[14] In the late 1850s, heightened tension between Crimean War allies France and Britain inspired the development of a military volunteer movement, mostly amongst the middle classes.

[17] By January, the corps had quickly developed into a coherent body and arranged its first drill at the Concert Hall, Lord Nelson Street.

[17] Shortly after its official constitution on 25 April, the 64th Corps, for a brief period, became incorporated into the 2nd Administrative Battalion, formed to organise other volunteer units in the county.

[7][9][19] James Gunning Plunkett, a young lieutenant in the 5th Regiment of Royal Lancashire Militia, became the corps first commanding officer when appointed Captain-Commandant in 1860.

[9] He resigned in 1861 and was succeeded by Captain Peter Silvester Bidwill (or Bidwell), who attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1863 and held command for almost 23 years.

A Catholic importer of corn and Liberal, Bidwill and the corps were subject to accusations of Irish Republican sympathy and even the provision of military training to nationalists.

[20][21] Some members were indeed aligned with the movement and associated with the Irish Republican Brotherhood[22] In his autobiography The Life Story of an Old Rebel, nationalist John Denvir claimed volunteers from Ireland had insisted they joined the 64th with the intent of "learning and perfecting themselves in the use of arms".

The company served for ten months and returned to Britain in November 1900, having fought at Belfast, Bethlehem, Klip Flat Drift, Lydenburg, Sand River Draft, and Slabbert's Nek.

[33] Initially in reserve at Le Touret, the Liverpool Irish was committed after it received orders to deploy to fire trenches in support of the battle.

As the only battalion remaining in the brigade able to undertake offensive action, the other three having incurred heavy losses on the first-day, the 1/8th was ordered to renew the attack in the afternoon of the 16th.

Dismantled in the early stages of the war when its constituent battalions were deployed to overseas theatres, the 55th reformed at Hallencourt under command of Major-General Hugh Jeudwine.

Specially-trained volunteers from the Liverpool Irish were selected to conduct the division's first major raid on German trenches, at Ransart on the night of 17 April.

[38] In the subsequent battle, the battalion was directed to attack on the right of the 1/4th Royal Lancasters and establish itself on the northern boundary of Guillemont, extending as far as the village's railway station.

While the 1/4th King's Own encountered dense barbed wire, the Liverpool Irish, attacking in conditions severely limiting visibility, penetrated the frontline and continued to advance rapidly.

Conditions in the Ypres sector rapidly deteriorated due to the weather's volatility before the battle and the onset of sustained rains from 31 July, creating a quagmire of mud and shellholes that epitomised the offensive that became known to the Allies as Passchendaele.

[42][43] On the first-day of Third Ypres, in which 12 Allied divisions were engaged, it was intended that the Liverpool Irish would initially act as "moppers-up", entrusted with the responsibility of neutralising opposition on the front of the 2/5th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, before partial dispersal to other battalions and employment as brigade support concentrated on a line between two positions known as Keir Farm and Schuler Farm, east of the village of St.

For almost two-hours, the newly captured territory was subject to sustained bombardment by German artillery as a precursor to a concerted counter-attack against the Green Line, control of which was made more precarious by the exposure of the 164th's left flank.

Unable to rectify the distance between it and the 118th Brigade, the contingent near Schuler Farm organised a fighting retreat with those who had withdrawn from the advanced positions back to the relative security of the Black Line.

[50] The 57th Division was not involved in the Allied defence against the German spring offensive on the Somme in March and subsequent campaigns that gained Germany considerable territory, placing the French capital under threat and enabling its bombardment by the "Paris Gun".

On 8 August, Field Marshal Douglas Haig authorised the beginning of a series of ultimately decisive battles that became collectively known as the "Hundred Days".

Positioned south-east of Arras, the Liverpool Irish was committed to battle on 1 September with the object of supporting the 2/6th King's in capturing the previously assaulted village of Riencourt and "straightening out the line".

The battalion participated in the 57th Division's advance east and contribution to the capture of Cambrai, albeit in a limited capacity, before being moved north to the Béthune district on 13 October.

Cameras recorded rapturous crowds greeting the Liverpool Irish and other battalions for a newsreel entitled The Deliverance of Lille by Haig's Men.

[7] The Territorial Army was expanded in March 1939 and the Liverpool Irish resultingly reformed as a duplicate of the 5th Battalion King's Regiment, with headquarters at the Embassy Rooms, Mount Pleasant.

As the Allies made plans to invade occupied France in 1943, the Liverpool Irish was selected to form the nucleus of the 7th Beach Group.

On 30 May 1944, the Liverpool Irish moved from its camp in southern England to the port of Southampton, where the 8th embarked aboard troopships and landing ship tanks in early June.

Under intense machine-gun and mortar fire, the landing of Major E.M. Morrison's "A" Company proceeded well and a command-post was established after reaching the sand dunes.

[67] While under fire, the beach group collected the wounded and dead, located and marked minefields, attempted to maintain organisation, and directed vehicles and troops inland.

A notification was received on 14 July, via a letter written by General Bernard Montgomery, that personnel from the Liverpool Irish would be dispersed to other battalions as replacements.

As Q (Liverpool Irish) Battery these dress distinctions were continued, together with the pipe band, though the cap badge was eventually replaced by that of the RA.