.303 Maxim Machine Gun Operation (1901)

NOMENCLATURE OF PARTS OF GUN

Barrel. With asbestos packing; gun metal valve; side plates, left and right; side plate spring; connecting rod spring; protector for muzzle with chain and S hook.

Barrel Casing. With ejector tube spring; steam tube with slide valve; keeper screw; packing gland; asbestos packing; two screwed plugs, each with chain, S hooks, and stud; cork plug with chain and S hooks.

Breech Casing. With buffer spring; check lever with collar and split pin; slides, right and left; trigger bar; fusee spring box.

Cover. With joint pin, collar, and fixing pin; cover lock, with piston, spring, and stop screw; ammunition label with four rivets; cover springs.

Crank. With crank pin and fixing pin; connecting rod; crank handle and fixing pin; fusee with chain, spring, and adjusting screw.

Feed Block. With slide; top and bottom levers with spring fixing pin; top and bottom pawls, with axis pin; slide springs; feed block spring; band roller with axis pin, collar, and fixing pin.

Lock. Consisting of casing with side levers and screwed head; extractor levers, right and left; extractor with spring and fixing pin; gib with gib spring and cover; extractor stop with keeper and fixing pins; sear with spring and axis pin; trigger with axis and fixing pins; tumbler with axis pin; firing pin; lock spring, with axis and fixing pins; keeper bracket.

Rear Cross piece.  With fixing pin; firing lever with spring, axis, and fixing pins; safety catch and axis pin; piston and spring; shutter with pivot screw; milled heads with leather washers and oil brushes.

Sight, Fore. With fixing screw.

Sight, Tangent. Consisting of stem, graduated plate, and two fixing screws; slide with pinion, pawl, and fixing pin; tangent sight slide spring; milled head and fixing screw; axis pin; tangent sight spring and piston.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The gun may be considered as divided into two portions: the non-recoiling and the recoiling. It is worked automatically by two forces: the explosion of the charge, which forces the recoiling portion backwards, and a strong spring, (called the fusee spring), which carries it forwards. The non-recoiling portion consists of the barrel casing and breech casing, and is attached to the mounting by the crosshead and elevating joint pins.

Maxim Machine Gun

The barrel casing is of gun-metal, holding about seven pints of water to keep the barrel cool when firing; it has three openings, one on the upper right side near the breech for filling, one underneath near the muzzle for drawing off the water, and the third (also near the muzzle) for allowing the steam but not the water to escape. The first two are closed with screwed plugs, the last is always open and connected with the steam tube. To prevent the escape of water, there is at the forward end of the barrel casing, asbestos packing, which is held in position round the barrel by the packing gland. At the rear end of the barrel there is a cannelure, also filled with asbestos packing, which prevents the escape of water when the gun is working and a gun-metal valve immediately in front of the block at the breech. which prevents the escape of water when the gun is not firing and the barrel home.

In addition, a cork plug is provided which can be inserted in the steam escape hole when the gun is travelling, in order to prevent waste of water from jolting. The plug should always be taken out before commencing to fire, and put in again before the gun changes position.

Under the barrel casing is the ejector tube through which the empty cartridge cases are ejected from the gun. The tube is fitted with a spring which prevents these cases falling backwards into the gun when firing.

When the barrel casing is filled with water about 2,000 rounds may be discharged at short intervals, without replenishing, but this depends on the rapidity with which the gun is fired.

Deliberate fire about 70 rounds per minute; rapid fire 450 rounds per minute.

The water commences to boil when the gun has fired with its greatest rapidity about 600 rounds; after this, if the firing is continued, the amount of water evaporated is about 1 pint for each 1,000 cartridges.

The steam tube is fitted in the barrel casing above the barrel, and is secured in its proper position by means of a keeper screw in the front of the barrel casing; it consists of two tubes, one fixed, having a hole near to each end, the other arranged to slide freely outside of it and termed the slide valve. If the gun is fired at elevation this valve slides backwards, and, closing up the hole at rear end of tube, prevents the water entering; at the same time, it leaves the front hole uncovered, which, being above the water level, allows the steam to enter the fixed tube and to escape through a hole bored in the solid part of the front end of barrel casing with which the tube is connected. Similarly, if the gun is fired at depression the valve slides forward and allows the steam but not the water to escape.

The breech casing consists of two outside plates, a bottom plate, and the rear cross piece, the whole being closed by a cover.

The outside plates are dovetailed into the barrel casing, and together with the cover are secured by means of the cover joint pin. On the outside of the right-hand plate there are the following fittings: a socket and stud for securing and supporting the buffer spring, the resistance piece, and the check lever, which pivots on a stud and is secured by a collar and split pin. On the outside of the left-hand plate are three studs for holding the fusee spring box, the rear one being on the slide mentioned below; also, there are two other studs on this plate provided for fixing a shoulder piece to the gun if required. In both plates are slots, in which the crank bearings move, partly closed by slides; on the inside of both are solid cams which control the path of the extractor.

The bottom plate is secured by rivets to the two outside plates; along the bottom lies the trigger bar, and underneath is a bracket to which is attached the elevating gear by means of the elevating joint pin.

The outside plates are connected at the rear end by the rear cross piece, into which they both dovetail; this piece is fitted with hollow handles for traversing, which are also used for carrying oil, these are closed by milled heads into which are fitted camel hair brushes, a firing lever the lower end of which is attached to the trigger bar, while the upper end is provided with a double button for firing, an automatic safety catch which is so arranged that unless it is held up the firing lever cannot be pressed forward, and a pivoted shutter which when moved to the right or left, uncovers an aperture through which (when the lock is removed and the crank handle vertical) the barrel can be inspected or cleaned from the rear.”

The cover is fitted with springs to ensure the extractor dropping on recoil, a gun metal block to keep the lock down when back, and at the rear end a lock to fasten it. On the upper surface is the tan- gent sight, which is graduated up to 2,500 yards.

The recoiling portion (which is mounted inside the non-recoiling portion) consists of the barrel and two side plates which carry the lock and the crank.

The barrel is coated with copper to protect it from rust; the gun- metal valve referred to above, which prevents the escape of water to the rear, is fitted just in front of the breech end, which is formed in the shape of a block; this block has a stud on each side which are called the barrel trunnions, and by means of them the barrel is attached to the side plates.

The side plates are each provided with a hole to receive the barrel trunnions and also guides in which the flanges of the lock move; in addition, each has a bearing through which the crank passes, thus connecting the latter with the barrel, these bearings move in slots in the breech casing. The left side plate is fitted with a connecting rod spring which holds the connecting rod upright when the lock is removed, and the right-side plate is fitted with a side plate spring near the barrel, the use of which is explained later. The left side plate is prolonged to the front, and has a recess in which the bottom lever of the feed block engages.

Maxim Machine Gun & Tripod

The crank is fitted on the right with a handle which has a curved projecting arm, and on the left with a fusee, to which is attached a chain; the remainder of the crank is inside the breech casing, while in the centre there is a connecting rod which is free to revolve on the crank pin.

On the left of breech casing there is a strong spiral spring, called the fusee spring, the rear end of which is connected by the fusee chain and fusee with the crank, the fore end is attached to the breech. casing by means of the fusee spring box and adjusting screw.

The action of recoil extends the fusee spring, winds the chain which is attached to it about the fusee, so that when the crank handle. is resting on the buffer spring, the fusee spring is not only extended about one inch by the recoil of the barrel, but the winding of the chain on the fusee causes a still further extension.

As soon as the recoil is exhausted, the action of the fusee spring is to pull the recoiling portion into the firing position and to unwind the chain off the fusee, thereby causing the crank handle to fly back. and strike the check lever, which is so constructed that when the crank handle reaches the stop, it is prevented from rebounding. The shape given to the buffer spring causes the crank handle when it strikes the former to assist the fusee spring in its action.

The lock is attached to the connecting rod by the screwed head, and when in the firing position closes the breech. In this position it is held by the side levers, the crank (which bears against stops on the side plates), and connecting rod, which are slightly above the horizontal, to prevent the breech being opened at the moment of explosion. The lock has a reciprocating motion communicated to it by the rotation of the crank, and is kept in position during its back- ward and forward movements by means of flanges working in guides on the side plates, and by the gunmetal block underneath the cover.

The extractor is attached to the fore end of the lock by guide ribs, upon which it slides, and is fitted with extractor spring, fixing pin, gib, gib spring, and cover. The projections on the extractor spring and gib, together with the cartridge grooves, form recesses which retain the cartridges in position.

The extractor is moved upwards by means of side and extractor levers, and when in its highest position, is retained there by means of a side plate spring, which ensures the hole for the firing pin being opposite the centre of the base of the cartridge when the lock is home. The upward and downward movements of the extractor are regulated by guide ribs and stops; the upper stop forms part of the lock casing, and the lower one is removable.

The gun is supplied with cartridges from a belt which passes through the feed block, on the top of the gun, from right to left. This belt is formed by two pieces of webbing connected together by eyelets and brass strips; the projecting ones showing how far the cartridges should be inserted in the belt, the latter is made thick at the edge next the bullets by being folded over a piece of cord, so that the cartridges may be kept parallel in passing through the feed block, and lie even in the ammunition belt boxes.

Maxim Machine Gun Ammunition Belt

The feed block is provided with a slide to which are attached two pawls with springs for the purpose of moving the cartridges from right to left; the slide has a transverse motion given to it by means of two levers which are fitted together, the top lever has a slot which engages a stud on the slide, and on the bottom lever is a stud which engages in a recess in the left side plate, thus the slide is connected with the recoiling portion. There are also in the feed block two stationary pawls which project up under the belt and prevent it slipping back- wards during firing. To facilitate the entrance of the cartridges the feed block is provided with a band roller, and in addition has steel guides fitted above and below in the cartridge way, which ensure the cartridges coming to the exact position where they can be seized by the extractor; they are prevented from being pushed too far through to the left by means of the cartridge and bullet stops which are inside the feed block.

Weight of gun 60 lbs.

ACTION OF MECHANISM

Suppose the gun to have just fired; the explosion causes the recoiling portion to move backwards through a distance of about one inch, thereby driving the projecting arm of crank handle against the resistance piece, which latter, resisting this backward motion, forces the curve on the projecting arm of the crank handle to roll on itself, thus rotating the crank (thereby drawing back the lock), and causing the crank handle to strike the buffer spring; thus the greatest portion of the energy of recoil is transferred to the crank. The travel of the recoiling portion to the rear also moves the upper pawls in the feed block to the right so as to engage behind a fresh cartridge in the belt. When the lock moves backward the extractor withdraws the empty case from the barrel and a fresh cartridge from the belt in feed block. The extractor is kept in position by means of its horns, which move along the upper surface of the solid cams on the breech casing until the cartridge is clear of the belt; when it arrives at the rear end of these cams, it falls partly by its own weight, and partly by the action of the cover springs, thus bringing the cartridge drawn from the feed block in line with the barrel and the empty case drawn from the barrel in line with the ejector tube. When the lock is quite back it is kept in position by the block fixed to the cover, as its flanges are then clear of the guides on the side plates.

When the force of recoil is expended the action of the fusee spring comes into play, carrying the recoiling portion forward and revolving the crank by the unwinding of the fusee chain, thereby forcing the lock to the front. As the recoiling portion travels forward, it moves the upper pawls on the feed block slide to the left, and thus brings up automatically a fresh cartridge into position in the feed block, and a second cartridge in front of the bottom pawls. As the lock moves forward into the firing position, the live cartridge and the empty case are respectively placed in the barrel chamber and ejector tube, the extractor is moved upwards by the side levers acting on the extractor levers, thereby leaving the empty case in the ejector tube, where it is held by the ejector tube spring until pushed out by the next case, and causing the gib to slide over the base of the live cartridge in the chamber, thus bringing the firing pin hole opposite to the cap, and engaging a fresh cartridge which has been automatically moved up into position in the feed block. The turning of the crank handle on to the buffer spring not only draws the lock away from the barrel, but also gives a downward motion to the connecting rod and screwed head, which latter bearing on the tail end of the tumbler, rotates it on its axis, and the head of the tumbler being engaged in a recess in the firing pin, forces the latter to the rear, compressing the lock spring. When the bent of the tumbler has moved above the bent of the trigger, the latter is forced by the lock spring under the bent, and is thus able to hold the tumbler in the cocked position. The continued motion of the tumbler carries back the firing pin until the sear, (which is above and is acted upon by the sear spring), is forced into the bent of the firing pin and retains it. The firing pin is thus prevented from flying forward by two actions -viz., the sear and the trigger. In this position the trigger may be disengaged from the tumbler, but the sear will still prevent the firing pin from moving forward.

On the crank handle returning to the check lever the lock moves to the front, and the connecting rod and screwed head have an upward motion, so that when the lock is in the forward position the screwed head lifts the sear, thereby disengaging it from the firing pin, which then moves slightly forward until stopped by the bent of the tumbler engaging the bent of the trigger. If now the double button, on firing lever is pressed forward, the trigger bar is drawn backwards, at the same time a projection on the latter engages and draws with it the tail end of the trigger, thereby releasing the tumbler, the lock spring then propels the firing pin on to the cap and explodes the cartridge. If the gun has been set for rapid fire and the pressure on the firing lever is maintained as the lock moves forward, the lower end of the trigger comes in contact with the projection on the trigger bar, and its bent is thus withdrawn from the tumbler before the extractor has reached the firing position; the firing pin is therefore held only by the sear, and when the latter is lifted by the screwed head, the firing pin is released, and is thrown forward on to the cap by the action of the lock spring. The release of the sear from the firing pin is so timed that it cannot take place until the lock is in the firing position.

 

Acknowledgement:

This excerpt was transcribed from a PDF copy of the Handbook for the 0.303″ Maxim Machine Gun (Magazine Rifle Chamber), 1901 downloaded from the Vickers MG Collection & Research Association  website.

License:

The PDF was digitized by the Vickers MG Collection & Research Association and is shared for purposes and education and research and the Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 has been applied to it. The license conditions can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

9th Manchesters Machine Gun Section at Gallipoli

British Maxim .303 Converted Mk 2 Machine Gun
British Maxim .303, Converted Mk 2 Machine Gun. Image: IWM (FIR 9397). Copyright: © IWM.

The Ashton Reporter newspaper announced that the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment appointed Lieutenant Frederick Arthur Makin as officer in charge of the machine gun section in its May 2, 1914 edition.  Three months later the same newspaper published the nominal roll of the battalion including the current members of the machine gun section:

 

No Rank First Middle Surname
526 Sgt Thomas Moss
1364 Cpl Frank Howard
1285 Pte Albert MacCormack
1199 Pte Thomas Radcliffe
1353 Pte John William Dodd
471 Pte William Fogg
1371 Pte Abert Edward Neale
1360 Pte John Levi Kendall
1903 Pte Harold Ellis
1157 Pte William Henry Illingworth
1349 Pte Robert Bell
Pte H Cook
1354 Pte William Loyd Shuttleworth
1325 Pte Joseph Kent
1314 Pte John William Andrews
1274 Pte John William Donnelly

Enlisted Men of the Machine Gun Section, Aug 1914

At this time, the battalion’s machine gun section consisted of two .303 calibre Maxim Machine Guns. The British-manufactured Service Maxim was used from late 1890s until its replacement by the Vickers Machine Guns that were introduced into British Service in 1912 and not declared obsolete until 1968. But by the outbreak of war only 109 of the new Vickers Machine Guns had been delivered to the Army.

The Maxim Machine Gun

It’s not possible to know precisely which model of Maxim Machine Gun the battalion was in possession of and so the following description is of a general nature.

Maxim Machine Gun & Tripod

The Maxim Machine Gun operated automatically through a combination of two forces; the recoil generated from the explosion of the powder in each cartridge which pushed backwards and a strong spring which then pushed forwards. A sophisticated set of precisely calibrated and well lubricated mechanical components used this movement to eject the spent cartridge and pull the next live round into position ready to be fired. The gun was belt-fed from 250 round reusable ammunition belts, (made from waterproofed linen with brass strips and eyelets to properly set the ammunition spacing), and was capable of firing 450 rounds per minute (rpm) in rapid fire and a more sedate 70 rpm in controlled fire.

The Maxim was water-cooled, the gun-metal barrel casing holding about seven pints of water to keep the barrel cool when firing. It had three openings, one on the upper right side near the breech for filling, one underneath near the muzzle for drawing off the water, and the third for allowing the steam but not the water to escape. Steam was vented via a flexible tube into a can so that plumes of steam did not give the gun’s position away. When the barrel casing was filled with water about 2,000 rounds could be discharged at short intervals without replenishing, depending on the rapidity of fire. However, once the water started to boil, it evaporated at a rate of around 1 pint for every additional 1,000 rounds fired.

Maxim Machine Gun Ammunition Belt

The Maxim Machine Gun was heavy and bulky, weighing 60lbs. When water was added for cooling it added almost another 10lbs. The tripod weighed around 48lbs and a fully loaded belt plus ammunition box weighed around 22lbs.

Maxim Machine Guns were operated by a crew of four to six men: The Gunner fired the gun; the Reloader quickly reloaded the gun when the 250 round ammunition belt was expended; the Spotter identified and directed fire towards enemy targets; the Ammunition and Water Carriers carried and prepared ammunition and water; and Mounters were responsible for moving and mounting the weapon on its tripod.

Gallipoli (May – June 1915)

When the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment landed at Gallipoli on May 9, 1915 the machine gun section was already short two enlisted men. Pte 471 William Fogg and Pte 1349 Robert Bell were discharged on medical grounds in Egypt before the battalion sailed for Gallipoli.

Additionally, when Lieut. Sydney Marsden was wounded on June 6th, he was reported to be the Officer in charge of the machine gun section and therefore must have replaced Lieut. Makin either in Egypt or shortly after the battalion landed at Gallipoli. Lieut. Makin himself was medically evacuated from the peninsula the following day suffering from typhoid fever. And since Lt. Makin was the natural replacement for Lt. Marsden this caused a problem and the command of the machine gun section passed to Second Lieut. John Matley Robson who had only just arrived in Gallipoli on June 2nd having remained behind in Egypt serving as Officer in Charge of the Base, at Port Said, El Kantara, and Alexandria.

The machine gun section suffered another loss on June 9, 1915 when 1354 Pte. William Loyd Shuttleworth was killed in action. Sergeant 643 Squire Ellor had by this time taken over as senior NCO of the section, (vice Sergeant 526 Thomas Moss), and wrote the following letter to Pte. Shuttleworth’s mother:

“I am sorry to convey this message to you of your brave son’s death. He passed away early this morning. I cannot praise your son’s services enough as a machine gunner. He was a thorough master of his work, and as fearless as anyone in the section. We are very sorry we have had to part with him, but it is God’s will, and we cannot alter His works. Your boy died at his post. Only on Monday night last he kept awake for seven hours attending to two wounded comrades. He said to me that if he had to die, he hoped the Lord would not let him suffer in the way those two men had suffered. He died immediately he was shot. He was a credit to his battalion and his country. May he rest in peace.”

The newspaper report went on to say that Private Shuttleworth formerly worked at Ashton New Moss Colliery, (one of many men in the battalion from the Colliery), and he was killed shortly before his 21st birthday.

8 days later, Pte 1285 Albert MacCormack reported sick with Enteric Fever and was medically evacuated taking no further part in the campaign, eventually being repatriated to England on October 15, 1915.

Meanwhile, 2/Lt. Robson, having been appointed Officer in charge of the machine gun section without any prior experience or training, was ordered to report to the base depot at Gallipoli, behind the firing lines, where he underwent a 10-day course of instruction in the Maxim Machine Gun. He referred to this training in a letter he wrote on June 22, 1915:

“It’s much worse here than in the firing line. Shells are continually dropping round our dug-outs. You can imagine how difficult it is to concentrate your attention on what the instructor is saying when shrapnel and Jack Johnsons are flying round. The battalion has done exceedingly well, and has been praised by the generals, but the cost has been frightful.”

Gallipoli (July 1915)

2/Lt. Robson reported sick with Enteric Fever on July 7, 1915 and was medically evacuated to the 15th General Hospital at Alexandria where he died 10 days later on July 17, 1915.  An old Boy of Manchester Grammar School, John Matley Robson was 23 years old. At this point the command of the machine gun section passed to Lieut. George William Handforth who transferred from B Company to C Company to temporarily take over command after they lost their entire group of officers who had landed six weeks earlier.

On July 12, 1915 Private 1501 George Markham, one of the men added to the machine gun section after the battalion arrived in Egypt, was killed in action. Remarkably, there is no mention of his death in the local newspapers save for a short family-supplied death notice:

In loving memory of our dear son and brother of Private Geo. Markham, 1/9th Manchester Regiment (machine gun section), aged 22 years, who fell in action at the Dardanelles July 12th, 1915.

We’ll not forget you, boy, who died for England. We’ll meet you once again in some far place; Where those we’ve loved and lost will greet us grandly. And tell us how you met death face to face.

And in mid-July the machine gun section lost their second gunner when Pte. 1157 William Henry Illingworth became sick from powder fumes from a Turkish lyddite shell and was medically evacuated to St. George’s Hospital, Malta for treatment. He remained in Malta for 3 months, (until at least late October), and likely returned to Gallipoli after he left the Għajn Tuffieħa Convalescent Camp there.

Machine Gun Section Replacements

Throughout their time at Gallipoli a small set of enlisted men were brought into the machine gun section to fill the holes left by the original members who were killed, wounded or sick. Since such assignments were not recorded on any service records or official records the men below are provided solely from newspaper reports.

 

No Rank First Middle Surname
643 Sgt Squire Ellor
1978 Cpl Arthur Spurrett
2049 Cpl Charles William Gibson
2074 Pte James Hall
1968 Cpl Arnold Willerton
1985 Pte Leonard Smart
1534 Pte Alfred Edwin Snape
1501 Pte George Markham
1667 Pte John Hill

Machine Gun Section Replacements 1915

Gallipoli (August 1915)

In August, the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment was involved in the Battle of Krithia Vineyard (August 6-13) and the machine gun section suffered more casualties.

