thumb|Leeds Pals Memorial at [[Colsterdale]]

thumb|right|[[Leeds War Memorial|War memorial in Leeds]]

The Leeds Pals were a First World War Pals battalion of Kitchener's Army raised in the West Yorkshire city of Leeds. When the battalion was taken over by the British Army it was officially named the 15th Battalion (1st Leeds), The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment).

The battalion was formed in September 1914 by a committee led by Lord Brotherton, politician Francis Martineau Lupton and his brother Arthur G. Lupton. The brothers' brother, Lord Mayor of Leeds Sir Charles Lupton, was filmed in 1915 inspecting the Leeds Pals at a camp near Colsterdale in the Yorkshire Dales where the battalion underwent training. The Lord Mayor's brothers were also present at the event. The three sons of Francis Martineau Lupton - all educated at Rugby and Cambridge University - were killed during the Great War.

In December 1917 the Leeds Pals were amalgamated with the 2nd Leeds battalion (17th Battalion, The West Yorkshire Regiment, a Bantam battalion) to form the 15th/17th Battalion, The West Yorkshire Regiment.

John Harris' novel Covenant With Death (Arrow Books Ltd., London, 1961) is a lightly fictionalized account of a private in the Sheffield City Battalion from their formation until the first day of the Battle of the Somme. A.V. Pearson's quote (above), slightly modified, is the last paragraph of the novel.

Benjamin Till's 2014 musical Brass is a fictional musical based on real life stories from the Leeds Pals.

References

  • The Leeds Pals - The 15th (Service) Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment
  • The Leeds Pals memorial at Colsterdale near Masham