The 6th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment was formed as a second-line TA duplicate of the Hallamshire Battalion in August 1939, containing a number of former members of the original Hallamshires, although the 6th Battalion did not include the 'Hallamshire' in its title. The battalion was created upon the doubling of the TA in March 1939 due to the increasing possibility of war with Germany. The battalion was part of the 138th Infantry Brigade of the 46th Infantry Division and, upon the declaration of war in September 1939, spent much of its early existence in England guarding vulnerable points. In April 1940 the battalion went to France, and the following month experienced heavy fighting in the St Omer-La Bassée area. Taking part in the Dunkirk evacuation, the battalion returned to England in June 1940 and remained there on anti-invasion duties for the next two-and-a-half years.