1353 John William Dodd, (now promoted to Corporal), suffered a bullet wound to the leg on August 7, 1915 and was medically evacuated to England where he spent time in hospital in Plymouth. He did not return to Gallipoli.

A few days later, on August 12, Corporal 2049 Charles William Gibson was also wounded when he took a bullet to the left knee. He too was medically evacuated to England but died on September 15, 1915 from septic poisoning. The September 25, 1915 edition of the Ashton Reporter in part stated:

Most impressive scenes marked the burial, on Saturday, of Corporal Charles William (Carl) Gibson, 23 years, of 342, Mossley-road, Ashton. Corporal Gibson, who was a fitter by trade, and formerly employed at the Patent Loom and Tape Works, Broadbottom, was wounded during, the severe fighting in the Gallipoli Peninsula on August 12th. He was attached to the machine gun section of the 1/9th Manchester Regiment. He was resting in the trench, and had fallen asleep, when he was struck on the knee by a poisoned bullet. Under a rain of lead his comrades carried him out of the trench. On August 29th he was admitted to the 2nd Military Hospital at Weaste, and after strong hopes had been entertained of his recovery he died on September 15th from septic poisoning and syncope.

The body was conveyed home from Weaste on Friday evening. At the interment on Saturday thousands of townspeople lined the streets. The burial was accompanied by full military honours Comrades of Corporal Gibson acted as bearers, and walked on either side the hearse, which was drawn by four horses. A firing party of 16 wounded and invalided Territorials back from Egypt and the Dardanelles were in command of Captain Lees. Lieut. Colonel D. H. Wade was also present.

On August 29, Pte 1314 John William Andrews, one of the original members of the machine gun section, died of wounds. He was buried the following day by the Reverend J.K. Best on a cliff overlooking Gully Beach.

Gallipoli (September – December)

2/Lt. Percy Ainsworth arrived in Gallipoli on Aug 19, 1915 as part of a draft of 4 Officers and 145 men and was allocated to C Company.  On September 17th Capt. (temp) Handforth reported sick to hospital after being sick for some time and 2/Lt. Ainsworth took over command of the machine gun section. 2/Lt Ainsworth remained with the battalion until they evacuated the peninsula on December 27th and there is no indication that anyone else took over his command until he left the battalion in March 1916 when he joined the Royal Flying Corps in Egypt.

On December 12, 1915 the machine gun section suffered its final fatality of the Gallipoli Campaign when 18-year-old Pte 1534 Alfred Edwin Snape was killed in action. Born on December 30, 1896 Alfred joined the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment a few weeks before his 17th birthday and turned 18 while they were training in Egypt. By the Army’s own regulations, he should not have been serving in a combat role at Gallipoli before his 19th birthday. Alfred had been wounded earlier in the campaign when he took a bullet to the thigh, (breaking a sixpenny piece in his pocket into three pieces), and was medically evacuated to Malta where he spent 3 months recovering. He had recently returned and was killed when a shell burst over his machine gun position. A letter of condolence was sent to his parents by his section NCO, Corporal 1968 Arnold Willerton, (himself only 18 years old when he landed in Gallipoli).

Egypt 1916

The 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment evacuated Gallipoli on December 27, 1915 and after a brief stop in Mudros arrived at Alexandria on January 17, 1916. They were taken by train to Cairo and from Cairo Station to Mena Camp by tram. A week later they moved to Tel-el-Kebir, located about 68 miles north-north-east of Cairo. Shortly after, they moved to El Shallufa on the Suez Canal, making camp on the East side of the canal. On February 10th they moved again, this time to El Kabrit, about 20 miles north of Suez where they remained for some time.

The 126 Company, Machine Gun Corps was formed by transfer of the battalion Machine Gun Sections of each of the four battalions of the 126th Infantry Brigade, 42nd (East Lancashire) Division. Throughout the Gallipoli campaign, Divisional Order of Battle and Field State reports consistently recorded that these four battalions were equipped with 2 machine guns each. However, since 28 men of the 9th Manchesters transferred, (with similar numbers from each of the 5th East Lancs, 4th East Lancs and 10th Manchesters), this indicates that the 126 Company’s machine gun count had doubled to 16 most likely with the addition of the newer Vickers machine guns.

Although it is widely accepted that the 126 Company, Machine Gun Corps was formed on March 14, 1916 the surviving service records of the 28 men of the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment contradict this. Their service records indicate that they were transferred to the “Machine Gun Corps, 126 Bdge” on this date. These same men were all subsequently posted to the 126 Company, Machine Gun Corps on August 10, 1916. It is worth noting here that in military terminology that transferred meant a man had been permanently moved to another corps, while posted meant that a man had permanently moved to another unit of the same corps. This implies that the 126 Company was not actually formed until August 10, 1916.

During this period of transfer and posting, many of the men from the 9th Manchesters who transferred went through a formal 10-day machine gun training class at the Imperial School of Instruction, Zeitoun, (a suburb of Cairo), on June 23, 1916.  At least three of them were awarded the proficiency badge of 1st Class Machine Gunner; Thomas Cronin Hardy, James Hall and Mathew Ellison.

Because the Machine Gun Corps was considered to be part of the Regular Army, all of the men from the Territorial Force who transferred had to effectively terminate their engagement with the Territorials and then re-enlist with the Machine Gun Corps. This, among other things, necessitated them undergoing a new medical examination by the Machine Gun Corps doctors to verify their medical eligibility. The paperwork that officially sanctioned their transfer was signed by Lt. Col D.H. Wade on September 29, 1916 while the 9th Manchesters were at Hod en Negiliat, (a “hod” is a plantation of date palms), en-route to El-Arish.

The 28 men of the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment who transferred to the Machine Gun Corps on March 14, 1916 had all served in Gallipoli but only 3 were from the original 16 men of the machine gun section who left England on September 10, 1914.

 

No MGC No Rank First Middle Surname
643 39621 Sgt Squire Ellor
1364 39622 L/Cpl Frank Howard
1968 39623 Cpl Arnold Willerton
3853 39624 L/Cpl Albert Shepley
1816 39625 Pte Alexander McKenzie Whittet
1360 39627 Pte John Levi Kendall
1515 39628 Pte James William Cheetham
1880 39629 Pte Thomas Cronin Hardy
2145 39630 Pte Thomas Lumley
1702 39631 Pte Arnold Myers
3705 39632 Pte Matthew Ellison
3717 39633 Pte John Burgess
3039 39634 Pte George Andrew Brocklehurst
3224 39635 Pte James Buckley
1268 39636 Pte Jesse Edwin Connolly
1891 39637 Pte Joseph Jackson
2883 39638 Pte Albert Loader
1330 39639 L/Cpl Harry Potter
2960 39640 Pte John Samuels
1667 39641 Pte John Hill
1573 39642 Pte Sam Entwistle
3301 39643 Pte Charles Henry Ward
2074 39649 L/Cpl James Hall
1737 39650 Pte Thomas Rackstraw
2624 39651 Pte William Cooper
2549 39652 Pte William Matley
1325 39653 Cpl Joseph Kent
1695 39654 Pte Alfred Smith

Machine Gun Corps Men from the 9th Manchesters, 1916

Note: The rank shown is the rank held upon transfer to the Machine Gun Corps.

This group of men, (with two notable exceptions who were under the age of 19 when they landed in Gallipoli), were generally slightly older than the remainder of the battalion. But life in the Machine Gun Corps was dangerous and four men were later killed in action in France with another five being discharged due to wounds or sickness. Between the 28 men were two winners of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, three winners of the Military Medal and three awards of the Territorial Efficiency Medal and Territorial Force Efficiency Medal.

References:

Handbook for the 0.303″ Maxim Machine Gun (Magazine Rifle Chamber), 1901.

The Devil’s Paintbrush (Sir Hiram Maxim’s Gun) by Dolf L. Goldsmith.

Acknowledgements:

Vickers MG Collection & Research Association

 

Gallipoli Field General Courts Martial of the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment

A review of the WO 213: Judge Advocate General’s Office: Field General Courts Martial and Military Courts, Registers. Field General Courts Martial (1915) shows officers and men of the 1/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment were subjected to 32 cases of Courts Martial in Gallipoli and at least two in Egypt in 1916. The range of offences was quite broad resulting in punishments ranging from the loss of one day’s pay to a sentence of death.

In the late 1800s, Military law was codified by the Army Discipline and Regulation Act, 1879, which was subsequently replaced by the Army Act, 1881. This code of military law continued in force from year to year by an Annual Act, known originally as the Army (Annual) Act which both reaffirmed and provided amendments to the Army Act, 1881. In 1915, the practical application of military law applied in Gallipoli was outlined in the Manual of Military Law, published by the War Office, 1914.

The Army Act, 1881 defined, amongst other things, those offences that were punishable by death and those that were not, and offences that were punishable more severely on active service as well as the differences in punishments for officers and enlisted men. In practice, the offences that the men of the 9th Manchesters were charged with at Gallipoli included Theft, Disobedience, Absence from Camp, Sleeping on Duty, Quitting their Post, Disobeying Orders, Malingering and “Acting to the prejudice of good order and military discipline” – a catch-all offence for anything not explicitly defined in the Act.

In 1915 the British Army recognized three kinds of Courts Martial; Regimental, District and General. Each court held different power of punishments and only the highest, a General Court Martial, could award punishments of penal servitude or death. General Courts Martial required a minimum of five officers, ideally from different regiments and battalions with each having held their commission for at least three years. The president of the court was appointed by the convening officer and could not be below the rank of Major, with a higher rank strongly preferred if available. A Field General Court Martial is an exceptional kind of General Court Martial held overseas or on active service. Due to the exceptional nature of the court a Field General Court Martial required only three officers unless the convening officer was of the opinion that three were not available in which case, they were allowed to consist of only two. However, a court of only two officers could not award any sentence exceeding two years imprisonment or three months field punishment. A sentence of death required the concurrence of all the members of the court.

In Gallipoli, verdicts and sentences rendered by the Field General Courts Martial for battalions in the 42nd (East Lancs) Division were reviewed by the G.O.C. 42nd Division and then by the G.O.C. 8th Army Corps. The courts held the responsibility of prosecuting the cases, rendering the verdicts and applying statutory sentences while the higher authority of the Divisional and Corps quashed, commuted, suspended or endorsed sentences to normalize the court rulings and apply some element consistency.

Let’s look more closely at the offences that were tried and the punishments given out to the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment in Gallipoli.

Offence: Theft

The 9th Manchesters landed at Gallipoli on May 9, 1915 and less than two weeks later two men were tried and convicted of theft. In order to prove the case, the court had to find an intention to steal and that the men fraudulently took property without the owner’s consent with the intent of permanently depriving the owner of said property. Whether the theft was from the military establishment or from a comrade we do not know but we can see that both men received a relatively light sentence of 14 days Field Punishment. Consequently, we can assume that the offence was proven but not considered particularly serious.

Rank No First Surname FGCM Date Theft FP
Pte 2208 GEORGE PRICE 21-May-15 X 14 days
Pte 1660 HAROLD GARTSIDE 21-May-15 X 14 days

Note:

There were two categories field punishment. Field punishment No. 1, which consisted of heavy labouring duties, and being restrained in handcuffs or fetters, and being tied to a fixed object, such as a post or wheel, for two or more hours a day. Field punishment No. 2 differed, in that the offender was not liable to be attached to a fixed object.

Offence: Sleeping on Duty or Quitting Post without Permission

Section 6 of the Army Act 1881, Offences Punishable more Severely on Active Service than at Other Times, point (1) sub-section (k) states:

(1.) Every person subject to military law who commits any of the following offences; that is to say,

(k ) Being a soldier acting as sentinel, commits any of the following offences; that is to say,

(i.) sleeps or is drunk on his post; or
(ii.) leaves his post before he is regularly relieved,

shall, on conviction by court-martial, if he commits any such offence on active service, be liable to suffer death, or such less punishment as is in this Act mentioned.

Needless to say, when on active service in a combat zone, any soldier acting as a sentinel who either sleeps on his post or leaves his post before he is relieved commits a very serious offence endangering the lives of his comrades and jeopardizing the safety of his unit. Not surprisingly these offences are clearly called out in the Army Act, 1881 and carry a sentence of death or some other lower but serious penalty. In order to render a death sentence the three officers of the Field General Court Martial must be unanimous in their decision.

Rank No First Surname

FGCM Date

Chg

Hard Lab

Remit’d
Pte HARGREAVES 22-Jun-15 S 6m Susp
Pte 1434 PERCY LEE 22-Jun-15 S 9m Susp
Pte J JACKSON 22-Jun-15 S 9m Susp
Pte 1915 GEORGE MURPHY 06-Jul-15 S 24m Susp
Pte 1644 ARTHUR ADSHEAD 09-Sep-15 S Death Comm
Pte 1693 ALBERT ORTON 24-Sep-15 S 12m Comm
Pte 1629 JOSEPH WHIPP 09-Jul-15 Q 24m Susp

Notes:

  1. The Field General Courts Martial register provides only the surname and initials of the men charged and, in some cases, not even the initial. In the table above, “HARGREAVES” could be either Pte 1580 Norman Hargreaves or (more likely) Pte. 1952 Harold Hargreaves.
  2. “J JACKSON” could be any one of three men; Pte. 1891 Joseph Jackson, Pte. 2169 John Jackson or Pte. 2171 John Jackson.

A suspension of punishment meant that the case was periodically reviewed and the punishment liable to be reinstated if the man’s subsequent behaviour warranted it, whereas commuting the sentence, although not erasing the conviction, permanently reduced or removed the punishment associated with it and was therefore not subject to periodic review.

Looking at each of these cases a little more closely:

The first three cases were brought approximately six weeks after the battalion landed in Gallipoli and on the same day that they returned to bivouac after almost 3 straight weeks in the trenches. A period that saw the two bloodiest days that the battalion would experience at Gallipoli. All three cases were for sleeping on post and since the case against Hargreaves resulted in a lower punishment than the others, we can conclude that court felt there were some mitigating circumstances there. Upon review by a higher authority, (the G.O.C. 42nd Division), all three sentences were suspended implying that the charges were primarily brought to make the point to all members of the battalion that potentially serious consequences awaited anyone caught sleeping on post.

But if that was the intent it didn’t have the desired effect because just two weeks later, Pte. 1915 George Murphy was convicted of the same offence and given a substantially harsher sentence of 2 years hard labour. This sentence, like the previous three, was subsequently suspended upon review. And a few days later, Pte. 1629 Joseph Whipp was convicted of leaving his post before being properly relieved, (the only man in the battalion to be so charged in the Gallipoli campaign), and received the same sentence of 2 years hard labour, again suspended upon review.

At this point it’s worth remembering that the Field General Court Martial date was the date of the trial and not the date of the offence, which was of course committed sometime earlier. June saw the biggest casualty figures for the battalion during the whole Gallipoli campaign and apart from a very small draft of one officer and 16 men arriving in late June the first substantial draft of men to bolster the dwindling numbers of combat ready men in the 9th Manchesters did not arrive until July 23, 1915. This perhaps played a role in the suspension of sentences as every able-bodied soldier was needed.

Pte. 1644 Arthur Adshead was the next man to be tried for sleeping at his post on September 9, 1915 and was found guilty and given a sentence of death. Without the trial transcripts we have no way to know why his case was treated significantly more harshly than the previous cases but the record shows that his sentence was commuted to 10 years of penal servitude. But we also know that Pte. Adshead went on to win the Military Medal in April 1918, (one of four men court martialed in Gallipoli to subsequently be awarded medals for bravery), while still serving with the Manchester Regiment and so we must assume the military authorities came to their senses and suspended the commuted sentence.

The last man of the 9th Manchesters to be charged with sleeping at his post was Pte. 1693 Albert Edward Orton. Fortunately, his service record has survived and it contains the following notes:

Deputy Judge Advocate General (DJAG), MEF       September 24, 1915

Tried by FGCM Section 6(1k). When a soldier acting as a sentinel on active service, sleeping on his post in that he, in the field, on 6th Sept 1915 about 10:15pm when acting as a sentry in the trenches was asleep. Found guilty and sentenced to be imprisoned with hard labour for one year. (The Court recommends the accused to mercy on the grounds that he is very young and had been unreasonably overworked). Confirmed by G.O.C. 42nd Division who remitted six months of the imprisonment. Sentence commuted to one of Field Punishment No 1 for three months by G.O.C. 8th Army Corps dated October 13, 1915.

Battalion              October 6, 1915

Awarded 10 days Field Punishment No 2 for absenting himself while on fatigue.

The court’s recommendation conveys two key pieces of information; that he was “very young” and that he had been “unreasonably overworked”.

Pte. Orton was an underage soldier who joined the battalion during the big recruiting drive of February 14, 1914 when he was 17 years old. After serving with the battalion in Egypt from September 1914 to May 1915 he was still only 18 years old when he landed in Gallipoli and would not turn 19 until September 11, 1915. By the military’s own regulations, he should not have been allowed to serve in a front-line combat role but instead should have been posted to a training or other unit behind the firing line. The battalion knew his age, he did not lie on his attestation papers, and deployed him into the firing line at Gallipoli anyway, along with dozens of other underage soldiers. Because of this, Pte. Orton celebrated his 19th birthday in captivity awaiting trial by Field General Court Martial and probably aware that the last man of the battalion who was charged with sleeping on duty received a death sentence.

Throughout their time on the peninsula the men and boys of the 9th Manchesters were required to work almost constantly on fatigue duties whenever they were out of the firing line. By September 6th Pte. Orton had been in Gallipoli for almost 4 months and had endured the most dangerous and difficult living conditions imaginable. The effects of poor food, contaminated water, intense heat and little or no ability to properly rest accumulated in all the men and dozens of them with less robust constitutions and fitness reported sick.  To say that the men were unreasonably overworked was an understatement and in retrospect it would have perhaps been expedient to make sure that men held sentry duty in pairs to prevent sleeping.

It’s also worth noting that Pte. Orton went on to win the Military Medal for bravery in the field in April 1918 while still serving with the battalion.

Offence: Absence from Camp

Section 15 of the Army Act 1881, Absence from Duty Without Leave, points (1) and (3) state:

Every person subject to military law who commits any of the following offences; that is to say,

(1.) Absents himself without leave; or

(3.) Being a soldier, when in camp or garrison or elsewhere, is found beyond any limits fixed or in any place prohibited by any general garrison or other order, without a pass or written leave from his commanding officer.

shall on conviction by court-martial be liable, if an officer, to be cashiered, or to suffer such less punishment as is in this Act mentioned, and if a soldier, to suffer imprisonment, or such less punishment as is in this Act mentioned.

Rank No First Surname FGCM Date Abs

Field Punish

Cpl 2765 WALTER TRACEY 27-Jun-15 Q Ranks
Pte 2719 GEORGE DEAN 27-Jun-15 Q 60 days
Pte 2713 JOSEPH TAYLOR 27-Jun-15 Q 60 days
Pte 2802 REGINALD JONES 27-Jun-15 Q 60 days
Pte 1979 WILLIAM COYNE 28-Aug-15 X 56 days 2
Pte 1345 ERIC GOLIGHTLY 28-Aug-15 X 56 days 2

This charge was used against men who had left their trench without explicit permission to do so for any reason, including in the face of an overwhelming assault by the enemy that they stood no chance of repulsing.

On Saturday November 6, 1915 the Ashton Reporter published an article written by an anonymous NCO of C Company which in part recounted some details of the bayonet charge on the night of June 18th:

During the period the company was in this trench “B” Company made an attempt on the 18th June to clear the Turks out of two small trenches, but they found the Turks in such great numbers that they had to retire, and the Turks charged our trench, which was held by a few of “C” Company and a number of 10thManchesters, and gained a footing in a part of it. Both Lieut. Wade and Lieut. Connery took part in “B” Company’s attack, volunteering for the job, and led portions of the men, but Lieut. Wade unfortunately failed to return when the company retired. It was a terrible night, and several attempts were made by various units to recover the ground lost, but without success. “B” Company lost heavily, and Capt. Sugden was mortally wounded.

The 9th Manchesters’ war diary noted that they suffered 9 killed, 17 missing and 33 wounded in addition to the loss of Capt. Sugden and 2/Lt. Jack Wade.

On June 26th thirteen men of the 10th Manchesters were court martialed under Section 15. All were found guilty and each one was awarded 14 days field punishment number 1. The following day, four men of the 9th Manchesters were court martialed on the same charge, almost certainly for their part in the events that night. Corporal 2765 Walter Tracey lost his stripe and the other three men were awarded 60 days field punishment. All four had just days before arrived in Gallipoli as part of a small draft and were ill equipped to be thrust into the situation they found themselves embroiled in that night.

Later in the war, one of those men, Pte 2713 Joseph Taylor went on to win the Military Medal for bravery in the field, awarded in June 1918 after he had transferred to the Machine Gun Corps.

In late August, another two men were convicted of the same offence and were each given a sentence of 8 weeks field punishment number 2. One of the men, Pte 1345 Eric Golightly, was at the time only 18 years old and, like Pte Orton who was convicted of sleeping on sentry duty, should not have been in Gallipoli before his 19th birthday. However, unlike Pte Orton, there is no record of Pte Golightly receiving any clemency from the Divisional or Corps authorities for his age.

