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In the early years of 20th century the mining industry in the north east of England was in turmoil. Many pits closed and men were thrown out of work with no real prospects for future employment. In an age were benefits were unheard of, many families were left with no choice other than to move to areas were their outlook was more favourable. The miners of the north east came in their hundreds, if not thousands, to settle and work in the coal fields of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

PHOTO: Badge of the Northumberland Fusiliers

At the outbreak of war in August 1914, Britain was one of the very few countries in the world with a purely professional army, relying not on conscription, but on volunteers. Despite the vastness of the British Empire, the standing army numbered only around 82,000 troops, with colonial soldiers used to police the majority of the Empire. Of the standing Regiments in the British Army at the time, the Northumberland Fusiliers was high up in the hierarchy of the armed forces. Prior to 1881 it was known as the “Fifth Regiment of Foot” and earned the epithet “The Fighting Fifth”, a name used with good reason even during the Great War.

It did not take long before the authorities realised that the war was going to require more soldiers, and Lord Kitchener was tasked, with others, to increase the intake of recruits. Eventually these would be called the “Kitchener Armies” or “New Armies”. Old Regiments like the Northumberland Fusiliers, which originally had two standing Battalions and a third in reserve, would increase the number of Battalions to a staggering 51 in number, although many were reserve and training units. When the call came, the Regiment decided not only to recruit locally in the north east, but to appeal also to those men who had left and moved to Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

So it was, that in the autumn of 1914 and throughout the following year, men from the parish of Somercotes would travel to the recruitment centres of Derby, Nottingham and Ilkeston and walk in not to a recruiting office of the Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment) but to one run by the recruiting sergeant of the Northumberland Fusiliers.

It is not known just how many men from Somercotes, Leabrooks and Pye Bridge joined the “Fighting Fifth” but an estimate of those who volunteered in the first 15 months or so of the war would be between 30-40%. As the war progressed and more local recruitment centres were established, the numbers joining the Northumberland Fusiliers dropped, diluting the initial percentage.

Of the 81 names on listed on the Somercotes War Memorial, 12 were serving with the Northumberland Fusiliers (approximately 14%).