were popularly known as "pals battalions". These were housed, clothed and fed by their committees until the War Office took them over in 1915 and the raisers' expenses were refunded. These units formed the Fifth and Sixth New Armies (later called the new Fourth and Fifth New Armies when the original Fourth New Army was broken up). The locally recruited battalions also formed depot companies and in 1915 these were grouped into "reserve" battalions to provide reinforcements for their parents. They became part of the Training Reserve on 1 September 1916. Units The recruitment of pals battalions was confined to the 69 line infantry regiments of the British Army. The Guards Regiments and regiments formed only from Territorial Force battalions did not form any pals battalions. Amongst the line infantry regiments, there was considerable variation in the number of battalions recruited, depending upon the population of the regiment's recruiting areas. No pals battalions were raised in the more rural areas of England, the Scottish Highlands, or Ireland. The Northumberland Fusiliers raised the largest number of pals battalions (twelve) of any regiment, followed by ten raised by the Royal Fusiliers, nine for the Welch Regiment, nine for the Middlesex Regiment, and nine for the Manchester Regiment. The Royal Irish Rifles had nine battalions raised in a similar fashion from the Ulster Volunteer Force. In all, 142 "service" battalions and 68 "reserve" battalions were formed. Formations The pals battalions formed the bulk of the infantry for the divisions of the Fifth New Army (30th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th, and 35th) and the Sixth New Army (36th (Ulster), 37th, 38th (Welsh), 39th, 40th, and 41st). The exceptions were: the 37th Division was made up of 13 Army Troops battalions from the First (2), Second (2) and Third (9) New Armies. the 14th (Service) Battalion, Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) was raised as part of the original 33rd Division of the Fourth New Army. When the Fourth New Army was broken up, it was reassigned to the 118th Brigade, 39th Division. A handful of battalions served away from the Fifth and Sixth New Army divisions: 10th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) (Stockbrokers) was assigned to the 54th Brigade, 18th (Eastern) Division (Second New Army) 25th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) (Frontiersmen) served in the East African Campaign from May 1915 to the end of 1917 21st (Service)