Salford was late in recruiting for its Pals battalions, with many of its
men already joining Territorial units and a new Pals battalion in
Manchester. Yet within a year it had raised four Pals battalions and a
reserve battalion. Raised mainly from Lancashire's most notorious slums,
the men trained together in Wales, North East England and on Salisbury
Plain, they had great expectations of success.
On the 1st of July 1916 the Somme offensive was launched and in the very
epicenter of that cauldron the first three of Salford's battalions were
thrown at the massive defenses of Thiepval - the men were decimated,
Salford was shattered.
Michael Stedman records the impact of the war from the start on Salford
and follows the difficulties and triumphs. Whether the actions small or
great the author writes graphically about them all.
Unusual photographs and a variety of sources make this both a readable
and a scholarly account.