Hundreds of Huddersfield men answered the call to arms to serve king and country in World War I.

The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment – also known at the time as the West Riding Regiment – recruited from Huddersfield and the Colne Valley.

At the start of the war the 5th Battalion, based at Huddersfield, and the 7th Battalion, based at Milnsbridge, comprised of four infantry companies and a headquarters company, each with about 200 men.

The battalions didn’t see action in France until April 1915 as part of the 49th Division.

The experiences of the battalions are carefully recorded in official scrapbooks which provide a fascinating insight.

The thick, leather-bound scrapbooks contain diary entries, photographs, newspaper clippings, maps and other memorabilia.

Some of the more unusual items include a leaflet advising soldiers on how to avoid “chilled feet and frostbite.”

The causes of these afflictions were said to be:

a) Standing in cold water or mud.

b) The continued wearing of wet socks, boots and puttees. Puttees were strips of cloth or bandages wrapped around the lower leg.

There are maps – including one based on a captured German document – showing trench positions. Trenches were named after streets, often from a battalion’s local area.

Another item preserved is a songsheet headed: The Tykes. Sing, You Blood’ounds, Sing!!

The sheet includes the words to Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag, Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty and He Misses his Missis’ (Missus’s) Kisses.

Though all these items were retained for posterity, most are lacking captions or explanations.

The Examiner was given exclusive access to the scrapbooks and photographs courtesy of the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment Museum and Archives.