Offence: Disobedience

Section 9 of the Army Act 1881, Disobedience to Superior Officer, states:

    1. Every person subject to military law who commits the following offence; that is to say,

Disobeys in such manner as to show a wilful defiance of authority any lawful command given personally by his superior officer in the execution of his office, whether the same is given orally or in writing, or by signal or otherwise, shall on conviction by court-martial be liable to suffer death, or such less punishment as is in this Act mentioned; and

    1. Every person subject to military law who commits the following offence; that is to say, disobeys any lawful command given by his superior officer, shall, on conviction by court-martial, if he commits such offence on active service, be liable to suffer penal servitude, or such less punishment as is in this Act mentioned; and if he commits such offence not on active service, be liable, if an officer to be cashiered, or to suffer such less punishment as is in this Act mentioned, and if a soldier, to suffer imprisonment, or such less punishment as is in this Act mentioned.
Rank No First Surname FGCM Date Chg HL FP
Pte 3345 GEORGE HAMBLETON 09-Sep-15 S.9.1 18m
Pte 517 FRANK CAWLEY 13-Mar-16 X 6m
L/Cpl 1792 ALBERT DAVIES 09-Sep-15 Sgt 90d – 2
Pte 885 FRANK GODDARD 22-Jul-15 SO 42d – 1
A/Sgt 1592 EDWARD ALLOTT 25-Oct-15 SO

Note:

  1. Acting Sergeant Edward Allot was found Not Guilty.

The Manual of Military Law. War Office, 1914 provides some guidance on the nature of this offence:

Closely connected with the offence of mutiny is the offence of disobedience to a lawful command, which is punishable under S. 9 of the Act (a). No offences differ more in degree than offences of this class. The disobedience may be of a trivial character, or may be an offence of the most serious description, amounting, if two or more persons join in it, to mutiny. Accordingly, the object of this section is to enable charges to be framed in such manner as to discriminate between different degrees of the offence.

Pte 3345 George Hambleton joined the 9th Manchesters on the 9th or 10th of January, 1915. He trained in the UK with the 2/9th Battalion at Southport and then Pease Pottage before landing in Gallipoli on August 22, 1915 as part of the second large draft of men that reinforced the 1/9th Manchesters. Within two weeks of landing, he must have committed his act of disobedience and was charged with the more serious offence of wilful disobedience. Found guilty he was sentenced to 18 months of hard labour.

Pte 517 Frank Cawley was a long-time member of the 9th Manchesters attesting on January 6, 1909. He attended all of the battalion’s summer camps from 1909 until the outbreak of war and had re-engaged for four more years on April 1, 1913. He deployed with the battalion to Egypt in September 1914 and landed on Gallipoli on May 9, 1915. His service record shows no evidence of being sick or wounded throughout the campaign and he subsequently deployed to Egypt in 1916 with the rest of the battalion. But something about him had changed on the peninsula and in January and February 1916 he was given 7-days confinement to barracks followed by 14-days of field punishment number 2 for two counts of “inattention on parade”. His service record then contains the following:

Tried by FGCM, El Kabrit, for when on active service March 6, 1916 (wilfully) disobeying a lawful command given by his superior officer in the execution of his office. Sentenced to six months imprisonment with hard labour. March 13 to September 12, 1916.

Sentence of 6 months imprisonment with hard labour now suspended. June 9, 1916.

He was released on June 15th but he continued to be written up for a series of minor acts of defiance, (late on parade, absent from parade, hesitating to obey an order), during 1916 and 1917. In 1918 he transferred to the 2nd East Lancs Regiment where he again committed a series of minor infractions (failing to salute the Regimental Sergeant Major, Insolence to the Regimental Police and falling out of line during a march without permission). In 1919, since he was still carrying a suspended sentence, his case came up for review and his commanding officer somewhat remarkably recommended that his sentence should be remitted since “his character has been very good (3 trivial offences) and he has carried out his duties in a willing manner and to the complete satisfaction of his superiors.” And indeed, his sentence was remitted by the Brigadier-General of the 100th Infantry Brigade on September 11, 1919.

L/Cpl 1792 Albert Davies joined the 9th Manchesters on February 16, 1914 which was the Monday immediately following the big recruiting drive. All of those men who attended the “Smoking Concert” at Ashton Town Hall on the previous Saturday but ran out of time to attest were told to report to the Armoury on February 16th. Albert was 17 years and 6 months old when he attested and gave his correct age. Consequently, he was still only 18 years old when he landed in Gallipoli and did not turn 19 until July 7, 1915. So, although he should have been held back in Egypt for two months before landing in Gallipoli, he was 19 years old when he committed his offence in September. He was found guilty and awarded 3 months of field punishment number 2. Based upon this sentence we can conclude that the charge against him was not one of wilful disobedience. Nevertheless, this means that he had just completed his sentence when, on December 19, 1915 he won the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Pte 885 Frank Goddard was a long-time member of the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment attesting in 1909 and by the outbreak of war he was a Lance Corporal. Nevertheless, on July 22nd 1915 he was convicted of disobedience to a senior officer and awarded 6 weeks of field punishment number 1. Based upon this sentence we can conclude that the charge against him was not one of wilful disobedience.

Offence: Malingering

Section 18, point (1) of the Army Act 1881, Disgraceful Conduct of Soldier, states:

Every soldier who commits any of the following offences; that is to say,

(1.) Malingers, or feigns or produces disease or infirmity shall on conviction by court-martial be liable to suffer imprisonment, or such less punishment as is in this Act mentioned.

More specifically, the Manual of Military War, 1914 specifies that Section 18.1b is Feigning or Producing disease or infirmity, (as opposed to malingering).

Rank No First Surname FGCM Date Charge Not Guilty
Pte 2328 WILLIAM GODDARD 25-Aug-15 S.18.1b X
Pte J JACKSON 25-Aug-15 S.18.1b X
Pte T McCLUSKY 25-Aug-15 S.18.1b X
L/Cpl 1553 HAROLD MORRIS 25-Aug-15 S.18.1b X

Notes:

    1. “J JACKSON” could be any one of three men; Pte. 1891 Joseph Jackson, Pte. 2169 John Jackson or Pte. 2171 John Jackson.
    2. There was no “T McCLUSKY; there was only Pte 2005 Francis (Frank) McClusky and Pte 2072 Henry (Harry) McClusky.

At the time of the Field General Court Martial on August 25, 1915 Major Thomas Frankish, RAMC was attached to the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment as its Medical Officer, (M.O.), a role that he filled until he was transferred on August 31st. It is likely that the charges originated with him but no surviving records exist. Major Frankish was appointed the battalion’s M.O. just before they landed in Gallipoli replacing their long-time M.O. Surgeon Major Albert Hilton who died from meningitis in Egypt in February 1914. Thus, Major Frankish did not know any of the men and was likely not sympathetically disposed towards them. The assumption is that each of these men reported sick in late August, were examined by Major Frankish and summarily put on a charge. Since they were all found not guilty it’s possible that, left untreated, one or more of them became undeniably sicker by the time of the trial and were consequently exonerated.

Regardless of what actually happened, all four men were found not guilty, Major Frankish was transferred to the 1/3rd East Lancs Field Ambulance shortly thereafter and no more men of the battalion were charged with this offence throughout the remainder of the campaign.

Offence: Conduct to the Prejudice of Military Discipline

Section 40 of the Army Act 1881, Conduct to the Prejudice of Military Discipline, states:

Every person subject to military law who commits any of the following offences; that is to say,

Is guilty of any act, conduct, disorder, or neglect, to the prejudice of good order and military discipline, shall on conviction by court-martial be liable, if an officer, to be cashiered, or to suffer such less punishment as is in this Act mentioned, and if a soldier, to suffer imprisonment, or such less punishment as is in this Act mentioned. Provided that no person shall be charged under this section in respect of any offence for which special provision is made in any other part of this Act, and which is not a civil offence; nevertheless the conviction of a person so charged shall not be invalid by reason only of the charge being in contravention of this proviso, unless it appears that injustice has been done to the person charged by reason of such contravention; but the responsibility of any officer for that contravention shall not be removed by the validity of the conviction.

Rank No First Surname FGCM Date Chg HL Remitted
Pte 1350 GEORGE WILTON 11-Jul-15 S.40 12m Susp
Pte J HAMPSON 20-Jul-15 S.40 12m Susp
Pte 1658 JONATHAN POTTER 03-Oct-15 S.40 12m Comm

Table 1 – Serious Cases of Section 40

Note:

  1. “J HAMPSON” could be either Pte 1246 John Hampson or Pte 1836 James Hampson.
Rank No First Surname FGCM Date Chg FP
Pte E JONES 16-Aug-15 S.40 1m – 2
Pte 2854 FRANCIS HAWKINS 16-Aug-15 S.40 1m – 2
L/Cpl 2413 HERBERT PARKINSON 16-Sep-15 S.40 42d – 1
Pte 3378 WILLIAM HADFIELD 25-Sep-15 S.40 42d – 2
Pte 2174 HARRY PRATT 03-Oct-15 S.40 56d – 2

Table 2 – Moderate Cases of Section 40

Note:

  1. “E JONES” could be Pte 1613 Edward Jones, Pte 1897 Edward Jones or Pte 2073 Everett Jones.
  2. The case against Pte. William Hadfield was quashed.
Rank No First Surname FGCM Date Chg Pay
CQMS 108 ROBERT JACKSON 09-Sep-15 S.40 1d

Table 3 – Trivial Case of Section 40

Section 40 is a catch-all for offences that are not otherwise explicitly called out elsewhere in the Army Act, 1881. The Manual of Military Law, 1914 provides some interesting notes regarding the enforcement of charges under Section 40.

To sustain a charge under this section it is absolutely necessary that the charge should recite the words of the Act. That is to say, there must be charged an “act” or “conduct,” or “disorder,” or “neglect,” as the case may be, “to the prejudice of good order and military discipline.”

But the mere use of these words as a description of certain conduct does not warrant a court in assuming that such conduct is legally an offence. A court is not warranted in convicting unless of the opinion that the conduct charged was to the prejudice both of good order and of military discipline, having regard to the conduct itself and to the circumstances in which it took place.

Neglect must be wilful or culpable, and not merely arising from ordinary forgetfulness or error of judgment, or inadvertence; and where the use of certain words regarding superiors is made the subject of a charge under this section, the words must have been said meaningly, i.e., with a guilty intent.

In other words, to successfully bring a charge and convict a man under Section 40 the court must believe that he wilfully acted, conducted himself, or behaved with disorder, or wilfully neglected to do something the direct result of which was both to the prejudice of good order and of military discipline.

Three examples, amongst many others, provided by the Manual of Military Law, 1929 include; Negligent performance of duties connected with money or stores resulting in a deficiency and loss, Borrowing money from subordinates, and Accepting gifts an as inducement for arranging or excusing duties.

It is apparent from the sentences that the court saw the offences of Wilton, Hampson and Potter to be of a serious nature although it is notable that all three were either suspended or commuted by the Divisional and Corps authorities.

The offences committed by Pte. Jones and Pte. Hawkins resulting in 30 days of field punishment number 2 were comparatively minor transgressions and those committed by Parkinson and Pratt progressively more serious. Pte 3378 William Hadfield’s case was not of a particularly serious nature but his conviction was overturned by the Divisional and Corps authorities which was quite unusual.

Finally, we have the strange case of Company Quartermaster Sergeant (CQMS) 108 Robert Jackson of D Company, an Old Volunteer and holder of the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal. As one of the most senior and trusted NCOs of the battalion it must have been particularly galling and embarrassing for him to be tried by Field General Court Martial. Since no records survive, we have no way of knowing the nature of the charge but the sentence of a loss of 1 day’s pay indicates that whatever it was it should have been dealt with at the battalion level and not by Court Martial.

Officer Field General Court Martial

Lt. James Alfred Parker of the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment was court martialed in Shallufa, Egypt on February 14, 1916 for “Disobeying CC”. He was found guilty and sentenced to be cashiered after 12 weeks hard labour. His sentence was remitted to 56 days at which point he was to be returned to the UK and dishonourably discharged from the Army.

The WO 90/6 Judge Advocate General’s Office: General Courts Martial Registers Abroad provides the following details:

Lt. J. A. Parker 1/9th Bn, The Manchester Regt (TF)
Trial Date: 14th Feb 1916.
Where Held: Shallufa
Nature of Charge: Disobeying CC
Sentence: Cashiered & 84 days Hard Labour
Remitted: 56 days

The London Gazette of the 5th April, 1916 carried the following entry:

Manchester Reg’t. Lieut. James A. Parker is cashiered by sentence of a General Court-Martial. 29th Feb, 1916.

James Alfred Parker was commissioned into the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment as a Second Lieutenant on 8th May, 1914. He sailed with the battalion to Egypt in September 1914 and there was promoted to Lieutenant. On May 9, 1915 he landed on Gallipoli as a platoon commander of B Company. He participated in the bayonet charge of June 18th and became acting Company Commander when Capt. Harold Sugden was mortally wounded. Just under 3 weeks later he was medically evacuated to the UK suffering from enteric fever. After recovering at home, he sailed back to Egypt and rejoined the battalion on January 21, 1916 while they were at Mena Camp in Cairo. Although physically recovered, all was not well because just three days later he wilfully disobeyed the lawful orders of his Company Commander and was imprisoned pending a Field General Court Martial. On February 14, 1916 the court was convened in Shallufa where the battalion had now moved and he was found guilty. The sentence was subsequently remitted to 8 weeks by the G.O.C. 42nd Division and the record shows that after serving just 37 days of his sentence in Egypt he was returned to the UK to be cashiered.

Regimental Court Martial

On March 16, 1916 the 3/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment convened a Regimental Court Martial at Codford to try a Gallipoli veteran Cpl. 1205 Samuel Eyre with an offence under Section 40 of the Army Act, 1881. Corporal Eyre joined the 9th Manchesters on July 1, 1911 and was a Lance-Corporal when the battalion deployed to Egypt in September 1914. He served with them in Egypt and landed in Gallipoli on May 9, 1915. Just over seven weeks later he reported sick with enteric fever and was medically evacuated to Mudros and subsequently back to the UK on September 1, 1915. By October he was out of hospital and after a short furlough reported for duty with the 3/9th Manchesters. By early 1916, all of the 1/9th Battalion men who had been medically evacuated from Gallipoli, and had sufficiently recovered, joined the 3/9th at Codford forming an “Overseas Company”.

On March 11, 1916 Cpl. Eyre was absent without leave from Tatoo, (end of day call to barracks), and did not return for 19 hours, for which he was duly reprimanded. Three days later he was court martialed, charged under Section 40 of acting to the prejudice of good order and military discipline for smoking on parade. The court was ordered by Lt-Col. R.B. Nowell the acting Commanding Officer of the 3/9th Battalion and himself a Gallipoli veteran. The president of the court was Capt. N. Wilkinson of the 3/9th Battalion and the other two members of the court were Lt. W.T. Forshaw, V.C., and 2/Lt. C.E. Cooke both Gallipoli veterans of the 1/9th Manchesters. Capt. A.G. Birchenall, Adjutant of the 3/9th Battalion was the prosecutor. The charge was brought by C.S.M. 806 Cornelius Finch on the orders of 2/Lt. W.J. Ablitt. CSM 339 Mathew James Buckley made a short and mildly positive character statement on behalf of the accused. All three were Gallipoli veterans. There was no officer appointed to aid with the defence. Cpl. Eyre plead guilty and was reduced to the ranks.

Gallipoli Field General Courts Martial Summary

In all, 32 enlisted men of the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment were court martialed in Gallipoli, five of whom were found not guilty and one had their conviction quashed. Nobody from the battalion was charged with cowardice or desertion. Half of the remaining cases were for sleeping or leaving without permission while on sentry duty or for leaving the trenches without permission. These cases generally resulted in the harshest penalties of imprisonment with hard labour and in one case death. All of these sentences were either commuted or suspended upon review but the clear intent was to send a message to all in the battalion. Contradicting the implication that this group of men were somehow of low moral fiber it’s important to note that at least two of them were underage and four of them went on to be decorated for bravery in the field.

259 Field General Courts Martial were held during the Gallipoli Campaign, (including a handful at Mustapha, Egypt and a couple at Mudros), for enlisted men of the 12 infantry battalions of the 42nd (East Lancs) Division. The 126th Infantry Brigade, that the 9th Manchesters belonged to, accounted for almost half of those cases and the brigade was responsible for more than half of all the cases of insubordination, disobedience and theft, thanks largely to the contribution of the 1/5th East Lancs Regiment. On a more positive note, the 126th Brigade accounted for only two of the nine cases of cowardice that were prosecuted by the 42nd Division.

Table of “standard” offences of a Field General Court Martial:

Section Standard Offences
4 Cowardice
12 Desertion
10 Absence and Breaking out of Barracks or Camp
8 Striking or Violence to Superior Officer
10 Insubordination and Threatening Disobedience
6 Quitting or Sleeping on Post
19 Drunkenness
24 Injuring or Making away with Property, etc.
24 Losing Property, etc.
18 Theft
18 Indecency
10 Resisting or Escaping Escort
22 Escaping Confinement

Table of “miscellaneous” offences that the enlisted men of the 42nd (East Lancs) Division were charged with during the Gallipoli Campaign:

Section Miscellaneous Offence
S.5.5 Spreading reports intended to create unnecessary alarm and despondency
S.9.1 Disobeying in such a manner as to show wilful defiance of authority
S.11 Neglecting to obey orders
S.12.2a Attempting to persuade someone to desert
S.18.1b Feigning or producing disease or infirmity
S.18.2a Wilfuly injuring yourself or another soldier with the intent to render them unfit for service
S.20.2 Wilfully and w/o reasonable excuse allowing someone to escape who was in their charge or whose duty it was to guard
S.24.5 Ill-treating a horse
S.40 Any act, conduct, disorder, or neglect, to the prejudice of good order and military discipline

 

 

 

Lance-Corporal Albert Davies, DCM

Albert Davies was born on July 7, 1896 in Dukinfield, Cheshire. His father, James Davies, was a miner from Wales who had married Priscilla Mills of Dukinfield, whose father was also a miner. Albert was the oldest of four boys with an older sister and two younger sisters. The family lived in Dukinfield for several years before moving to Wales. By 1911 the family had moved back to Ashton under Lyne and Albert was working as a felt hatter, probably in one of the many hat manufacturers in Denton.

In February 1914, the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment was under strength and so a big recruiting drive at Ashton Town Hall was organized for the evening of Saturday February 14. Albert likely attended that night but like several others decided to attest a little late into the evening and was instead told to report to the Armoury on the following Monday. This he duly did and was the first of that group to sign his papers that day. By this time, he had changed professions and was working at the Victor Mill in Stalybridge.

L/Cpl. Albert Davies

At the outbreak of war, the battalion was mobilised and on August 20, 1914 they marched into Chesham Fold Camp, Bury. Throughout August around 100 new recruits were added, many of whom had previously served with the battalion in the pre-war years. On September 1, 1914 another 100+ men were added, many of whom were friends and family of the existing members of the battalion. On Wednesday September 9 the battalion entrained to Southampton and at midnight the following day sailed for Egypt. In Egypt the men were drilled, trained and worked hard to build fitness and endurance. Additionally, the old eight Company model (A-H) was replaced with a four Company model (A-D), 4 platoons in each Company and 4 sections in each platoon.

The battalion landed at Gallipoli under shell fire on Sunday May 9, 1915 and at that time Albert Davies was an 18-year-old Lance-Corporal a couple of months shy of his 19th birthday. Consequently, according to Army Regulations he should have been held back in Egypt or deployed in reserve away from the firing line. Needless to say, he wasn’t but managed to survive the dangerous and difficult conditions of Gallipoli. But a few weeks after he passed his 19th birthday he was brought before a Field General Court Martial and charged under section 9 of the Army Act 1881 with “disobedience” to a Sergeant. He was found guilty and awarded 3 months of field punishment number 2, implying that the charge against him was not one of wilful disobedience which would have carried a harsher sentence. He completed his sentence on December 9, 1915 and the following day the battalion deployed from Corps Reserve to the trenches.

By late December, the Allies made the decision to evacuate the Peninsula and operations switched to disguising the intent to leave through a number of small distracting operations. The battalion war diary for December 19, 1915 is unusually expansive:

Morning quiet. In the afternoon a small action took place at 14:15, a large mine was exploded about 30 yards from the N.E. corner of FUSILIER BLUFF and immediately after 5 smaller mines. It was expected that this mine would form a large crater and a party was told off to occupy this. The party consisted of 16 bombers, a working party under 2nd Lieut. GRAY and 26 men of ‘B’ Coy. All went exactly as ordered and the men went over the parapet in a splendid manner, but unfortunately the mine failed to form a crater and when the men got out there was no cover at all and the Turkish trench being intact the enemy fired deliberately from loop holes at the party. 2nd Lieut. GRAY stayed out until it became evident that nothing could be done when he gave the order to retire. The enemy shelled the MULE TRENCH and our Support Line very heavily whilst the action was in progress but did little damage. Our casualties amounted to 3 killed, 1 missing, 11 wounded. The night passed quickly.

Corporal James Greenhalgh was interviewed by the Ashton Reporter newspaper and explained what happened that day (as published in the Ashton Reporter on July 15):

“It was on the 19th December, 1915, I was ordered to take a party of men over the top, and we got to within ten yards of the Turkish trench. At the same time there was a mine blown up. It should have made a big hole in the front of the Turkish trench. The intention was for us to have got in this hole, but when we got to the place no hole had been made, and we had to lie in the open, and the Turks potting at us from ten yards away. It was a good job the Turks were nervous, or else there would have been none of us left to tell the tale.

The object was for us to get in the crater and build it up with sandbags, and then our bombers could have bombed the Turks out of their trench, but it didn’t come off as we expected. Anyway, we all got back to our trench except one poor lad who was killed.

Lance-Corporal Davies, D.C.M. was with the same party of men.”

In fact, when 2nd Lieut. Alfred Gray gave the order to retire, Sgt. Greenhalgh and L/Cpl. Davis stayed exposed, just 10-12 yards away from the Turkish trench, and covered the other men’s withdrawal while under heavy fire, only returning to safety themselves after their party had been able to return to the Allied trenches.

