[1] Recruiting was initiated by the mayor of Accrington following Lord Kitchener's call for volunteers, and it took only ten days to raise a complete battalion.

On the first day on the Somme, on 1 July 1916, the 31st Division was to attack the village of Serre-lès-Puisieux and form a defensive flank for the rest of the British advance.

[3][4][6][7] The 31st Division's attack on Serre was a complete failure although some of the Accrington Pals made it as far as the village where they were killed or captured.

A rumour spread around Accrington that only seven men had survived from the battalion, and an angry crowd surrounded the mayor's house and demanded information.

The battalion was brought back up to strength and served for the remainder of the war, moving to the 92nd Brigade of the 31st Division in February 1918.

After the war it was converted into a service battalion on 8 February 1919 and sent to join the British Army of the Rhine, where it served in 14th Bde of the Lancashire Division until October 1919.

[17] A song telling their story was written and recorded by English folk singer and comedian Mike Harding.