process of
funding, commissioning and erecting the Chorley Pals Memorial, a fitting
tribute, a beautiful piece of sculpture and an amazing achievement, more
information at this link: http://www.chorleypalsmemorial.org.uk/
After lunch we had a guided tour of 'Chorley Remembers', the
Chorley Pals museum and archive. The exhibition was themed in three zones –
remembrance, conflicts and activity.
Many of the exhibits were donated by local people. During the visit John, an authority on the
Chorley Pals, who started his research in the 1970s when he met and interviewed
some of the Chorley Pals, shared some of his wealth of knowledge with us.
Before leaving we packed into the ‘Trench Experience', a simulation of a Somme
trench a watched a short dramatization of a conversation between a private and
an officer, both from Chorley. It is very moving, and although there is no mud,
gore or smells, the battlefield noise is convincing, especially as Steve and
John turned up the volume and the vibration especially for us. More information on the museum, well worth a
visit, at this link: http://www.chorleyremembers.org.uk/experience/
Huge thanks to Steve Williams and John Garfield for their
hospitality and sharing their knowledge with us, and to Anne for organising the
visit and for driving us there and back.
A return visit is being planned for the Pals to visit Cannock Chase.
More information
Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty http://www.cannock-chase.co.uk/
http://chorley.gov.uk/Pages/AtoZ/Astley-Hall.aspx
http://www.stevewilliamstalks.co.uk/books-articles/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/france/nord-pas-de-calais/articles/in-the-footsteps-of-the-chorley-pals-100-years-after-the-battle-of-the-somme/
'Chorley Pals' (1989) John Garfield (ISBN: 9781852160371)
'Chorley Pals' (2009)
Steve Williams and John Garfield
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