On June 2, 1916 the London Gazette announced the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal to Sgt. Greenhalgh and the London Gazette of June 21 carried the following citation:

1792 L/C. A. Davis, 9th Bn., Manch. R., T.F.

For conspicuous gallantry when covering a retirement under very heavy fire at a few yards range.

The annotated D.C.M. listing does not provide much additional information but the long-forgotten administrative code of “B1-131” directly links this award with that of (now Sergeant Greenhalgh.

Albert Davies DCM Citation

2/Lt. Alfred Gray, who was commanding the small group of Manchesters, was eventually awarded the Military Cross, in May 1919, for “gallant and distinguished services in the Field” but there is little doubt that this action, on this day, was a significant contributing factor to his award.

Unlike most of the other DCM winners of the 9th Manchesters Albert was not interviewed by the local newspapers but on June 10, 1916 the Ashton Reporter published a few lines from his mother:

When a “Reporter” representative saw Mrs. Davies, the mother of Lance-corpl. Albert Davies, also referred to the fact that it was her son’s 20th birthday, and she was quite pleased at the birthday present the King had announced for her son. He is still in Egypt and she has not seen him since he left Ashton in September 1914, a long and anxious time for a mother. Nothing would give her greater pleasure than to hear that the Ashton territorials had been given a richly deserved holiday, and to see her boy’s face once again. Mrs. Davies is not alone by any means in expressing such a sentiment. Her son has not given any inkling of the way in which he earned the decoration. Before the war Lance-corpl. Davies worked at the Victor Mill, Stalybridge, and his former workmates are highly delighted at the honour gained by their old associate.

After Gallipoli, Albert deployed to Egypt with the battalion and then subsequently to France. In late 1917 he was seriously wounded and medically repatriated back to Ashton under Lyne, where on Saturday December 15, 1917 the Ashton Reporter published a brief update but by now the interest in his DCM exploits had passed.

Lance-corpl. Albert Davies, of 55 William Street, Ashton, and formerly of 90 Hertford Street, is in the Richmond House Hospital suffering from wounds. He is 21 years of age, and was awarded the D.C.M. in December 1915, for conspicuous bravery.

After he recovered, he joined the Labour Corps and was discharged on February 14, 1919 receiving a war pension for disability. On Valentine’s Day 1920 he married Lillian May Wagstaff and they had four children over the next six years raising their family in Ashton. Albert Davies, DCM died in Ashton in 1953, he was just 56 years old.

9th Battalion Manchester Regiment RAMC (Attached)

In addition to the enlisted men of the 1/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment, five Territorial Force (TF) Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) enlisted men from the 1/2nd East Lancs Field Ambulance were attached to the battalion and accompanied them to Egypt and Gallipoli. These five men were, for all intents and purposes, regular members of the battalion posted to a Company but who reported to the battalion’s Medical Officer, Surgeon Major Albert Hilton, RAMC.

Lance-Sgt. 176 Henry (Harry) Cooper, Pte. 179 Richard Cooper, Pte. 177 Joe Bridge, Pte. 270 Richard Handley and Pte. 317 Joseph Rothwell were all from Ashton and Dukinfield and were all former members of the battalion who had subsequently been posted to the RAMC. In their late twenties at the outbreak of war, at least three were former Old Volunteers (and one missed being an Old Volunteer by just a few weeks). Four of them also worked together at New Moss Colliery, Ashton and had done so for some years.

L/Sgt. 176 Henry (Harry) Cooper

Harry Cooper was born on July 4, 1886 in Dukinfield, Cheshire. His father Horatio Cooper was a Colliery engineer and by 1911 Harry was married with a son and a daughter, living in Dukinfield and employed as a below ground filler at New Moss Colliery. Harry was an Old Volunteer, serving with the 3rd Volunteer Battalion Manchester Regiment, and joined the Territorial Force on April 11, 1908 and was given the service number 176. At the outbreak of war, Harry Cooper was a Lance Sergeant in the RAMC and attached to the 9th Manchesters for war service. He deployed to Egypt in September 1914 and landed in Gallipoli with the 9th Manchesters on May 9, 1915.

L/Sgt Harry Cooper

The Saturday 04 September 1915 edition of the Ashton Reporter carried the following article:-

GALLANT DEEDS BY TERRITORIALS.

Two Dukinfield Men Honoured.

COUSINS CONGRATULATED.

Divisional Officer Commends Brave Action.

ATTENDED WOUNDED WHILE UNDER FIRE,

Touching Story of Men Found Lying in Dug-Out.

Lance-Sergeant Harry Cooper, Royal Army Medical Corps, who resided at 21, Peel-street, Dukinfield, and was a miner at New Mom Colliery, and became attached to the 1/9th Battalion Manchester Territorials with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force at the Dardanelles, has distinguished himself by brave conduct in the firing line in a letter to his wife, dated July 27th, he says

“Twenty men and one officer arrived here from Ashton this week, but I only knew one, still it made one think of home. I see you have got it in the Reporter’ about Colonel Wade and the other two officers, but they are not the first, and, sorry to say, not the last. Up to now people at home have no idea what war is like, or some of the young men would hurry up, and so end it sooner. The sights I saw after one bombardment I shall never forget. All night and all day at our medical aid post the medical officer, Dick Rothwell, Bridge, and myself worked without any rest dressing wounded British, and also Turks who had surrendered. It’s first come first served. Since then, there have been two other big engagements, but not like the first, and I hope it will soon be over, and that with God’s help I may return home safe again. Enclosed is a certificate. Put it by for me, and keep it clean; you can have it framed if you like.”

“The General Officer commanding the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division congratulates Lance-sergt. Harry Cooper, RAMC., on the gallant action performed by him on June 7th, 1915.- William Douglas, Major General, commanding 42nd East Lancashire Div.”

“I got it along with Dick Cooper (his cousin, Private Richard Cooper, R.A.M.C., who resides at 2, Ogden-street, Dukinfield, now with the 1/9th Battalion Manchester Territorials in the Dardanelles) for going and dressing wounded.”

“I was asked if I would like to go and drees some wounded men. I went, and Dick followed me. We had to crawl on our stomachs along the open in front of the enemy’s lines under fire. We got in a dug-out, and found an officer and a sergeant wounded. They had been there three days. We dressed their wounds, but could not bring them back with us. I shall never forget how they cried after we left them. They begged us to take them out, but it was impossible, so we had to leave them, but as they had had nothing to eat or drink from being wounded, I went out again to them with something to eat and drink. Two days afterwards they got a road to them. The officer had died that morning, but the sergeant was alive, and is now in hospital.”

This card (certificate) was presented to us in recognition for what we had done, and I have only one regret, and that is that the officer died after all.


Note: The letter home was almost certainly written on June 27, 1915 not July as stated in the Reporter.

Harry was promoted to Sergeant effective June 1, 1915 perhaps, in part, for his actions that day. Since this created the need for a Corporal, Pte Joe Bridge was simultaneously promoted to Corporal.

Without a surviving service record we do not know the details of Harry Cooper’s remaining war service but we do know that he survived the war and did not apply for a war pension.

Pte. 179 Richard Cooper

Dick Cooper was born on February 21, 1887 in Dukinfield. His father Edward Cooper was a below ground miner and was the older brother of Harry Cooper’s father Horatio. By 1911 Dick Cooper was married with two sons, living in Dukinfield and employed as a hewer at New Moss Colliery. There is no surviving service record for Dick Cooper but based upon his Territorial service number of 179 he must have attested with the Territorial Force on or around April 11, 1908, with his cousin Harry, and was very likely himself an Old Volunteer. Dick Cooper had a younger brother, James Henry Cooper, who joined the 9th Battalion on Saturday February 14, 1914 on the evening of the Smoking Concert at Ashton Town Hall which was the culmination of a highly successful recruiting drive. The two brothers deployed to Egypt in September 1914 and landed in Gallipoli with the 9th Manchesters on May 9, 1915; Dick as a private in the RAMC and James Cooper as a private in C Company.

Pte Dick Cooper

The Saturday 04 September 1915 edition of the Ashton Reporter article ended with:-

Private Richard Cooper, R.A.M.C., of 3, Ogden-street, Dukinfield, has also received a similar certificate from Major-General Douglas. In a letter to his wife, he says:

“Our James has been wounded, and he was sent away from here. I was told that his wound was not serious, but I do not know, for I did not see him, because I was in the other trenches dressing the wounded. I am sending a card (certificate) with this letter, and I want you to take care of it, because I want to have it framed. The officer says it will not be all that I shall get. It was for going out in the open and dressing five men, one sergeant, and one officer. Me and Harry (Lance-Sergeant Harry Cooper mentioned above) went out together, and we got a card apiece.”

Private Cooper was also attached to the 1/9th Manchester Territorials, and, like his cousin, was a miner at Moss Colliery before going out to the war.


Clearly the letter home from Dick Cooper was written before June 20, 1915 because the Saturday 03 July 1915 edition of the Ashton Reporter carried the following sad news:-

DIED OF WOUNDS
Ashton Territorial Leaves Wife and Two Children

Official intimation has been received that Private James Henry Cooper, whose wife lives in Church- street, Ashton, and his mother and father in Peel-street, Dukinfield, has died from wounds received on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Private Cooper was in the Ashton Territorials. He has two other brothers in the Army, one in the R.A.M.C. Division of the Ashton Territorials, and the other in Kitchener’s Army. He leaves a wife and two children.

Pte James Henry Cooper

On Sunday morning the family and relatives attended St. Mark’s Church, Dukinfield, and also a number of men from the Armoury, as a mark of respect. The Rev. W. King, curate, delivered an appropriate sermon. In the evening a service was held at the Hill-street Mission, Dukinfield, when Mr. Kendrick, who had known Private Cooper from boyhood, delivered an address.

Prior to the outbreak of the war Private Cooper was a collier at the Ashton Moss Colliery, and had already been in the 9th Battalion 12 months. The last Mrs. Cooper heard from him was a week last Tuesday, when he wrote that he was quite well, and hoped she and the “kiddies” were the same. He added that he had seen some horrible sights since they had landed in the Dardanelles, and the bursting of shells all around and over them was terrible. The official intimation stated that he died on the 20th June.


Without a surviving service record we don’t know the details of Dick Cooper’s remaining war service but we do know that he survived the war and was granted a war pension for some minor disability caused by his war service.

Pte. 177 Joe Bridge

Joe Bridge was born on July 21, 1888 in Ashton under Lyne. His father Joseph Bridge was a minder at a Cotton Mill. By 1911 Joe was living as a boarder with the Mason family in Ashton and working as a piecer in a cotton mill. Joe eventually married Lilly Mason, the Mason’s oldest daughter, in early 1918 but in 1911 he was still single. Joe joined the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment on May 13, 1908, having not previously served with the Volunteers, and was given the service number of 362. Six months later he transferred to the RAMC, Territorial Force but remained attached to the 9th Manchesters. With them he attended the summer camps each year (skipping the one at Aldershot in 1913) and re-enlisted for an additional four years on June 25, 1912. At the outbreak of war, he was a private in the RAMC and attached to the 9th Manchesters for war service. He signed his Territorial Force Agreement to Serve Overseas (form E.624) on September 1, 1914 at Chesham Fold Camp and deployed to Egypt with the battalion. Here he committed a couple of minor infractions in December 1914 (not complying with battalion orders) and March 1915 (absent without leave from camp overnight).

He landed in Gallipoli with the 9th Manchesters on May 9, 1915 and came through the campaign unscathed being promoted to Corporal, (effective June 1, 1915), upon the promotion to Sergeant of Harry Cooper. He remained with the battalion in Egypt in 1916 and once again committed a couple of minor infractions in April 1916 (not complying with battalion orders) and May 1916 (late on Parade). He became time expired on May 13, 1916 but was compelled to serve an additional year under the terms of his engagement with the Territorials. In March 1917 he sailed with the battalion to France and on May 13, 1917 was again required to continue in the service, this time for the duration of the war, under the terms of the Military Service Act, 1916. He took a short home leave in June 1917 and another longer home leave of 31 days in January 1918 when he married Lily Mason in a registry office in Ashton under Lyne. Shortly after his return to France he was transferred to the 5th Field Ambulance and did not rejoin the 9th Manchesters again. His new unit was not quite so tolerant of his minor infractions and so on August 19, 1918 he was reduced to the rank of private for “inefficiency”. On April 17, 1919 he proceeded to the UK to be demobilised which finally occurred on May 16, 1919. In 1923 he was. Perhaps somewhat ironically, awarded the Territorial Efficiency Medal implying that he may have rejoined after the war when the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment was reformed in late 1920.

Pte. 270 Richard Handley

Richard Handley was born in Ashton under Lyne on September 10, 1885.By 1911 he was married, living in Ashton and working as a below ground filler at New Moss Colliery, like Harry Cooper. Richard was a former member of the 3rd Volunteer battalion Manchester Regiment but had since left the service. He enlisted in the East Lancs Royal Army Medical Corps, Territorial Force on January 7, 1914 and was given the service number 270. At the outbreak of war, he was a private in the RAMC and attached to the 9th Manchesters for war service. He deployed to Egypt in September 1914 and landed in Gallipoli with the 9th Manchesters on May 9, 1915.

Pte Handley survived the Gallipoli Campaign intact and deployed with the battalion to Egypt in 1916 and then to France in March 1917. Since he had been continuously serving overseas for around 2 ½ years he was granted a short UK leave in April 1917. He rejoined the battalion in France on April 30th and remained with them until July 1917 when he transferred to home service. In September 1918 he was transferred to Class W (T) Reserve and was finally discharged on March 28, 1919. Suffering from rheumatism linked to his overseas service he was awarded the Silver War badge and for a time collected a small war pension.

Pte. 317 Joseph Rothwell

Joseph Rothwell was born on March 4, 1886 in Ashton under Lyne. His father George Harry Rothwell was a bobbin turner (a woodworker that made bobbins for the cotton industry). By early 1911 Joseph was married with two daughters, living in Ashton and working as a Carter for a laundry. He joined the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment on July 1, 1911, (as one of a group of around 30 men that attested that day), and by this time was working as a miner at New Moss Colliery. He was given the initial service number of 1183 and reported on his attestation papers that he was an Old Volunteer, previously serving with the 3rd Volunteer Battalion Manchester Regiment. At the outbreak of war he was a private in the RAMC and attached to the 9th Manchesters for war service. Like Joe Bridge, he signed his Territorial Force Agreement to Serve Overseas (form E.624) on September 1, 1914 at Chesham Fold Camp and deployed to Egypt. He subsequently landed in Gallipoli with the 9th Manchesters on May 9, 1915.

In August 1915 Joseph aggravated a hernia, (that he was suffering from when he attested), while carrying wounded men. He reported this the battalion’s Medical Officer, Major Thomas Frankish, RAMC who authorized his medical evacuation. Joseph was operated on at the No. 5 Stationary Hospital (Queen’s University of Kingston, Ontario), Canadian Mediterranean Forces, Abbassia Barracks, Cairo. After he had sufficiently recovered, he was repatriated to the UK where he was able to spend Christmas 1915 at home with his family. Since he was due to become time expired on June 30, 1916 he elected to pre-emptively re-engage with the Territorial Force on April 29, 1916. He served the remainder of the war separate from the 9th Manchesters and was disembodied on February 15, 1919.

Army Orders of 1916

In order to free younger men for service overseas the Army introduced Class W, Army Reserve, and Class W (T.) Territorial Force Reserve via Army Order 203 of 1916. This Class was also used for Boy Soldiers too young to continue serving in overseas combat zones.

Separately, Army Order 209 of 1916 introduced a bounty to be paid to those men who became time expired while on active service but who were compelled (or volunteered) to continue to serve for the duration of the war. Many men of the 9th Manchesters who originally attested (or re-engaged) between 1911-13 were eligible for this bonus and such payment, typically of £15, is noted in any surviving service or pension records.

A.0. 203. 1916.
Class W, Army Reserve, and Class W (T.) Territorial Force Reserve.-

1. Under powers conferred by Section 12 of the Military Service Act, 1916 (Session 2), the Army Council have decided to establish a new class of the Army Reserve, and a new class of the Territorial Force Reserve, for all soldiers whose services are deemed to be more valuable to the country in civil than in military employment. These will be designated Class W, Army Reserve, and Class W (T.), Territorial Force Reserve respectively.

2. Class W, Army Reservists, and Class W (T.), Territorial Force Reservists, will receive no pay or other emoluments from Army Funds, and will not wear uniform.

3. Such Reservists will be liable at any time to be re-called for service with the Colours, either individually or collectively, and by means of either individual or public notification.

4. From the time the soldier is transferred to the Reserve until the notification of his recall to the Colours is issued, he will not be subject to military discipline.

5. The Army Council will, from time to time, issue instructions, according to the military requirements, as to the individuals or classes of men to be transferred to Class W, Army Reserve, and Class W (T.), Territorial Force Reserve. The general procedure to be followed in dealing with such transfers, also the method of recalling the reservist to the Colours, will be published separately.

A.0. 209. 1916
Bounty to Soldiers retained in the Service or recalled to the Colours under the provisions of the Military Service Act, 1916 (Session 2), and to soldiers who have voluntarily undertaken to continue to serve, re-enlisted, re-engaged, etc.-

1.-It has been decided that a bounty at the rates stated in paragraph 2 below shall be paid to any warrant officer, non-commissioned officer, or man, whether serving on a Regular, Special Reserve, or Territorial Force attestation the depot of whose unit is situated in the United Kingdom, who-

(i) on the expiration of his current engagement (including the extra year under Section 87 (1) of the Army Act, or, in the case of the Territorial Force, Section IX. (5) of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, 1907) is retained in the Service for the duration of the war, under the provisions of the Military Service Act, 1916 (Session 2).

(ii) has been discharged from the military service of 1916 the Crown since the commencement of the present war, on *TERMINATION OF HIS ENGAGEMENT, and is recalled to the Colours under that Act.

(iii) has already agreed to continue in the Service for the duration of the war under the provisions of Section 87 (3) of the Army Act and Army Order 252 or 253 of 1915 or re-engaged under Army Order 49 of 1916, provided that if he has already received a bounty under Army Order 86 of 1916 such bounty will be taken in diminution of the amount admissible under this Army Order.

(iv) has been discharged from the military service of the Crown since the commencement of the present war on *TERMINATION OF ENGAGEMENT and has voluntarily re-attested or re-enlisted for the duration of the war, or re-enlisted under the provisions of Army Order 79 of 1916 or may if liable to service under the Military Service Act, 1916 (Session 2), re-enlist before he is recalled to the Colours under that Act, or, not having attained the age of 41 years before the date appointed under the above-quoted Act, but being ordinarily resident in Ireland and not therefore liable to recall under its provisions, has voluntarily re-enlisted or may in future voluntarily re-enlist.

* The expression “TERMINATION OF ENGAGEMENT” wherever it appears in this Army Order shall be held to apply only to an engagement terminated under the provisions of King’s Regulations, paragraph 392 (xxi), (xxii), (xxiii), (xxiv), (xxvi) or (xxvii), or Territorial Force Regulations, paragraph 156 (1) or (2).

2. The bounty shall be at the following rates:-

(i) For a warrant officer, non-commissioned officer, or man, whose original engagement on his current attestation (or, in the case of a discharged man re-enlisted or recalled to the service, on the attestation from. which he has been discharged since the commencement of the war), was for a period of less than 12 years . . . . £15.

(ii) For a warrant officer, non-commissioned officer, or man, who has completed an original engagement of 12 years on his current attestation (or, in the case of a discharged man re-enlisted or recalled to the service, on the attestation from which he has been discharged since the commencement of the war) together with any subsequent period or periods of extension which do not bring his service on his last attestation (including the extra year under Section 87 (1) Army Act, or, in the case of the Territorial Force, Section IX (5) of the 1916 Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, 1907) to a total of 22 years . . . . £20.

Men of Section D, Army Reserve, come under this heading.

(iii) For a warrant officer, non-commissioned officer, or man, who has completed an original engagement of 12 years on his current attestation (or in the case of a discharged man re-enlisted or recalled to the service on the attestation from which he has been discharged since the commencement of the war), together with such extension as will, including the extra year under Section 87 (1), Army Act, or, in the case of the Territorial Force, Section IX (5) of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, 1907, complete a total of 22 or more years on his last attestation . . . . £25.

3. In the case of a man retained in the service, or re-engaging, one-third of the bounty admissible as above is payable in cash on his commencing the extended period of service for which he is liable under the Military Service Act, 1916 (Session 2), i.e., on completion of his current engagement together with the extra year for which he was liable under Section 87 (1) of the Army Act, or, in the case of the Territorial Force, Section IX (5) of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, 1907. The balance with interest at 5 per cent. is payable on the man’s discharge from the service, or will in the event of his death while serving be credited to his estate.

4. A man recalled to the colours or re-enlisted and entitled to bounty as above will be given the option of drawing the whole or any part of the bounty in cash on being called up, any balance then undrawn being paid with interest on discharge or death as provided in paragraph 3 above.

5. A man who has already re-enlisted, re-engaged or agreed to continue in the Service will become entitled to any bounty admissible under this Army Order, on the date of this Army Order, if the engagement on which he was serving at the commencement of the war (including the extra year under Section 87 (1) Army Act, or, in the case of the Territorial Force, Section IX (5) of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, 1907) has expired. If it has not expired he will become entitled to the bounty on his commencing the extended period of his service, as in paragraph 3 above. The bounty will be issued under the same conditions as those laid down in paragraph 3, except that the £5 or £10 1916 due to a man who has already drawn £15 under Army Order 86 of 1916, will be paid with 5 per cent. interest on discharge, or on his death, as provided in paragraph 4.

