To supplement the Regulars, British regiments raised community-based service battalions during World War I. Units from the industrial cities of northern England often took the title "Pals" to signify their local origins. The camaraderie of these close-knit units soon turned to tragedy when entire neighborhoods were decimated on the Western Front. Barnsley is the first of a series of books on the Pals battalions, and is being reprinted to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the battle of the Somme, the Pals' most severe trial.
