- Grimsby Chums
The Grimsby Chums was a British First World War
Pals battalion ofKitchener's Army raised in and around the town ofGrimsby inLincolnshire . When thebattalion was taken over by theBritish Army it was officially named the 10th Battalion,The Lincolnshire Regiment . It was the only 'pals battalion' to be called 'chums'.When the call came from Lord Kitchener for volunteers, the
headmaster ofWintringham Grammar School in Grimsby decided to raise a 250-strong company of former pupils which would be offered to one of the local Territorial battalions. When other Grimsby men expressed a wish to join, the process was handed over to the town council which set about recruiting sufficient men to form an entire battalion. Men were accepted from neighbouring towns such as Boston, Louth andScunthorpe . In order to complete the battalion, a group was sent fromWakefield inYorkshire .The Grimsby Chums joined the 101st Brigade of the
British 34th Division where they were joined by the two battalions of theEdinburgh City Pals . The division moved toFrance in January 1916 and first saw action in the Battle of the Somme. On1 July ,1916 , thefirst day on the Somme , the Grimsby Chums were in the first wave attacking the fortified village ofLa Boisselle , just south of the Albert-Bapaume road. To aid their attack, a massive mine, known as theLochnagar mine , was detonated beneath the German trenches at 7.28 am, two minutes before Zero hour. At 7.30 am, the Grimsby Chums rushed forward to occupy the crater. Here many were trapped for the rest of the day, harassed by both German and British artillery.A few of the Grimsby Chums made it into the German trenches. The only officer to make it was
2nd Lieutenant Harold P. Hendin who led five men to the German reserve trench (the third trench in the front-line system) and, gathering stragglers as the day progressed, he held off a series of German counter-attacks before having to retire. In total the Grimsby Chums suffered 502 casualties on 1 July; 15 officers and 487other ranks . Only 2 of the officers came back unwounded, and only about 100 men.In February 1918 the battalion moved to the 103rd Brigade, 34th Division, formerly the
Tyneside Irish Brigade but now devoid of its Tyneside Irish battalions.External links
* [http://www.eebo.freeserve.co.uk/chums.htm The Story of The Grimsby Chums]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~englin/mem/grimsby.htm Grimsby Roll of Honour (printed 1919/20)]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.