6. A man who on being recalled to the service is at once passed into the Reserve or demobilized under the provision of Section 10 of the Military Service Act, 1916 (Session 2), will not be eligible for the above bounty unless or until he is called to the Colours for military service. A man who has been attested voluntarily shall not be eligible for the bounty until he is called up and finally approved for continuous service.

7. The provisions of this Army Order do not apply to any warrant officer, non-commissioned officer or man-

(i) Who was not serving on an Army engagement on 4th August, 1914.

(ii) Who, having attained the age of 41 years before the date appointed in the Act, is not liable for service under the Act, but may after the date of this Army Order, voluntarily re-enlist for the duration of the war, or on the termination of his engagement agree to continue in the service for the duration of the war.

(iii) Who is serving in or recalled to a unit whose depôt is outside the United Kingdom, except in the case of a soldier transferred from a unit whose depôt is within the United Kingdom, to serve with a unit whose depôt is outside. Further instructions will be issued regarding other men retained with the Colours under the Act in units whose depôts are outside the United Kingdom.

8. Army Order 86 of 1916 is hereby cancelled.

9. The privileges granted by Army Orders 49 and 79 of 1916 as regards re-engagement and re-enlistment to complete 21 years’ service with a view to pension will remain open to men dealt with in paragraph 1 of this Army Order, and their claim to the bounty granted by this Army Order shall not be affected if they re-engage or re-enlist under Army Orders 49 and 79 of 1916.

Note.

I.-

(i) Claims for bounties authorized by this Army Order will be rendered on Army Form W 3458. In the case of a soldier who has re-engaged or agreed to continue in the service, or who has been retained under the Military Service Act the claim will be rendered by the officer commanding the unit as soon as possible after the date on which but for such re-engagement, agreement or retention the soldier would have become due 1916 for discharge.

(ii) In the case of a soldier re-enlisted or recalled to the service the claim will be rendered by the officer commanding the unit to which the soldier is posted.

(iii) Army Form W 3458 will be forwarded in the first instance to the officer in charge records, who will transmit the form to the regimental paymaster accompanied by a statement on Army Form B 200 of the soldier’s service, including service on any previous engagement.

(iv) The paymaster will credit the soldier’s ledger account with the amount available for immediate payment and will, inform the officer commanding the unit that he has done so. No payment in respect of the bounty will be made to the soldier until the notification from the paymaster is received.

(v) Cash issues in respect of the bounty will be included with issues of current pay in Form I of the pay and mess book or on the acquittance roll, as the case may be. If the soldier is paid on the pay book the portion of the bounty available for immediate issue will be recorded therein.

(vi) The Army Form W 3458, with the counterfoil certificate from officer in charge records of entry in the soldiers’ documents, will be filed in a separate series in the pay office. The initial and final credits to the man’s account will be recorded on the Army Form at the time they are given.

(vii) Where a portion only of the bounty is authorized for immediate payment the charge against Vote 1 E will be supported by a reference to the Army Form, and to the per contra credit to Vote 1 C 2. The charge against Vote 1 E for the balance, or for the whole bounty if credited in one sum, will be supported by the Army Form itself.

II. The bounties referred to in the above Army Order are admissible for a man coming under paragraph 1, who on retention or rejoining the Colours is posted to an officer cadet unit with a view to obtaining a commission, but not to men who receive direct commissions (e.g., as temporary quartermaster, &c.), and are not therefore retained or recalled to the service as soldiers.

III. Supplies of Army Form W 3458 will be distributed to all concerned at an early date.

 

 

Army Council Instructions of 1916

In order to officially address the issue of underage boys serving overseas, War Office letter 9/Gen. No./5388D. (A.G. 2B) of 6th September, 1915 was issued followed by Army Council Instruction 1186 of 1916 which collectively laid out the appropriate rules and regulations to be followed. This was followed on October 6, 1916 by Army Council Instruction 1905 which replaced and cancelled the previous two sets of instructions.

Army Council Order 1186 of 1916

13th JUNE.
1186. Disposal of soldiers whose discharge is applied for on account of being under age.

 

The following amended instructions are notified for the guidance of all concerned in dealing with the cases of soldiers whose discharge, or transfer to a Home Service unit, is applied for by their parents or legal guardians on the ground that the man is too young to serve under his present circumstances and conditions:-

 

1. When the soldier is serving at Home.
(a) If under 17 years of age. – His discharge will be carried out by his C.O. under para. 392 (vi) (a) King’s Regulations. His documents will be sent to the Officer i/c Records, who will notify the Recruiting Officer nearest the place at which the man resides of his discharge.
(b) over 17 but under 18 years of age. – He will be transferred, if he be willing in the case of a Regular soldier, to Class W., Army Reserve, and in the case of a T.F. soldier to Class W. (T.), T.F. Reserve. The Officer i/c Records will recall the man to the Colours on attaining the age of 18 years, but in no case is the man to be recalled to the Colours before he has been in the Reserve for a period of three months after his transfer has taken place.
(c) If over 18 but under 19 years of age. – He will be posted to a Reserve unit until such time as he attains the age of 19 years.

 

2. When the soldier is serving with an Expeditionary Force.
(a) If under 18 years of age. – He will be sent home, if he be willing, and dealt with as in para. 1. If not sent home, he will be dealt with as in section (b) of this paragraph.
(b) If over 18 but under 19 years of age. – He will not be sent home but will be posted to a Training or other unit behind the firing line, under arrangements to be made by the G.O.C.-in-C.
In all cases to be dealt with as above, notification will be sent by the Officer i/c Records to the D.A.G., 3rd Echelon, G.H.Q.

 

3. When the soldier is serving abroad but not with an Expeditionary Force.
(a) If under 18 years of age. – He will be sent home, if he be willing, and dealt with as in para. 1. If not sent home, he will be dealt with as in section (b) of this paragraph.
(b) If over 18 but under 19 years of age. – He will not be sent home but will be trained under local arrangements.
In all cases to be dealt with as above, notification will be sent by the Officer i/c Records to the C.-in-C. or G.O.C. as the case may be.

 

4. Any applications received from parents or guardians by Os.C. units should be at once forwarded to the Officer i/c Records concerned, who will take the initial action in each case in conformity with paras. 1, 2 and 3, and inform the applicant.

 

5. Before any action is taken, the real age of the soldier will be verified by reference to his birth certificate.

 

6. The instructions contained in W.O. Circular Letter 9/Gen. No./5388 D. (A.G. 2B) of 6th Sept., 1915, are hereby cancelled.
9/Gen. No./5388 (A.G. 2B (s).)

Army Council Order 1905 of 1916

 

6th OCTOBER.

1905. Disposal of soldiers whose release from the Service is applied for on account of being under age.

The following revised instructions are notified for the guidance of all concerned in dealing with the case of a soldier whose release from the Service, or transfer to a Home Service unit, is applied for on the ground that he is too young to serve :-

1. When the soldier is serving at Home.

(a) If under 18 years of age. – He will be dealt with under authority of the G.O.C.-in-C. of the Command in which he is serving, as follows:-

If serving with a unit affiliated to the :- He will be posted to a unit of the :-
Scottish Command …

Northern Command …

Western Command …

Southern Command …

Eastern Command …      }

London District …             }

64th Division.

65th Division.

68th Division.

67th Division.

69th Division

Note.-In posting it should be arranged, so far as possible, that:-

A man of Scotch Nationality be sent to the 64th or 65th Division, and
A man of Welsh Nationality to a Welsh Unit of the 68th Division, but
A man of Irish Nationality who wishes to join an Irish regiment will be sent to the depôt of the regiment he selects, and will be posted accordingly.

(b) If over 18 1/2 but under 19 years of age. – He will be posted to a Reserve unit.

In the case of postings under (a) and (b) the following entry will be made on the soldier’s attestation or record of service paper :-

“Posted, under A.C.I. 1905 of 1916, to ….. Date ……”

The posting will be notified in Part II of Orders.

2. When the soldier is serving with an Expeditionary Force.
(a) If under 17 years of age. – He will be sent home and dealt with as in para. 1 (a).
(b) If over 17 but under 18 1/2 years of age. – He will be sent home, if he be willing, and dealt with as in para. 1 (a). If not willing to be sent home, his services will be utilized either behind the firing line, or he will be sent home at the discretion of the G.O.C.-in-C. and dealt with as in para. 1 (a).
(c) If over 18 1/2 but under 19 years of age. – He will not be sent home but will be posted to a Training or other unit behind the firing line, under arrangements to be made by the G.O.C.-in-C.
In all cases to be dealt with as above, notification will be sent by the Officer i/c Records to the D.A.G., G.H.Q., 3rd Echelon.

3. When the soldier is serving abroad but not with an Expeditionary Force.
(a) If under 18 years of age – He will be sent home and dealt with as in para. 1 (a).
(b) If over 18 but under 19 years of age. – He will not be sent home but will be trained under local arrangements.
In all cases to be dealt with as above, notification will be sent by the Officer i/c Records to the C.-in-C. or G.O.C., as the case may be.

4. Applications for the release of a soldier received by Os.C. units will be dealt with as follows:-
(a) When serving at home. – If the soldier is over 17 years of age, a report will be rendered to the G.O.C.-in-C. through the usual channels.
(b) When serving with an Expeditionary Force. – The application will be dealt with under the orders of the Commander of the Force.
(c) When serving abroad but not with an Expeditionary Force – The application will be dealt with under the orders of the C.-in-C. or G.O.C. as the case may be.

5. Applications received through any channel other than those mentioned above will be forwarded to the Officer i/c Records concerned, who will take the initial action in each case in conformity with paras. 1, 2 and 3 of this Instruction, and inform the applicant.

6. Before any action is taken, the real age of the soldier will be verified by reference to his birth certificate.

7. The instructions contained in W.O. letter 9/Gen. No./5388D. (A.G. 2B) of 6th September, 1915, and A.C.I. 1186 of 1916 are hereby cancelled.

9/Gen. No./5388 (D.R. 2).

Gallipoli NCOs of the 1/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment

On August 14, 1914 the ‘Reporter’ group of local newspapers published the nominal roll of men in the 1/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment. We know that this list was not one hundred percent accurate since it has some obvious typos and one or two slightly out of date ranks. Additionally, it does not provide any service numbers which 110 years later presents some challenges in corroborating all of the men listed. Nevertheless, it does provide a strong basis for understanding the organization and constitution of the companies and their Non-Commissioned Officers who deployed to Chesham Fold Camp in September 1914 and subsequently to Egypt and then Gallipoli in 1915.

Over 100 men joined the battalion in late August and early September before they departed for Egypt, and some of those men, such as 2117 Titus Cropper, became NCOs by the time the battalion landed at Gallipoli on May 9, 1915. Many of the men who enlisted during this period had prior military service and so were natural potential additions to the ranks of the NCOs.

On September 5, 1914 the men were asked to volunteer for overseas service, which was not a requirement under the terms of enlistment for the Territorial Force, and after some initial hesitation the overwhelming majority of them signed the required Army Form E.624 paperwork.

From the list published on August 14 we can identify with some certainty the NCOs who deployed to Egypt and then Gallipoli. However, when the battalion landed in Egypt, they switched from the old pre-war eight company formation to the new four company formation. In a four-company battalion, each company was made up of approximately 250 men in 4 platoons with each platoon consisting of 4 sections. At full strength, the battalion had a Regimental Sergeant Major and Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant. Additionally, each company had a Company Sergeant Major, a Company Quartermaster Sergeant, 8 sergeants and 10 Corporals. The companies were labeled ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ and were formed by combining two of the old companies, thus the old ‘A’ and ‘B’ companies were combined to form the new ‘A’ company, the old ‘C’ and ‘D’ companies were combined to form the new ‘B’ company, and so on. In each new company, one of the two Colour Sergeants of the old company was appointed Company Sergeant Major and the other was appointed Company Quartermaster Sergeant.

And just to further complicate matters, on 28 January 1915, Army Order 70 of 1915 was published creating the new rank of Warrant Officer Class II, (WO II), becoming the rank from which a man would typically be appointed to become Regimental Sergeant Major which was a Warrant Officer Class I rank. Company Quartermaster Sergeants did not carry the WO II rank but Regimental Quartermaster Sergeants did. Thus, Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant Boocock was variously referenced in military records and newspaper reports as Q.M.S., Colour Sergeant and C.Q.M.S. all of which were effectively the same rank.

Nevertheless, by reviewing the published nominal roll of August 14th we know which new companies each of the NCOs and men belonged to – at least before the expediencies of combat caused some men to be moved around.

In the lists below, ranks are those held in August 1914. Men whose names are struck out with no service number did not travel overseas.  Except otherwise noted, those men whose names are struck out but with service numbers traveled to Egypt in September 1914 but did not serve in Gallipoli.

Permanent Staff

Rank No. First Middle Surname
Sgt Major 2716 Joseph Fowler
Col Sgt 2673 James Holt
Sgt 228 James Craig

Notes:

Two out of the three members of the permanent staff deployed overseas but only one deployed to Gallipoli.

Sgt. James Craig

Prior to joining the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment as Sergeant on the permanent staff, James Craig spent 12 years in the Regular Army serving in South Africa, the Channel Islands and Ireland (with brief interspersed spells in England) with the 2nd Battalion Manchester Regiment.

James Craig
Company Sergeant Major Craig

He did not serve in Egypt or Gallipoli, instead he remained in the UK serving with the 2/9th Manchesters as Company Sergeant Major throughout 1915 and until at least August 1916. He later transferred back to his former regiment, but this time with the 1st Battalion, as Quartermaster Sergeant, deploying to Mesopotamia where he died from heat stroke and gastritis in Baghdad on July 14, 1917 leaving a wife and four young children.

Col. Sgt. James Holt

Colour Sergeant Instructor James Holt deployed to Egypt with the battalion but was invalided back to the UK from Egypt in March 1915, arriving in Ashton in early April, where he was treated at Whitworth St, Hospital.

RSM Fowler
Regimental Sergeant Major Fowler

He did not serve in Gallipoli and spent the remainder of the war on home service. He was later commissioned into the Labour Corps on May 12, 1917. The departure of Colour Sergeant Instructor Holt in Egypt left a serious gap in the battalion’s operational effectiveness and efficiency, consequently Sergeant Instructor John Alexander Christie of the 5th East Lancs Regiment was permanently attached to the 1/9th Manchesters and provided exemplary service.

A Company NCOs:

Rank No. First Middle Surname
Col Sgt 257 John Williamson
QMS 160 Thomas Burgess
Col Sgt 344 Joseph Chadderton
Sgt 22 Walter Hawkins
Sgt S Hill
Sgt 969 Harry Grantham
Sgt 287 Charles Spencer
Sgt 643 Squire Ellor
Sgt 313 George Grayson Mellor
Sgt T Lord
Sgt 27 James Nolan
Sgt 64 Alfred Smith
Sgt 164 Alfred Scott
Sgt J Litchfield
L/Sgt 83 Thomas McDermott
L/Sgt 1271 James Taylor
Cpl 921 Harry Bolter
Cpl 121 John William Tasker
L/Cpl 1188 William Henry Martin
L/Cpl 180 Samuel Bayley
L/Cpl 596 Harry Whitehead
L/Cpl 1192 Harry Trunkfield
L/Cpl 1289 Gerald Massey
L/Cpl 497 Alfred Parkins
L/Cpl 1194 William Chorlton

Notes:

  1. QMS Thomas Burgess deployed to Egypt but did not serve in Gallipoli.
  2. Sgt 27 James Nolan was the battalion’s master cook.
  3. L/Cpl. 497 Alfred Parkins deployed to Egypt but likely did not serve in Gallipoli.
  4. L/Cpl 596 Harry Whitehead was deprived of his stripe in Heliopolis on February 10, 1915 and reverted to Private.

B Company NCOs:

Rank No. First Middle Surname
Col Sgt 540 William Birchall
Col Sgt 339 Mathew James Buckley
Sgt 236 George Turner
Sgt 526 Thomas Moss
Sgt 104 Harry Ingham
Sgt 65 Joseph Fearns
Sgt 1128 Harry Earle
L/Sgt 845 Albert Royle
L/Sgt W H Thorp
L/Sgt 1008 Michael McHugh
L/Sgt 1171 George Eyre
L/Sgt 1495 Thomas Knight
L/Sgt 1205 Samuel Eyre
Cpl 1010 Sidney Wood
Cpl J Atherton
L/Cpl S Gibson
L/Cpl 1425 Edward Brown
L/Cpl 787 George Stringer
L/Cpl 1676 Tom Littleford
L/Cpl 1734 Herbert Wilfred Mathews
L/Cpl 1452 Alvin Sumner
L/Cpl 1669 Joseph Wilde
L/Cpl 379 Thomas Ghenty
L/Cpl 1123 Wil Marsh
L/Cpl 1233 John William Smith
L/Cpl 1306 Reuben Tyson
L/Cpl 1326 Harold Shaw
L/Cpl 1464 George Bromley
L/Cpl 1478 Benjamin Love
L/Cpl 1486 Charles Ernest Wood

Notes:

  1. L/Sgt 845 Albert Royle was invalided home from Egypt and likely did not serve in Gallipoli.
  2. L/Sgt 1008 Michael McHugh did not travel overseas and was discharged with Phthisis on May 16, 1915.

C Company NCOs:

Rank No. First Middle Surname
QMS 5 George Boocock
Col Sgt 237 Henry Stringer
Col Sgt 154 George Newton
Sgt 220 Albert Fletcher
Sgt 128 Thomas Langan
Sgt 76 James Lawton
Sgt 445 John Albert Simcox
Sgt 427 Thompson Tym
Sgt 469 Harry Illingworth
Sgt 1125 Noel Duncan Braithwaite
Sgt 1126 Joseph Cox Harrop
L/Sgt J W Morrison
L/Sgt S Still
L/Sgt 1244 Walter Steuart Eaton
L/Sgt 41 James Stopford
Cpl S Kelley
Cpl 1551 Fred Jones
Cpl 1550 Thomas Winded
Cpl 243 Thomas Valentine
Cpl 1480 James Horsefield
Cpl 54 Arthur Berisford
Cpl 1520 Frank Morton
Cpl 1310 Herbert Morris
L/Cpl 1044 Thomas Gorman
L/Cpl 1313 James William Ramsdale
L/Cpl 1358 George James Silvester
L/Cpl 1364 Frank Howard
L/Cpl R Adams
L/Cpl 174 John Henry Shawcross
L/Cpl 1415 William Mason
L/Cpl 1423 Albert Burgess
L/Cpl 1773 Alfred Binns
L/Cpl 1307 Robert Constantine
L/Cpl 1246 John Hampson
L/Cpl 1487 Ernest Rimmington

Notes:

  1. Cpl 1551 Fred Jones was actually a Sergeant by August 14, 1914. He was commissioned on September 30, 1914 and landed at Gallipoli as one of the battalion’s officers where he was killed in action.
  2. L/Cpl 1307 Robert Constantine chose to revert to Private while in Egypt in 1914 and continued to serve as private.

D Company NCOs:

Rank No. First Middle Surname
Col Sgt 108 Robert Jackson
Col Sgt 266 Albert Green
Sgt T Grimshaw
Sgt 31 Thomas Lomas
Sgt 341 John Lee
Sgt 136 Henry Harrison
Sgt 58 Arthur Bashforth
Sgt 806 Cornelius Finch
Sgt 680 Thomas Hargreaves
Sgt 1151 John Lawler
Cpl 400 James Chapman
Cpl 724 Joseph Edward Appleby
Cpl 1484 John William Hughes
Cpl S Spruce
Cpl 1457 Thomas Goley
L/Cpl 109 Samuel Charles Whitton
L/Cpl 447 Ernest Eyres
L/Cpl 885 Frank Goddard
L/Cpl 553 Albert Bromley
L/Cpl 1119 Percy Borsey
L/Cpl 1112 William Emmanuel Hawley
L/Cpl S Ingham
L/Cpl 1120 Thomas Forrest
L/Cpl E Abbott
L/Cpl 1920 William Mitcheson
L/Cpl T Lee
L/Cpl S Stevenson
L/Cpl 1286 William Bennison

Notes:

  1. Sgt 58 Arthur Bashforth was a Pioneer Sergeant.
  2. L/Cpl 553 Albert Bromley was discharged due to sickness on November 2, 1914 and did not travel overseas.
  3. L/Cpl 1112 William Hawley was deprived of his stripe at Chesham Fold Camp for being drunk.
  4. L/Cpl 1120 Thomas Forrest was promoted to Corporal on January 11, 1915.

Machine Gun Section:

Rank No. First Middle Surname
Sgt 526 Thomas Moss
Cpl 1364 Frank Howard

Signallers:

Rank No. First Middle Surname
Sgt 136 Henry Harrison
L/Cpl 447 Ernest Eyres

Senior NCOs of the 1/9th Manchesters

The two most senior NCOs of a four-company battalion were the Regimental Sergeant Major and the Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant.

Regimental Sergeant Major:

Colour Sergeant Joseph Fowler of the permanent staff was appointed Acting Regimental Sergeant-Major (A/RSM) on September 1, 1911. On April 8, 1915 he was appointed 1st Class Warrant Officer by Divisional Orders confirming his A/RSM appointment. On July 21, 1915 he reverted back to Colour Sergeant when he left Gallipoli for good upon being wounded and medically evacuated to the UK, returning to Ashton in October 1915. In England he joined the 3/9th (Reserve) Battalion, Manchester Regiment and was appointed Company Sergeant Major (CSM) of the “Additional (Overseas) Company, 9th (Reserve) Battalion” March 28, 1916, (vice CSM Buckley who had just left to rejoin the battalion in Egypt). He was discharged on July 3, 1916 being no Longer Physically Fit for military service after 26 years 280 days service.

