The 55th West Lancashire Division L.O.L 1915
history of the lodge
The 55th West Lancashire Division is a Lodge of special purpose set up under the auspices of the Grand Orange Lodge of England in 2014 with the intended purpose of paying tribute to the contribution of members of the Orange Institution to the Armed Forces. With Lancashire being the historical centre of Orangeism in England the name given to this Lodge of Special Purpose is the 55th West Lancashire Division, but its scope is much wider as it looks at Orangeism in all sections of the Armed Forces. At the beginning of World War One the 55th Division was part of the Territorial Force, the equivalent of the Territorial Army or Army Reserves of today. Initially the Regiments associated with the Division were sent to the Western Front as replacements for soldiers killed or wounded in the fighting. It was in November 1915 that the Division was re-formed as a single fighting unit and the Division then saw action from 1916 to 1918. It is known that many Orangemen fought and died not only in World War One, but also in other conflicts up to the present day.