Recruitment for the battalion began on 14 September at the York Railway Institute. Next day recruitment began at the Newcastle Railway Institute. Recruitment continued, alternatively between York and Newcastle, and by the 23rd September the battalion was almost at full strength. The battalion was moved to King George Docks at Hull, which was jointly owned by the NER and the Hull & Barnsley Railway, beginning on 22 September and the entire battalion arriving by the 1st October. At this time the battalion officers were accommodated aboard the SS Rievaulx Abbey, a ship of the NER's subsidiary the Hull & Netherlands Steamship Company.