Sergeant Instructor John Alexander Christie (attached) was promoted to Company Sergeant Major (WO Class II) and simultaneously appointed Acting Regimental Sergeant Major (WO Class I) in June 1915 when RSM Fowler was wounded. He was confirmed Acting Regimental Sergeant Major on July 21, 1915 when RSM Fowler was medically evacuated to the UK. Christie remained as A/RSM until August 3, 1915 when he was himself medically evacuated to Alexandria suffering from pneumonia. On August 4, 1915 CSM Albert Green (D Company) was appointed A/RSM (vice Christie) and remained in this position until October 20, 1915 when Christie returned to Gallipoli and assumed the Acting Regimental Sergeant Major position. Christie retained this position until the evacuation of the Peninsula and remained with the battalion until late 1918.

Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant:

Colour Sergeant George Boocock was appointed Acting Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant (RQMS) when the battalion disembarked in Egypt on September 27, 1914  and converted to the new four-company organizational structure. As such he reported directly to Major Connery, the battalion’s Quartermaster, and there is ample anecdotal evidence that the two men, the oldest of the battalion that deployed to Gallipoli, had a close and highly effective working relationship. On July 13, 1915 RQMS Boocock was wounded in the foot by a stray bullet and medically evacuated to England. Company Quartermaster Sergeant Henry Stringer, formerly of C Company, was immediately promoted to Acting Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant (A/RQMS) and was confirmed in the position of RQMS (WO Class II) on August 13, 1915. RQMS Stringer, (2/Lt. Ned Stringer’s cousin), remained in this position for the remainder of the battalion’s time in Gallipoli. In fact, he retained this position until he left the battalion in early 1918.

Colour Sergeants:

All 10 Colour Sergeants on the August 14, 1914 Nominal Roll served overseas and, not surprisingly, all 10 were Old Volunteers, (men who had served with the Volunteer Force before April 1, 1908).

Colour Sergeant and QMS Thomas Burgess deployed to Egypt with the battalion in September 1914 and served with them until he contracted nephritis in early 1915. He was treated at the Citadel Hospital, Cairo and subsequently at the 2nd Western General Hospital, Manchester. He was discharged on June 26, 1915 being no longer physically fit, at age 51. Remarkably, he re-joined the 3/9th Battalion the following day for home service, light duty, until he was once again, this time permanently, discharged on May 4, 1917.

When the eight-company battalion was converted into a four-company battalion, one of the two Colour Sergeants forming each of the new companies was appointed Company Sergeant Major (CSM) while the other was appointed Company Quartermaster Sergeant CQMS). The following table shows which Colour Sergeant was holding which role in the new companies when the battalion landed in Gallipoli.

A Company:
Rank No. First Middle Surname
CQMS 257 John Williamson
CSM 344 Joseph Chadderton
B Company:
Rank No. First Middle Surname
CQMS 540 William Birchall
CSM 339 Mathew James Buckley
C Company:
Rank No. First Middle Surname
CQMS 154 George Newton
CSM 1773 Alfred Binns
D Company:
Rank No. First Middle Surname
CQMS 108 Robert Jackson
CSM 266 Albert Green

Discussion

By reviewing the Medal Rolls of the battalion’s NCOs we can see the highest rank they achieved and consequently we know which of them made the rank of Colour Sergeant or Warrant Officer Class II. These men were then “candidates” to be appointed Company Sergeant Major or Company Quartermaster Sergeant to either temporarily or permanently replace the original holders of the positions. The Medal Roll however, does not provide a date of achieving and holding the rank and consequently the data does not necessarily apply to their time in Gallipoli.

However, the several surviving service records and references from the Ashton Reporter allow us to construct, with a reasonable degree of certainty, the likely holders of the top NCO positions in each Company during the battalion’s time in Egypt and then Gallipoli. Those sections below that involve a certain amount of speculation are presented in italic font.

A Company CSM:

When the battalion landed in Egypt on September 27, 1914 Colour Sergeant Joseph Chadderton was appointed Company Sergeant Major (CSM) of A Company. On January 30, 1915 he was promoted to Warrant Officer Class II (WOII) and confirmed as CSM. He remained with the battalion in this role until he was medically evacuated to England on October 8, 1915 possibly having left the peninsula some time before. He remained in the UK for the remainder of the war serving as Regimental Sergeant Major of the Command Depot from where he was discharged on March 5, 1918.

CSM Chadderton’s enforced absence left a gap which needed to be filled. There were only two possible candidates in A Company: Sgt 27 James Nolan and Sgt 64 Alfred Smith. There are no surviving service records for these men. However, Sergeant Nolan was the battalion’s Master Cook and so we can reasonably presume that taking care of the men’s stomachs took precedence over any other appointment. That only left Sgt 64 Alfred Smith and so the assumption is that he was appointed Acting CSM and promoted to Acting WO II.

A Company CQMS:

Colour Sergeant John Williamson was appointed CQMS of A Company when the battalion landed in Egypt in 1914. He deployed to Gallipoli but was wounded and medically evacuated to England on July 5, 1915. The Ashton Reported published an interview with him upon his arrival in Ashton and indicated that he was the first man of the 9th Manchesters that served in Gallipoli to arrive home.

CQMS Williamson’s enforced absence left a gap which needed to be filled. There were only three possible candidates in A Company: Sgt 313 George Grayson Mellor, Sgt 164 Alfred Scott and Sgt 83 Thomas McDermott. There are no surviving service records for these men. However, the August 14, 1915 edition of the Ashton Reporter published a letter from the Sergeants of A company to the fiancé of Sgt 1271 James Taylor who died of wounds on July 12, 1915. The names of Thomas McDermott and George Mellor are both missing from the list of signatories. The implication is that they were temporarily or permanently absent from Gallipoli which leaves only Sgt 164 Alfred Scott as the possible candidate. Consequently, the assumption is that Sgt 164 Alfred Scott was appointed Acting CQMS.

Regardless of who temporarily filled the CQMS role for A Company after CQMS Williamson departed, on November 6, 1915 Sgt 1244 Walter Steuart Eaton was appointed acting CQMS. He held this role for approximately six weeks before being promoted to CQMS on December 6, 1915. He then held this position until May 24, 1917 when he left the battalion prior to being awarded a commission.

B Company CSM:

When the battalion landed in Egypt in 1914, Colour Sergeant Mathew James Buckley was appointed Company Sergeant Major of B Company. On January 30, 1915 he was promoted to WO II, retaining the position of CSM. He deployed to Gallipoli and served in this position until he was wounded on June 17, 1915 and was subsequently medically evacuated to England on July 1st. Sergeant 65 Joseph Ferns was reported to be acting CSM right after the June 18th bayonet charge confirming that he at least temporarily replaced CSM Buckley. Sergeant Ferns was himself wounded on September 15, 1915 and subsequently repatriated to England.

It is not clear who, if anyone, filled the CSM role when Sgt Ferns left Gallipoli as there were no other candidates left in B Company.

On November 25, 1915 Sergeant Thomas Hargreaves was appointed acting CSM. On Christmas day 1915 he was promoted to Warrant Officer Class II and confirmed in the position of CSM. A position he held until he left the battalion in August 1916 upon being awarded a commission.

B Company CQMS:

When the battalion landed in Egypt in 1914 Colour Sergeant William Birchall was appointed Company Quartermaster Sergeant of B Company. CQMS Birchall was reported to have been slightly wounded in the chest but remained with the battalion throughout their entire time in Gallipoli. He died of wounds on September 25, 1917 in France while serving with the battalion.

C Company CSM:

When the battalion landed in Egypt in 1914 Colour Sergeant Henry Stringer was appointed Company Sergeant Major of C Company. But on January 30, 1915 instead of being promoted to WO II, as the other CSMs were, Henry Stringer relinquished the CSM position and was instead appointed CQMS. It is likely that this was to fill the gap created by QMS Thomas Burgess’s illness and consequently his responsibilities would have been primarily to support RQMS Boocock’s section. After the battalion landed in Gallipoli, CQMS Stringer was appointed acting RQMS on July 13, 1915 when George Boocock was wounded and repatriated. He was subsequently promoted to RQMS, and promoted to WO II, on August 13, 1915.

It is likely that L/Cpl. 1773 Alfred Binns was appointed CSM of C Company on January 30, 1915 (vice Henry Stringer) and remained in this position until May 4, 1916 when he reported sick to hospital. Prior to joining the Territorials, Alfred Binns served 12 years in the Regular Army as an NCO with the 1st Derbyshire Regiment and the 10th and 18th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales’s Own). He was a Boer War veteran and joined the 9th Manchesters at the February 14, 1914 recruiting night when he was 31 years old. Eminently qualified, he was rapidly promoted in Egypt as the battalion went through training and was clearly the best candidate to replace Henry Stringer as CSM in late January 1915.

C Company CQMS:

Colour Sergeant George Newton was appointed CQMS of C Company when the battalion landed in Egypt in 1914 and remained in the CQMS position until May 4, 1916 when he was appointed acting Company Sergeant Major, (and promoted to acting Warrant Officer Class II), when CSM Alfred Binns reported sick. He was confirmed in the position and formally promoted when CSM Binns was medically evacuated to England on June 20, 1916. CSM Newton retained this rank until he left the battalion upon being awarded a commission.

D Company CSM:

Albert Green was one of those lucky few that survived Gallipoli unscathed. He was appointed CSM of D Company when the battalion landed in Egypt in September 1914 and served in that capacity in Gallipoli. On August 4, 1915 he was appointed acting Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) temporarily replacing RSM John Alexander Christie who had been medically evacuated to Alexandria with pneumonia the day before. CSM Green retained the RSM position until RSM Christie returned on October 20, 1915. In order to fill the gap in D Company, Sergeant Cornelius Finch was appointed acting CSM on August 4, 1915, (vice CSM Albert Green). Sgt Finch retained this position for seven weeks until Sept 27, 1915 when he too was medically evacuated, in his case to the UK via Malta suffering from dysentery. Albert Green resumed his position as CSM of ‘D’ Company approximately 3 weeks later on October 20, 1915 upon the return of RSM Christie.

It’s worth noting that when Sgt Cornelius Finch was medically evacuated from Gallipoli he effectively relinquished the acting rank of CSM and reverted back to the rank of Sergeant when he boarded the ship home but administratively this reversion of rank did not occur until  much later. Back in the UK, in 1916, he was still considered to be holding the rank of (acting ) CSM and consequently was referred to as such by the local newspapers.

D Company CQMS:

Colour Sergeant Robert Jackson was appointed CQMS when the battalion landed in Egypt in 1914 and remained in the CQMS position until he was medically evacuated from Gallipoli, arriving in Ashton in late October 1915. The only viable candidate from D Company available to replace him was Sergeant 341 John Lee. And indeed the Ashton Reporter referred to him as CQMS Lee when he returned home on furlough in 1916.

 

Boy Soldiers of the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment

The oldest other ranks member of the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment to serve in Gallipoli was 57 years old Quartermaster Sergeant (Q.M.S.) George Boocock, a 32-year veteran and Old Volunteer. At the other end of the spectrum, a number of very young men enlisted and found themselves deployed overseas to Egypt in September 1914 and then to Gallipoli in May 1915. Two of them were Alfred and James Boocock, the only surviving sons of Q.M.S. Boocock, who were treated as the battalion’s “mascots” and proudly and regularly promoted in local newspapers as possibly the youngest territorials in the North of England. In fact, at least seven members of the battalion were younger than James Boocock and both Richard Stott and Fred Finucane were younger than Alfred, making Richard the youngest member of the battalion by five months.

At least 15 members of the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment were, (or would have been), under the age of 17 when they landed in Gallipoli on May 9, 1915 and incredibly three of them were just 14 years old when they landed in Egypt on September 27, 1914.

Rank No. Forename Surname DoB Age
Pte 1652 RICHARD STOTT Mar-19-1900 15.08
Pte 1845 FREDERICK FINUCANE Oct-22-1899
Boy 2069 ALFRED BOOCOCK Oct-14-1899 15.50
Pte 1682 ERNEST PEPPER Mar-20-1899 16.08
Pte 1801 WILLIAM BARFIELD Dec-14-1898 16.33
Pte 1711 SIDNEY OGDEN Nov-04-1898 16.50
Pte 1966 NORMAN JACKSON Sep-15-1898 16.58
Pte 1674 CHARLES MIDDLETON Aug-31-1898 16.67
Boy 2070 JAMES BOOCOCK Aug-19-1898 16.67
Pte 1741 ARTHUR BANTON Aug-10-1898 16.67
Pte 1675 ALFRED SUMNER Jul-26-1898 16.75
Pte 1609 ROBERT McCORMACK Jul-18-1898 16.75
Pte 2063 THOMAS PORTINGTON Jun-28-1898 16.83
Pte 1745 WILLIAM HALL May-22-1898 16.92
Pte 1656 EDWARD HENNESSEY May-20-1898 16.92

Youngest 9th Manchesters and their Ages on September 27, 1914

In 1914, it was considered perfectly legitimate to attest such boy soldiers and many were sent overseas at the outbreak of hostilities. The prevailing standard was that although boys could attest at 17 any such boys under the age of 19 should not serve in combat but were nevertheless eligible to serve in ancillary roles in a combat zone. The Reverend J. K. Best held Enlisted Boys Classes at Heliopolis Camp in early 1915 with at least 31 attendees from just those battalions of the East Lancs Division who were then present. However, there were only 3 named attendees from the 9th Manchesters; the Boocock boys and their friend and workmate James Hoke.

In order to officially address the issue of underage boys serving overseas, War Office letter 9/Gen. No./5388D. (A.G. 2B) of 6th September, 1915 was issued followed by Army Council Instruction 1186 of 1916 which collectively laid out the appropriate rules and regulations to be followed. This was followed on October 6, 1916 by Army Council Instruction 1905 of 1916 which replaced and cancelled the previous two instructions.

The Army Council Instructions of 1916 stipulated that boys under the age of 17 currently serving with an overseas expeditionary force must be sent home and instead would serve with a reserve unit in the UK until such time as they attained 19 years of age. Boys between the ages of 17 and 18 ½ were asked if they were willing to be sent home and if so, were treated as above, but if not, were allowed to remain and serve behind the firing line, (at the discretion of the General Officer Commander in Chief). Boys between the ages of 18 1/2 and 19 were not asked but simply posted to a unit behind the firing line while remaining overseas.

These rules and regulations were all well and good to prevent young men who were still in the UK from being prematurely sent overseas but for those who had already deployed overseas it’s not clear that the military authorities did anything but turn a blind eye to it. This attitude prompted questions to be asked in Parliament by parents of underage boys and, in the case of Pte. 1966 Norman Jackson, letters written to the Prime Minister. By the end of the war, every young man eligible for military service was attested shortly after their 18th birthday and then underwent basic training in the UK before being deployed overseas, potentially into combat, shortly after their 19th birthday.

Below we examine how these particular young men were able to attest at such a tender age and how did the Army discharge their duty of care towards them?

How Did They Attest?

In 1914, the stated minimum age in recruitment campaigns for the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment was 17 years. On February 14, 1914 the 9th Manchesters held a very successful recruiting night at Ashton Town Hall which resulted in over 150 men attesting. In fact, it was so successful that men were attesting both in the days shortly before the event, based solely on the advertisement, and shortly after the event as the recruiters were overwhelmed with willing men and boys.

Feb 14, 1914 Recruiting Poster
Feb 14, 1914 Smoking Concert at Ashton Townhall

More than half of our 15 young men attested that night, misrepresenting their ages, one more a few days before and two more shortly thereafter. The next surge of recruits occurred upon the outbreak of war and an additional three youngsters, (including the Boocock brothers), attested on or around August 4, 1914.

No. Forename Surname Enlistment Date Actual Age Stated Age
1652 RICHARD STOTT 14-Feb-14 13.83 17y
1845 FREDERICK FINUCANE 19-Feb-14 14.25 ?
2069 ALFRED BOOCOCK 04-Aug-14 14.75 14y 10m
1682 ERNEST PEPPER 14-Feb-14 14.83 17y
1801 WILLIAM BARFIELD 16-Feb-14 15.17 17y
1711 SIDNEY OGDEN 14-Feb-14 15.25 ?
1966 NORMAN JACKSON 27-May-14 15.67 17y 8m
1674 CHARLES MIDDLETON 14-Feb-14 15.42 17y
2070 JAMES BOOCOCK 04-Aug-14 15.92 16y
1741 ARTHUR BANTON 14-Feb-14 15.50 17y
1675 ALFRED SUMNER 14-Feb-14 15.50 17y 6m
1609 ROBERT McCORMACK 04-Feb-14 15.50 16y 8m
2063 THOMAS PORTINGTON 06-Aug-14 16.08 16y 6m
1745 WILLIAM HALL 14-Feb-14 15.67 17y
1656 EDWARD HENNESSEY 14-Feb-14 15.67 18y 8m

Attestation Date & Stated versus Actual Ages

Contemporaneous newspaper reports indicate that Richard Stott’s family tacitly supported their son’s attestation, his mother noting that “he had always wanted to be a soldier.” And although his immediate family did not provide any military role models, by 1915 he is reported to have had no fewer than six uncles serving in the military, both overseas and in England. Richard was one of four great friends who joined the 9th Manchesters within days of each other.

We also know from contemporaneous newspaper reports that Fred Finucane attested with his father’s permission, coming as he did from a family with a very strong military background.

Alfred and James Boocock both attested with the full and complete support of their father QMS George Boocock. But why was George Boocock willing to risk the lives of his children when war broke out in August 1914? He was a long serving and totally committed member of the battalion having served in the Volunteers and Territorials most of his adult life and had already brought the boys along to several of the battalion’s summer camps. Additionally, he was a very senior NCO with a strong relationship with the battalion’s Quartermaster Major W.H. Connery, himself a former boy soldier and so no doubt sympathetically disposed. So, he likely felt quite confident that he could keep them out of harm’s way. Nevertheless, history does not record exactly what Mrs. Boocock felt about her husband taking her only two surviving sons off to war in September 1914.

It’s interesting to note that another young man, James Hoke, (not on our shortlist of the very youngest boys above), joined the battalion on Tuesday February 10, 1914 when he was 16 years old. However, he gave his correct age and like the Boococks was assigned the rank of “Boy”. His attestation papers show that he was employed as a joiner for Hadfield Brothers, of Ashton, the same firm of builders that Q.M.S. George Boocock worked for as a joiner foreman. Both the Boocock boys also worked for Hadfield Bros as apprentices and the three boys would have likely been good friends and no doubt wanted to serve together.

Ernest Pepper attested on Saturday February 14, 1914 and provided an age that was 2 years in advance of his actual age. We don’t know if his family approved and supported his actions but we do know that his older brother Philip Pepper attested 3 months later and was also somewhat parsimonious with the truth regarding his real age, since he too was not yet 17 years old at the time.

William Barfield was one of four boys, (William Taylor, Edward Green and Richard Stott being the other three), who were great friends and all joined the 9th Manchesters within days of each other. Taylor and Green were neighbours in Hurst, Ashton under Lyne living within yards of each other. Taylor, Green and Barfield all worked as piecers at the Cedar Mill in Hurst and Barfield and Stott lived within 100 yards of each other.

Drummer 1635 William Henry Taylor was the first to join on Tuesday February 10, 1914 in the week of the Smoking Concert. He gave his correct age of 16 years and 8 months since he was close to the required age. Pte 1641 Edward Lewis Green was the next to join, attesting the day after, also giving his correct age of 19 years. Richard Stott, although ridiculously underage, quickly followed his two friends by enlisting four days later on the evening of Saturday February 14th but of course gave a false stated age of 17 years old. Not to be left behind, William Barfield enlisted the following Monday along with all those at the Smoking concert who wanted to enlist but ran out of time.

Sidney Ogden also attested on the evening of Saturday February 14, 1914 and since he was only 15 at the time it’s reasonable to assume that he too lied about his age. Unfortunately, his service record is not available to confirm but it seems to be a reasonable assumption. Whether or not his parents approved we don’t know but one week later Sidney’s older brother Harry Ogden also attested and at 17 years and nine months old was destined to land in Gallipoli shortly before his 19th birthday. The oldest Ogden brother, William Ogden, attested during the week on November 16th, joining the 2/9th Battalion who were at the time undergoing pre-deployment training in Southport.

It appears that Norman Jackson attested without his father’s permission and over-stated his age by 2 years in order to be accepted. Although there was tolerance of his enlistment before the outbreak of war, thereafter his father spent the next two years lobbying the military and civil authorities to get his son out of the firing line and only succeeded with the issuing of Army Council Instruction 1186, of 1916 which he invoked to good effect.

Charles Arthur Middleton and Arthur Banton also both attested on the evening of Saturday February 14, 1914 and since they were both only 15 at the time they lied about their ages and stated that they were exactly 17 years old.

Alfred Sumner also attested on the evening of Saturday February 14, 1914 and like Middleton and Banton was just 15 years old. However, Alfred showed a little originality and overstated his age by exactly 2 years stating that he was 17 years and six months old. Alfred Sumner and Charles Middleton must have been processed at the same time as they received consecutive service numbers.

Robert Daniel MacCormack attested on February 4, 1914, 10 days before the smoking concert. He gave his correct age and his attestation papers show that he was initially given the appropriate rank of “Boy” rather than private. Robert’s older brother Pte. 1285 Albert McCormack was already a member of the battalion having joined almost 2 years earlier in March 1912.

Thomas William Preston Portington attested two days after the outbreak of war embellishing his age by a few months but nevertheless stating that he was still six months under the requisite age of 17. At this time, the battalion was desperately looking to add numbers but was initially selective of the men they added, many of whom had prior military service. Thomas was by all accounts a big lad for his age and worked as a collier at the New Moss Colliery. At least 22 men from the Colliery were already members of the battalion by the time Thomas attested and that perhaps aided his application.

William Henry Hall was among the men who attested on February 14, 1914 and erroneously gave his age as exactly 17 years even though he was still a few months shy of his 16th birthday.

