Liverpool Picturebook

Memorial to the Liverpool Pals unveiled by Prince Edward.

An £85,000 frieze at Liverpool's Lime Street station, which was the main departure point for men and boys leaving for war 100 years ago, was unveiled today by the Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward.

The Memorial at Lime Street Station

Tom Murphy

Designed by local sculptor Tom Murphy it tells the Pals' journey through World War One. The Memorial can be seen above the entrance to the Merseyrail station within Lime Street station.

The frieze is the result of a three-year campaign by the Liverpool Pals Memorial Fund to create a permanent tribute to remember those who volunteered for the King’s Liverpool Regiment during World War I.

Lt Col Tony Hollingsworth MBE, from the Liverpool Pals Memorial Fund, told the BBC that Tom had done a "fantastic job" of capturing their journey. he said Tom Murphy whose other works include the Hillsborough memorial and a statue of Bill Shankly, was a "master of his craft".

Part of the re-enactment

Following the unveiling ceremony, there is also a re-enactment of the Liverpool Pals signing up to answer Lord Derby's call for recruits over the road at St George's Hall. Meanwhile on the plateau members of the Pals re-enactment society, Royal British legion members and other military gathered for inspection by Prince Edward.

HRH Prince Edward

Pals re-enactment society

Re-enactment of Liverpool Pals signing up

Lord Derby called on the men of Liverpool to volunteer following the 1914 appeal by Lord Kitchener. He issued his first call to arms for 100,000 volunteers, aged between 19 and 30, to enlist in the army. In today's re-enactment every man taking part was given an envelope representing one of the Liverpool Pals and inside it will detail what happened to that particular soldier in the war. General Henry Rawlinson initially suggested that men would be more willing to join up if they could serve with people they already knew and Lord Derby was the first to test the idea in Liverpool.