The recruitment went well with the majority of men coming from West Ham although men volunteered from Rural and Urban Essex.

Such was the fervour of 'doing your bit' that brothers, cousins, friends and workmate enlisted and served together. This was to have horrendous repercussions for families in the area when the Battalion engaged with the Germans as families could lose several loved ones in the same incident.

As a clever ploy the men were allowed tom live at home instead of army huts at Wanstead which encouraged recruitment.

By the end of January over 300 men had joined and by 3rd April the Battalion had reached full capacity of 1300 men and plans were made to recruit another Battalion.

Training followed which meant that the Battalion entered the Continental war in November 1915.

Their involvement in so many battles meant that from 1916 the percentage of West Ham men in the battalion lessened but the association with West Ham remained.

As football was the working mans sport it was no surprise that many of the initial recruits were West Ham Football Club fans which in later years has led to their linkage with West Ham Football Club who regularly remember the men of the 13th Essex.

Elliot Taylor has researched the West Ham Pals and runs a blog (Click here to view) detailing some activities of the Pals and their links with West Ham Football Club.