Edward Hennessey also attested on February 14, 1914 and decided to add exactly two years to his actual age when asked. He too was a collier at New Moss Colliery and was one of at least 12 from the colliery who attested that night, including two of our underage boys; Charles Middleton and Ernest Pepper.

What Happened to Them?

It’s fair to say that these young men did not fare very well as a group with a quarter of them losing their lives while serving their country in the Gallipoli campaign. Five more were wounded in Gallipoli, (William Barfield was wounded twice), and another two were medically evacuated to the UK after becoming sick on the peninsula. One of the wounded boys survived but received life changing injuries and one of the sick evacuees suffered from post-war combat stress. A rather depressing but predictable outcome for a group of boys who had absolutely no business being anywhere near a combat zone.

No. Forename Surname Event Date
1652 RICHARD STOTT DoW 13-Jun-15
1845 FREDERICK FINUCANE Died 27-Nov-14
2069 ALFRED BOOCOCK Demobed 21-Mar-19
1682 ERNEST PEPPER Discharged 22-Nov-16
1801 WILLIAM BARFIELD Discharged 6-Feb-1919
1711 SIDNEY OGDEN DoW 20-Jun-15
1966 NORMAN JACKSON Commissioned 10-Sep-18
1674 CHARLES MIDDLETON Demobed 10-Jan-19
2070 JAMES BOOCOCK Demobed 08-May-19
1741 ARTHUR BANTON Discharged 27-Mar-19
1675 ALFRED SUMNER Demobed 3-Mar-1919
1609 ROBERT McCORMACK Demobed
2063 THOMAS PORTINGTON KiA 03-Sep-15
1745 WILLIAM HALL Demobed 1-May-19
1656 EDWARD HENNESSEY Demobed 16-Jan-19

Military Outcomes of the Youngest Members of the Battalion

Pte. 1652 Richard Stott

Richard Stott died of wounds on June 13, 1915 at sea and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial. He was the oldest son of John and Betsy Stott (née Wright) and lived on Wrigley Street, just off Turner Lane which provided many Territorials to the 9th Manchesters. He attested on the evening of Saturday February 14, 1914 and was reported to be only 5ft 2” tall with a 33 ½ inch chest. At just 13 years of age, it seems incredible to believe that anyone actually believed that he was old enough to serve.

Pte 1652 Richard Stott
Pte. 1652 Richard Stott

From the Saturday June 26, 1915 Ashton Reporter:

SIX UNCLES SERVING

Ashton Territorial Gives His Life for His Country

“He always said he would be a soldier,” declared Mrs. Stott of Wrigley-street, Ashton, in lamenting the death of her son, Private Richard Stott, of the 9th Batt. Manchester Regiment (Territorials), in respect of whom an official intimation had been received that he had died as the result of wounds received in action at the Dardanelles. Although in his teens he had a strong desire to join the Territorials, and his father, Mr. John Stott, an Ashton Corporation employee, decided not to place any obstacles in the way. He joined the Ashton Batt. Territorials, and volunteered for foreign service. By doing so he has kept up the traditions of the family, for he has no fewer than six uncles serving with the King’s colours, three of them with the Territorials at the Dardanelles, and the others in Kitchener’s Army in France and England. He formerly attended Holy Trinity School.

The family suffered a further loss on July 24, 1918 when Richard’s father died of Dysentery in Basra, Iraq. He was deployed there as a private with the 2nd Garrison Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers and died when he was 45 years old.

Pte. 1845 Frederick Thorley Finucane

Frederick Thorley Finucane died of dysentery in Cairo on November 27, 1914 just two months after landing in Egypt. He died in the Citadel Hospital, Cairo having been admitted just the day before. He was given a full military funeral and is buried at the Cairo War Memorial Cemetery.  In a rather stunning coincidence, his older brother John (“Jack”) Finucane died on the same day one year later of complications from an operation for dysentery and enteric fever at Netley Military Hospital.

Frederick Thorley Finucane
Pte. 1845 Frederick Thorley Finucane

From the Saturday December 5, 1914 Ashton Reporter:

PRIVATE FINUCANE

News has been received in Ashton of the death through, dysentery, in Egypt, of Private Fred Finucane, one of the Ashton Territorials. He was probably the youngest in the battalion, being only 15 years of age, but standing 5ft 8in. Born of a military family, be enlisted with his father’s written authority in March, and after going into camp at Bury sailed with his battalion to Egypt. His heart and soul were in his work, and in all his letters home he was always cheerful and happy. Only last week he mentioned having visited the Pyramids and other sights, and also that he had been on night manoeuvres. Several parcels are now on their way to him from home, he having been very popular among his various friends, as much for his pluck as a youngster as his quiet, unassuming ways. It came as a terrible shock to all who knew him when his parents, who live at The Brow, Bardsley, received a telegram on Monday announcing his death. The blow has been a heavy one, both to them and his brother, also a Territorial, to whom he was devotedly attached. They are now anxiously awaiting further news, and in the meantime try to console themselves with the thought that he never flinched from duty, and when the call came be stepped forward and offered to take his share in battling for his King and country.

He has answered the ” last roll call.” During the week many friends have called to offer their sympathy to the deeply grieved parents, and they were much touched by such expressions of feeling in their great trouble.

It was always a source of pride to him to know his grandfather, who is living in Manchester, was in the Army 15 months before Lord Roberts, and his father has an autograph letter from Bobs thanking him for birthday congratulations on his 80th birthday, they having first met in India in 1851.

The Bardsley Defence Corps will attend the morning service at Bardsley Church on Sunday, and the village band is also expected to be present, in honour of the late Private Finucane.

Notes:

  1. The Bardsley Defence Corps was co-founded and organized by Fred’s father Mr. Theodore Finucane.
  2. At the request of the family, the interment of John Finucane at Gorton Cemetery was not of a military character.

Boy 2069 Alfred and Boy 2070 James Boocock

Both of the Boocock boys survived the war and were demobilised in 1919. During their time in Gallipoli, they were employed with their father, the Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant, and were responsible for bringing supplies up from the ships up to the regimental base. They were not issued with rifles and stayed in the reserve but were still subject to the incessant shelling. Alfred contracted dysentery in July 1915 and was medically evacuated to the UK, via Malta. On July 13, 1915 R.Q.M.S. Boocock was wounded in the foot by a stray bullet and medically evacuated to England. At this point, James Boocock would likely have been taken under the wing of Major Connery the battalion Quartermaster, a long-time colleague of R.Q.M.S. Boocock.

Young Boococks

Alfred Boocock turned 19 years old in October 1918 and so he should have spent the remainder of the war on home service. After the war he remained single living with two of his sisters, Emma and Nellie, in Ashton under Lyne as a plumber. He died in 1975 having outlived all of his siblings. He was 75 years old.

James Boocock survived Gallipoli and deployed with the battalion to Egypt in 1916. He turned 19 in August 1917 and at some point, after March 1917, he was transferred to the 2nd Battalion Manchester Regiment and remained with them for the duration of the war. He died in Ashton in 1933 and was buried at St. Michaels and All Angels Church where his father joined him a year later.

Pte. 1682 Ernest Pepper

Ernest Pepper was seriously wounded on August 2, 1915 with a gunshot, (probably shrapnel), wound to the spine. He was medically evacuated from Gallipoli and just over a month later, on September 7, boarded a hospital ship for England. 14 months later, he was discharged being no longer fit for military service due to his wounds. The 1939 National Roll indicates that 24 years after being wounded in Gallipoli he was unmarried and living with his father, permanently incapacitated. Ernest’s older brother Philip fared slightly better; he was medically evacuated from Egypt in early May 1915 having likely never deployed to Gallipoli.

Pte. 1801 William Barfield

William Barfield was one of four close friends who joined the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment three of whom made our list of underage boys. Two of them lost their lives in Gallipoli and both of the other two were wounded.

Pte. William Barfield
Pte. 1801 William Barfield

William wrote to his mother telling her of his wound and the letter was published in the Saturday July 10, 1915 Ashton Reporter newspaper:

“DON’T WORRY, MOTHER.”

Cheerful Letter From Wounded Ashton Territorial,

Private William Barfield, of the Ashton Territorials, writes from a hospital in Alexandria to his mother, Mrs. Barfield 132, Turner-lane, Ashton, telling her that he has been wounded. But he is very cheerful, says he will soon be all right again, and tells her she has not to worry. He writes:-

“I am very sorry to tell you that I have been wounded in the left leg and the right foot, but I am expecting to be all right again in a few weeks so don’t you worry, for I am all right. It is a fortnight to-day since it was done, and they are going on fine. We are getting plenty of food, as much as we can eat. I am in a Greek Hospital, and the nurses are very kind to us.”

A little more clarity on William’s wounds was provided by his good friend Drummer W. H. Taylor in the same edition of the Ashton Reporter:

A HURST DRUMMER

Received a Bullet Wound in the Left Forearm,

“Billy Barfield has been wounded in the bayonet charge. He fell with a bullet through his left leg, and whilst crawling away he got another through his left foot. Teddy Green bandaged the wounds with his field dressing. Teddy Green was all right when I got winged, and I think he will be all right, although they stayed in the trench over-night.”

The fates of the four friends was laid out in a letter published in the Saturday December 18, 1915 Ashton Reporter newspaper:

FOUR CHUMS HIT

Mrs. Green, of 2, Spring Bank Cottages, Broadoak-road, Hurst, on Saturday received an official intimation that her son, Private Edward Green, 1/9th Manchester Regiment, had died from wounds on November 13th, at the Dardanelles. Private Green, who was 21 years of age, was formerly employed as a little piecer at the Cedar Mill.

A chum of his, Drummer W. H. Taylor, also of the 1/9th Manchester Regiment, writing to his mother. Mrs. Taylor, also of Spring Bank Cottages, pays a fine tribute to his dead comrade as follows:

“It is with the deepest regret that I inform you that my old chum Edward Green passed away on Saturday afternoon, November 13th, at 4-30. He got hit in the side of the head and lost consciousness almost instantaneously, and it will perhaps ease your mind to know he did not suffer much pain He was well liked by everyone in his company, and although one of the smallest, he was one of the pluckiest lads in the regiment, as any one of them will tell you.”

“There were, as you know, four of us who came out, all chums, and every one of us have been hit. Dick Stott was hit three times in the head, and died from his wounds. Billy Barfield was hit through the leg and foot on June 7th. and I was hit in the same charge, and now Teddy has been killed, and I am the only one who is back out of the four. It was a very curious thing that Teddy’s cousin Willie, who only came out three weeks ago, was the first one to find him. It must have been a great shock to him. Jim (Pte James Elliot, a brother-in-law of Drummer Taylor, of the 1/9th Manchester Regiment) is all right, and as for myself, I am in the pink at present.”

Unfortunately, this was not the end of William Barfield’s Gallipoli troubles as the February 12, 1916 edition of the Ashton Reporter conveyed:

TWICE WOUNDED.
Ashton Territorial Hit on Eve of the Evacuation.

For the second time Private Wm. Barfield, 1/9th Manchester Regiment, of 132, Turner-lane, Ashton, has been wounded during the fighting at the Dardanelles. In a letter from him he says:

“I am sorry to tell you I have been wounded again by shrapnel in the right thigh. This happened on the 28th of last month (December). It is going on fine so you need not worry about me, for I am all right. I hope it will not be long before I see you all.” He is now in Hospital at Malta.

In June last he was wounded in the left leg and right foot during an engagement on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

His father, Private Barfield, is also in the Army, having enlisted in the Middlesex Regiment. He is stationed at a military camp in Sussex and engaged in trench digging.

And coincidentally, his good friend Drummer W. H. Taylor was also wounded for a second time as reported in the Ashton Reporter the following week:

Ashton Territorial in Hospital With Fractured Skull,

Drummer W H. Taylor, C. Company, 1/9th Manchesters, writes from Western General Hospital, Leaf Square, Pendleton, Manchester, to the Editor of the Reporter:-

“I am suffering from a fractured skull and paralysis of the left foot, and this is the second time wounded, as I was wounded in the arm on June 7th, 1915, in the same engagements as Private W. Barfield.”

Pte. 1711 Sidney Ogden

Sidney Ogden was born and raised in Ashton under Lyne and was working as a scavenger at the Guide Bridge Spinning Company, Ashton before the war along with his older brother Harry. He attested on the evening of Saturday February 14, 1914 his brother Harry attesting a few days later.

Pte. Sidney Ogden
Pte. 1711 Sidney Ogden

Sidney was assigned to Number 2 platoon, A Company and his platoon commander was 2/Lt. Charles Earsham Cooke, himself only 18 years old when he landed in Gallipoli. Sidney’s death is rather graphically described in 2/Lt. Cooke’s personal diary:

June 19. Saturday. We stood-to from 3am till about 8am our machine-gun, and in fact all of us, had been told that when the last attack came off we were to fire like hell at the trench in front to stop reinforcements. This the machine gun did. This drew shell fire at our trench. The trench is really in a most difficult position to describe, suffice it to say that it was on a hill, sheer down and the trench was hardly dug into the ground at all but was chiefly made of sand-bags thereby rendering a most magnificent target to the Turk’s shell fire. One shell actually landed on the parapet (front) as well as many on the back and blew the lot, making a huge gap. Previously, young Ogden, (16 years old), was badly shot through the head, brains out, I bandaged him up but the RAMC said no hope, however he still lives. Well the shell that blew the parapet in wounded 2 and knocked the remaining 3 down.

The Saturday July 3, 1915 Ashton Reporter newspaper reported the death of Sidney’s older brother:

IF THEY COULD ONLY SEE

All the Lads in Ashton Would Join.

TERRITORIAL’S DEATH.

Wounded an Hour After Getting Letter From Home.

News has been officially received by Mr. Arnold Ogden, of Hill-street, Ashton, that his son, Private Harry Ogden, 1/9 Battalion Manchester Regiment (Territorials) has died from wounds received on June 6th in action at the Dardanelles. Prior to the mobilisation in August last he worked as piecer at the Guide Bridge Spinning Co. He was formerly a member of St. Peter’s Boys’ Brigade. A letter dated June 12th, from the Egyptian Hospital, Port Said, which was received from him by his parents, states :-

“About an hour after I had read your letter I got wounded in the neck, and I was removed to hospital. I am being well looked after, and I could not expect better treatment. The wound is not a very bad one. Will you tell Jack (his minder at the Guide Bridge Spinning Co.) that I received his letter and tabs, and that I hope to be working for him again before very long.”

Referring to the recruiting efforts in Ashton he states :-

“If they were out here, and saw what we have seen, all the lads in Ashton would join.”

A brother, Private Sidney Ogden, is also serving with the Territorials at the Dardanelles, and another brother, Private William Ogden, is serving with the 2/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment (Territorials) at Haywards Heath.

And the Saturday July 10, 1915 Ashton Reporter newspaper reported the sad news of Sidney’s death:

TWO BROTHERS KILLED

Both Belonged to the Ashton Territorials

News was received on Wednesday by Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Ogden, of 84, Hill Street, Ashton, that their son, Private Sidney Ogden, 1/9th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, Territorials, had died from wounds received on June 20th.

The sadness of the news was heightened by the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Ogden had only just recovered from the shock which they experienced on receiving the official intimation that their son, Private Harry Ogden, in the same battalion, had died from wounds on June 6th.

Both youths, for Sidney was only 16 years of age, and Harry, a year or two older, worked as piecers at the Guide Bridge Spinning Company.

Another brother, Private William Ogden, is serving in the 2/9th Battalion at Hayward’s Heath.

Pte. 1966 Norman Jackson

Norman Jackson’s surviving service record provides a detailed account of the lengths his father, Eli Jackson, took to ensure that he was kept out of the firing line. Shortly after his son was mobilised, Eli contacted the battalion while they were still in England and informed them that Norman Jackson was underage. He was informed that they were only going to be assigned Garrison (i.e., non-combat) duty and that any age discrepancy would be uncovered during that period. Norman deployed to Egypt and then to Gallipoli. However, in Gallipoli he was employed as a telephone operator and was not given a combat role. After going through the Gallipoli campaign unscathed he deployed to Egypt with the battalion in January 1916. Back in Ashton, despite contacting the military authorities in September and October 1915 Eli had made no progress in his quest to protect his son. In an apparent act of desperation, in July 1916, after the issuing of Army Council Instruction 1186 of 1916, he wrote to the Prime Minster, David Lloyd George, asking for his help. Remarkably, this seemed to do the trick and in August 1916 Norman Jackson was removed to the 42nd Division Base Depot prior to being transferred to the UK to serve with a reserve unit until his 19th birthday. He left Egypt on September 3, 1916 onboard the H.T. Royal George, 12 days before his 18th birthday.

Norman Jackson in WW2
Sgt. Norman Jackson, Australian Army Medical Corps (WW2)

He was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in the East Lancashire Regiment on September 11, 1918 and promoted to Lieutenant on March 11, 19120. He resigned his commission on September 23, 1921 retaining the rank of Lieutenant. After the war he traveled extensively to South Africa, Mauritius, Australia and New Zealand eventually settling in Gracemere, Queensland where he married. In May 1940 he joined the Australian Army Medical Corps, ironically incorrectly reporting his age to appear 2 years younger than he actually was. He served as a Sergeant in World War 2 from 1940-42 when he was discharged on compassionate grounds at his own request. He died in 1976 in Brisbane, Queensland; he was 77 years old.

Pte. 1674 Charles Arthur Middleton

Before the outbreak of war, Charles Middleton was a miner at New Moss Colliery. He was born in Golborne, just south of Wigan, and by 1911 was living with his family in Dukinfield and attending school. He attested on the evening of Saturday February 14, 1914 with around a dozen of his work colleagues and, perhaps coincidentally, was assigned consecutive service numbers with Alfred Sumner.

He does not appear in any newspaper reports and there is no surviving service record other than the very sparse record of his attestation but there are some other things we know. He was one of a number of enlisted men who attended bible class with the Reverend J. K. Best at Heliopolis camp in early 1915 before the battalion deployed to Gallipoli. While he was at Gallipoli he was wounded and listed on the Times Casualty List of July 20, 1915. This means that he was likely wounded in June 1915. There is no record of him being medically evacuated to the UK and we know from his medal roll that he served the remainder of his time in the war with the Manchester Regiment. He was disembodied on January 10, 1919 and applied for a war related disability pension which he received.

Pte. 1741 Arthur Banton

Arthur Banton was born and raised in Ashton under Lyne and before the outbreak of war was working as a packer at the Park Road Spinning Company, Dukinfield. He attested on the evening of Saturday February 14, 1914 and was one of two employees of that particular Cotton Mill to attest that night. He deployed to Egypt and then Gallipoli with the 9th Manchesters and apparently came through the first four months unscathed but on September 5, 1915 he reported sick and was medically evacuated to the UK just over a week later. In England he was discharged from hospital on October 26th but was left with a medical diagnosis of “Disordered Action of the Heart” (D.A.H.). Today this is recognized as a long-term post combat medical disorder and although shell shock was the quintessential war syndrome of 1914–1918, soldier’s heart or D.A.H. was, in fact, equally common.1

After his post hospital stay furlough, he joined the 8th (Reserve) Battalion, Manchester Regiment and there spent some weeks performing military police duties. He applied for a transfer to the military police but was apparently rejected, perhaps because of his age. On July 25, 1916 Arthur was transferred to Class “W (T)” per Army Council Instruction 1186 of June 13, 1916, Paragraph 1(b) since he was still under 18 years of age. After spending the minimum period of 3 months in this manner he rejoined the 8th (Reserve) Battalion on October 23rd having now celebrated his 18th birthday. Still under the requisite age of 19 years to return to combat he was transferred to an agricultural company of the KOSB and 3 months later to the Labour Corps.

In November 1917, having now passed his 19th birthday, he was deployed overseas to the Divisional Supply Depot at Boulogne. In May 1918 he was posted to the 87th Company of the Labour Corps in the field. On August 27, 1918 he suffered the indignity of a Field General Court Martial for being absent without leave for a week. Found guilty, he was sentenced to 28 days of Field Punishment Number 1, remitted to 7 days. A few weeks later he was sentenced to be deprived of 14 days pay for being absent without leave for almost a day, remitted to 1 day’s pay.

He was repatriated to the UK in early 1919 and discharged on March 27th of that year due to sickness and awarded the silver war badge. After the war he married Mary Alice Nelson in late 1919 and together they emigrated to Canada in 1922.

  1. Jones E. Historical approaches to post-combat disorders. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2006 Apr 29;361(1468):533-42. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2006.1814. PMID: 16687259; PMCID: PMC1569621.

Pte. 1675 Alfred Sumner

Alfred Sumner was born and raised in Ashton under Lyne and was working as an engineer at Nellison &  Hayton Company in Ashton when he attested on the evening of Saturday February 14, 1914. He remained with the Manchester Regiment throughout the war and was demobilised on March 3, 1919.

The only account we have of Alfred’s time in Gallipoli is from the Saturday July 24, 1915 Ashton Reporter newspaper:

SIX WEEKS WITHOUT A REST

Ashton Territorial Who Bandaged Wounded Comrade.

Mrs. Sumner, of 53, Burlington-street, Ashton, has received a letter from her son, Private Alfred Sumner, of the Ashton Territorials, in which he says:-

“I am still able to tell you I am in the land of the living. At the present time I am feeling done up after six weeks without a rest, and seldom out of the firing line. On June 18th we stormed an enemy’s trench, and Ryder got shot through the eye [particulars of Private Ryder’s death appeared in the “Reporter” last week], and I believe he died in about two minutes. He was with a party of 25, including myself and Littleford, and it was just as we reached the enemy’s trench that he got shot.”

“Littleford and I, with some of the party, managed to get back to our own trench, and then it was like hell let loose. We were only 20 yards from the enemy, and every man had to fight for all he was worth. Somehow I got hit in the forehead. I can’t tell what it was, because it blinded me for the minute, and then I went out of the firing line, and they have put me on a hospital ship. It is not much of a wound that I have, but my right eye is still sore. Our division has done good work out here, but they have paid for it.”

According to a letter from a comrade, Private Sumner tied his field bandage round poor Ryder’s head after he was hit, and it was just after this incident that he himself was wounded.

Pte. 1609 Robert Daniel MacCormack

Robert Daniel MacCormack was the younger brother of Albert MacCormack who joined the 9th Manchesters on March 28, 1912. Born and raised in Ashton under Lyne Robert was employed as a piecer at Thomas Mason and Son’s Oxford Mill in Ashton. He attested on February 4, 1914 giving his correct age and was at least initially given the rank of Boy. There is no surviving service record (other than the sparse account of his attestation) and no contemporaneous newspaper reports to draw from. He was not shown on any casualty lists and so the assumption is that he made it safely through the Gallipoli campaign unscathed. His medal roll indicates that he was allocated a six-digit service number assigned to the 9th Manchesters in early 1917 and continued to serve with them throughout the remainder of the war. There are no surviving pension records to indicate any disability claims.

Pte 2063 Thomas William Preston Portington

Thomas William Preston Portington deployed to Egypt and then Gallipoli. On the evening of September 2, he was one of 14 other ranks assigned to a digging party under the command of 2nd Lieut. Arthur Claude Vyvyan-Robinson of the 10th South Lancs Regiment and attached to the 9th Manchesters. Their orders were to extend a sap joining the current Firing Line with the Northern Barricade. Unfortunately, as they made their way in the dark, they lost their bearings, going too far East, and were discovered by the Turks and probably caught in the cross-fire between the Turks and the Royal Naval Division, who were not aware of their presence. 2/Lt. Vyvyan-Robinson and three men were wounded and 17-year-old Pte. Portington was reported missing. Thomas’ body was never found and he was not officially declared Killed in Action until January 1916.

From the Saturday 29 January 1916 Ashton Reporter:

17th BIRTHDAY IN TRENCHES,

Ashton Territorial Who Was Killed in Gallipoli.

An official intimation has now been received by Mr. and Mrs. Portington, of 46, Dale-street, Ashton, that their son, Private Tom Portington of the Ashton Territorials, has been killed in action. He had previously been reported “missing” on September 3rd, 1915. Naturally, Mr. and Mrs. Portington had clung to the shred of hope that their son had not been killed, but had been taken prisoner, and were buoyed up in their belief by letters from his comrades, who also believed he had been captured.

From various accounts it seems that Private Portington went out with some of the others to dig themselves in nearer the Turkish lines, but the Turks became suspicious, and threw a searchlight on them. When they saw what was happening they opened fire, and our men beat a hasty retreat.

Private Portington, who was the oldest of seven children, worked at the New Moss Pit. He was a fine lad for his age, and easily passed as over 18, but he was only 16 years old when he joined. He celebrated his 17th birthday in the trenches.

Many of his comrades have written expressing their sympathy with Mr. and Mrs. Portington and testifying to the pluck and popularity of Private Portington He was liked by both officers and men.

Pte. 1745 William Henry Hall

Like Arthur Banton, William Henry Hall was employed at the Park Road Spinning Company but when he attested on February 14, 1914 he was employed at the River Cotton Mill, Dukinfield. He appears to have survived Gallipoli mostly unscathed except for a mysterious accident with a pick axe.

From the Saturday July 31, 1915 Ashton Reporter newspaper:

ASHTON TERRITORIAL WOUNDED WITH A “PICK”

Private WILLIAM HENRY HALL, of 48, Hill Street, Ashton, has been wounded in a peculiar manner while fighting with the Ashton Territorials in the Dardanelles. Writing from the hospital at Alexandria to his father, who is employed at the New Moss Colliery, he states that he was wounded by a “pick”. He does not explain how the affair happened. But his injuries are not regarded as serious. He joined the Ashton Territorials during the recruiting boom at the beginning of last year, and at the time was employed as a piecer at Park Road Mill.

William remained with the 9th Manchesters in Egypt during 1916 and then deployed with them to France in March 1917. At some point he transferred to the Welch Regiment (Royal Welch Fusiliers) from where he was disembodied on May 1, 1919.

Immediately after the war he married Nellie Jones in Ashton in 1919 but then rejoined the 1st Battalion, Welch Regiment and was deployed to India. He remained with them until he was discharged on February 15, 1924 and was now entitled to the India General Service Medal with Waziristan 1921-24 clasp.

Pte. 1656 Edward Hennessey

Born and raised in Ashton under Lyne, Edward Hennessey worked at the New Moss Colliery and was one of three of our underage boys to attest on the evening of Saturday February 14, 1914 and list the Colliery as their employer. He was wounded in Gallipoli at the Battle of Krithia Vineyard and was treated in Hospital at Mudros. He returned to the peninsula in September and apparently saw out the remainder of his time there without incident.

From the Saturday September 18, 1915 Ashton Reporter newspaper:

MISSED HIS CHUM.

The First Parting Since Leaving Home.

TERRITORIAL OF 17 WOUNDED

Says It is the Only Chance of Getting Some Rest,

Private Edward Hennessey 1/9th Manchester Regiment, whose home is at 32, Wellington-street, Ashton, was wounded on August 7th during the big attack in which the Ashton men distinguished themselves. He is the only son of his mother, who is a widow. Mrs. Hennessey has received the following letter, dated August 18th, from her son:-

“Dear Mother, I am at present in hospital with a bullet in my leg, but it is not worrying me a bit. It is just a rest for me. I don’t want you to think that it is much, because it is not. They don’t know where to send us yet, because every place is full up with the wounded. The only place where there seems to be room for us is at home in England. I may get a chance of seeing it with a bit of luck.”

“I was attached to the R.E. with the miners We were practically in the firing line, going under and making listening galleries and mines. Then I was an officer’s orderly, and used to take the notes for him. I got hit during the night. I thought it was a horse that had kicked me. They have not got the bullet out yet. It’s the only chance you have of having a rest. It is the first time I have seen a doctor since I left England. It is also the first time that Teddy (Private Edward Kershaw, of the Ashton Territorials, also of Wellington-street, his companion) and I have been parted since we left home. I feel lonely without him. Tell them all at home I shall be all right in a week or two.”

Private Hennessey who was only 17 years old last May, had been in the Territorials about a year before the outbreak of hostilities. He was with the first batch to go out, and formerly worked at New Moss Colliery.

The Saturday September 25, 1915 Ashton Reporter newspaper wrapped-up the story:

BACK TO THE TRENCHES,

Ashton Territorial Glad to See the Boys Again.

On Monday Mrs. Hennesey, of 82, Wellington-street, Ashton, a widow, received the following letter from her only son, Private Edward Hennesey, of the 1/9th Manchester Regiment, who, as reported in last week’s “Reporter,” was wounded during the fighting at Gallipoli:-

“I shall soon be all right and going back to the battalion. I dare say by the time you get this letter I shall be back and I shall be glad to see my battalion again. I had a nice rest and a good bed for the last five weeks, and it has done me a world of good.”

“I had the bullet taken out about two weeks ago, and I am going to keep it. It did not go right through my leg. It stopped in the bone, and the doctor had a job to take it out. I have been stationed at Mudros. It is an island about 30 miles from the Peninsula, and there are a lot of grapes here. I can get about very well now, so I shall soon be fit for duty. I shall be glad to see Teddy (Private Edward Kershaw, of the Ashton Territorials, and of Wellington street, his chum).”

Edward Hennessey remained with the 9th Manchesters during their subsequent deployed to Egypt in 1916 and then to France in 1917. Early in 1918 he transferred to the Machine Gun Corps and remained with them until he was demobilised on January 16, 1919.

After he left the Army, he almost immediately married Mabel Eileen McGarry and they later had two sons. Edward Hennessey died in October 1960 and is buried in Hurst Cemetery, Ashton under Lyne.

Summary of the 9th Manchesters Boy Soldiers

More than 100 boys were, (or would have been), under the age of 19 when they landed in Gallipoli. Their names are provided below ranked by their Gallipoli landing age. Note that since some of them arrived as drafts after the original landing on May 9, 1915 it is not necessarily ordered by age at landing.

1943 Philip Pepper, 1784 Fred Hewitt and 1766 Arthur Riley were part of a group of 15 men who were, according to the Ashton Reporter, invalided home from Egypt in mid to late May 1915. A later article concerning CQMS Williamson describes him as the first man back from Gallipoli. Consequently, the presumption is that although they deployed to Egypt in 1914 none of these three young men actually served in Gallipoli.

1705 John Bridge died of pneumonia on September 24, 1914 just before the battalion landed in Egypt and was buried at sea. He had just turned 18 a few days before his death.

No. Forename Surname DoB Gallipoli Landing Age
1652 RICHARD STOTT 19-Mar-1900 15.08
1845 FREDERICK FINUCANE 22-Oct-1899
2069 ALFRED BOOCOCK 14-Oct-1899 15.50
1682 ERNEST PEPPER 20-Mar-1899 16.08
1801 WILLIAM BARFIELD 14-Dec-1898 16.33
1711 SIDNEY OGDEN 4-Nov-1898 16.50
1966 NORMAN JACKSON 15-Sep-1898 16.58
1674 CHARLES MIDDLETON 31-Aug-1898 16.67
2070 JAMES BOOCOCK 19-Aug-1898 16.67
1741 ARTHUR BANTON 10-Aug-1898 16.67
1675 ALFRED SUMNER 26-Jul-1898 16.75
1609 ROBERT MacCORMACK 18-Jul-1898 16.75
2063 THOMAS PORTINGTON 28-Jun-1898 16.83
1745 WILLIAM HALL 22-May-1898 16.92
1656 EDWARD HENNESSEY 20-May-1898 16.92
1697 ARCHIBALD LATHAM 15-May-1898 17.17
1746 JOHN CHAPMAN 18-Apr-1898 17.00
1638 WILLIAM HAZELL 9-Apr-1898 17.08
1673 RONALD WATERS 24-Mar-1898 17.08
1626 HENRY BENT 13-Mar-1898 17.08
1748 WILLIAM HIGGINBOTTOM 2-Mar-1898 17.17
1391 GEORGE HAUGHTON 11-Feb-1898 17.17
1835 WILLIAM HANDLEY 9-Feb-1898 17.25
2110 THOMAS BATES 1-Feb-1898 17.25
1744 ANTHONY SHERIDAN 23-Jan-1898 17.25
1767 WILLIAM ROBERTSON 25-Dec-1897 17.33
1735 WILLIAM BATKIN 11-Nov-1897 17.42
2971 ALBERT HARLING 9-Nov-1897 17.67
1694 BEN CUMMINGS 19-Oct-1897 17.50
1943 PHILLIP PEPPER 19-Oct-1897
3281 JAMES FERNLEY 6-Oct-1897 18.00
2297 SAM MATHER 6-Oct-1897 17.83
2356 FRED SMITH 5-Oct-1897 17.75
2514 ALFRED MOLYNEUX 1-Oct-1897 17.75
1752 GEORGE WILSON 21-Sep-1897 17.83
1873 THOMAS CARTER 16-Sep-1897 17.58
1753 JOSEPH SWINTON 14-Sep-1897 17.58
1601 WALTER CLEGG 7-Sep-1897 17.67
1691 GEORGE NEWTON 6-Sep-1897 17.67
1642 ENOCH WARHURST 29-Aug-1897 17.67
1637 HERBERT FISH 25-Aug-1897 17.67
1677 RUPERT RYLANCE 25-Aug-1897 17.67
1380 BERNARD RAWLINGS 6-Aug-1897 17.75
1789 NORMAN RICHARDSON 5-Aug-1897 17.75
1669 JOSEPH WILDE 17-Jul-1897 17.75
1635 WILLIAM TAYLOR 4-Jul-1897 17.83
1634 JAMES HOKE 19-Jun-1897 17.83
1604 WILLIAM CORLETT 18-Jun-1897 17.83
1683 FRANK HADFIELD 17-Jun-1897 17.83
1676 TOM LITTLEFORD 12-Jun-1897 17.83
1655 RICHARD BOON 1-Jun-1897 17.92
1574 THOMAS BOON 1-Jun-1897 17.92
1799 HAROLD ABBOTT 18-May-1897 17.92
1481 CLIFFORD HOLDEN 12-May-1897 17.92
1622 HARRY JACKSON 14-Apr-1897 18.00
1670 JOSEPH O’DONNELL 7-Apr-1897 18.08
1786 JOHN COFFEY 2-Apr-1897 18.08
1684 EDWIN JONES 29-Mar-1897 18.08
1771 WILLIAM WILSON 13-Mar-1897 18.08
1625 ARTHUR BURN 9-Mar-1897 18.08
1853 HENRY LEWIS 4-Mar-1897 18.17
1784 FRED HEWITT 17-Feb-1897
1623 JAMES GREENHALGH 11-Feb-1897 18.17
1345 ERIC GOLIGHTLY 27-Jan-1897 18.33
1591 EDWARD LEES 5-Jan-1897 18.33
1643 SAMUEL NEWTON 4-Jan-1897 18.33
1596 JOHN OAKDEN 1-Jan-1897 18.33
1640 JAMES GARRAGAN 1897 18.?
1713 WILLIAM LOMAS 1897 18.?
1772 CECIL MURRAY 29-Dec-1896 18.33
1681 HARRY ROBINSON 22-Dec-1896 18.33
1668 JOSEPH TAYLOR 17-Dec-1896 18.33
1727 ROBERT THOMAS 2-Dec-1896 18.42
1607 ERIC LISTER 1-Dec-1896 18.42
1645 TOM LONGWORTH 30-Nov-1896 18.42
1715 WALTER ROEBUCK 26-Nov-1896 18.42
1679 GEORGE LOWE 5-Nov-1896 18.50
1617 JOHN TURNER 26-Oct-1896 18.50
1310 HERBERT MORRIS 21-Oct-1896 18.50
1468 ALFRED ATHERTON 16-Oct-1896 18.50
1660 HAROLD GARTSIDE 4-Oct-1896 18.58
1593 ALBERT EASTWOOD 29-Sep-1896 18.58
1775 WILLIAM POSTLE 24-Sep-1896 18.58
1804 HARRY MARSDEN 23-Sep-1896 18.58
2071 CHARLES JOYCE 21-Sep-1896 18.58
1705 JOHN BRIDGE 16-Sep-1896
1663 WILLIAM ALLCOCK 13-Sep-1896 18.58
1671 ERIC HYATT 13-Sep-1896 18.58
1693 ALBERT ORTON 11-Sep-1896 18.58
1662 HARRY OWEN 25-Aug-1896 18.67
1768 MAURICE BARKER 19-Aug-1896 18.67
1405 JOHN DALEY 7-Aug-1896 18.75
1766 ARTHUR RILEY 11-Jul-1896
1720 JOE TRUNKFIELD 10-Jul-1896 18.75
1792 ALBERT DAVIES 7-Jul-1896 18.83
1595 WILLIAM RUSHWORTH 28-Jun-1896 18.83
1796 RICHARD VAREY 28-Jun-1896 18.83
1812 FRANK WARHURST 13-Jun-1896 18.83
1658 JONATHAN POTTER 11-Jun-1896 18.83
1740 JOSHUA BENNETT 1 Jun-1896 18.83
1872 HARRY OGDEN 23-May-1896 18.92

25 lost their lives in Egypt or Gallipoli and another 8 lost their lives later in the war. At least one more received life changing wounds and became permanently incapacitated. 11 boys died during the Campaign under the age of 18 and another 6 died before their 19th birthday. The youngest boy to die in the Gallipoli Campaign was Richard Stott at 15 years and just under 3 months but the youngest of them to die on overseas service was Fred Finucane who was just over 1 month past his 15th birthday when he died of dysentery in Egypt.

That said, two of them, James Greenhalgh and Albert Davies, went on to win the Distinguished Conduct Medal in Gallipoli, and one more, Archibald Thomas Latham, won the DCM in France. Three more won the Military Medal and an additional man was Mentioned in Despatches.

Three more, Norman Jackson, Albert Eastwood and Charles Devine Joyce, survived Gallipoli and were later commissioned as officers. Charles Joyce was also one of the men awarded the Military Medal, receiving his in 1917 before he was commissioned.

At least 24 had relatives in the battalion. In some cases, the influence of a parent or older brother already serving in the battalion may have been a factor in their decision to join but in many cases it was the boy that joined first and the older family member who joined later. And we should acknowledge the case of Richard and Thomas Boon, twins who joined the battalion within a month of each other. Thomas joining in January 1914, adding two years to his real age, and Richard on the night of the smoking concert more modestly stating that he was exactly 17 years old.

Some outcomes of the list members are provided below:

Pte 1835 William Handley

William Handley deployed to Egypt and then Gallipoli as a private in A Company. His father, Cpl. Robert Handley, had himself joined the battalion in September 1915 while the battalion were in Camp at Bury and accompanied his son overseas. On June 7, 1915 C Company were involved in a bayonet charge against the Turkish trenches resulting in many casualties; Cpl. Robert Handley was killed in action that day. William remained in Gallipoli and in early August was involved in the Battle of Krithia Vineyard where Lt. William Thomas Forshaw won the Victoria Cross.

William Handley
Pte 1835 William Handley

Shortly after, he was medically evacuated to England suffering from shellshock. He rejoined the battalion while they were in Egypt in December 1916 and deployed to France with them in March 1917. Pte. William Handley was killed in action, struck by a bullet on the night of May 6/7 during an advance. He was 19 years old having turned 19 one month before the battalion left Egypt.

From the Saturday May 26, 1917 Ashton Reporter:

FATHER AND SON.

Fought Side by Side and Both Killed.

“STILL TOGETHER.”

Major Howorth’s Touching Letter to Widowed Mother

Mrs. Handley, of 126, Cotton-street, Ashton, whose husband, Corporal Robert Handley, was killed during the glorious charge of the Ashton Territorials in Gallipoli on June 7th, 1915, which was led by Captain F. Hamer and Lieutenant A. E. Stringer, has received news of the death in France of her son, Private William Handley, who was also in the 1/9th Battalion, and went out to Egypt with his father, when he was but 15 years of age. Shortly after his father’s death, Pte. Handley was invalided home through shock, but not before he had fought nobly and well with Lieutenant W. T. Forshaw, when the latter won the V.C. in the vineyard. It was a fight against “the desperate” foe and fierce odds, and every man who came out counted himself lucky. Private Handley went back to Egypt for the second time last Christmas, and accompanied the battalion to France.

Major T.  Egbert Howorth, O.C. A Company, writes:-

It is with deep sorrow I have to tell you of heavy loss you have to bear. I know that already you have been called upon to give your husband, and now I have to tell you that your son also has been called upon to make the supreme sacrifice. May strength be given you to bear this double sorrow. “The boy came out with me in September, 1914, and then rejoined us in Egypt. I knew him pretty well, and in the old days in Egypt it was nice to see father and son together (as they are now, although we cannot see them). Your son was with his company in an advance on the night of May 6-7th. During that advance he was struck by a bullet and instantly killed. I saw him afterwards. There was no disfigurement on his. face. His body was laid to rest alongside that of one of his friends, Lance-Corporal S. Green, (of Ryecroft House), in a British soldiers’ cemetery near here,”

Private William Handley was 19 years of age. He worked as a piecer at the Old Mill, Tame Valley, and received his education at the Parish Church Schools.

Cpl. 1669 Joseph Wilde

Joseph Wilde deployed to Egypt and then Gallipoli. In Gallipoli he twice assisted in bringing back wounded men under fire but received no official recognition for his acts of bravery. He survived Gallipoli intact, only picking up a slight wound to his face. He deployed to Egypt with the battalion in 1916 and then to France in March 1917.

Pte. Joseph Wilde
Cpl. 1669 Joseph Wilde

On the evening on May 30, 1917 2/Lt. Philip Sydney Marsden and 3 other ranks were fired on during a reconnaissance, Lt. Marsden and Pte. 1876 (350454) Tom Fielding were both badly wounded. Cpl. Wilde volunteered to go out and carried Pte. Fielding on his back, 300 yards to safety. However, both 2/Lt. Marsden and Pte. Fielding died of their wounds within hours of their rescue. Four days later, Cpl. Joseph Wilde was killed in action on June 3, 1917 and was subsequently buried next to Pte. Fielding and 2/Lt. Marsden at the Neuville-Bourjonval British Cemetery. He was 19 years old; a few weeks shy of his 20th birthday.

From the Saturday July 7, 1917 Ashton Reporter:

“BRAVE WATERLOO YOUTH.”

Glowing Tribute to Fallen Soldier.

EXCELLENT WORK

The story which attaches to the death of Corpl. Joseph Wilde, 1/9th Manchester Regiment, son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Wilde, of No. 10, Langham- street, Waterloo, constitutes an illuminating episode of bravery and devotion to duty, even unto death. This young soldier, who would have been 20 years of age on the 17th of this month, was killed on the 2nd of June, according to the official news received at the latter end of last week, and yet, though so young, he was spoken about by his officers as one bravest and best of non-commissioned officers

In Gallipoli and France he brought in wounded men under fire. In France a few days before he himself was killed he brought in a wounded soldier, Private Fielding, from 300 yards in advance of his own position. This private died, and Corporal Wilde was buried beside him. Corporal Wilde’s own brother helped to dig his grave, and he was buried next to a lance-corporal who went to fetch him in Such is the story of his death, told more fully and with a high appreciation of his worth, in letters which his parents have received from Capt. F. W. Kershaw and Second-Lieutenant Alfred Gray Captain Kershaw wrote:-

“I cannot too highly praise your son. He was a fine lad, and a splendid example of Lancashire pluck and grit. He was much thought of and respected in the company of his battalion. He did excellent work whilst in the Gallipoli Peninsula, and also whilst in France. Only a few days ago Lieutenant Marsden and Private Fielding were hit out in front of our lines, and your son volunteered to go out and assist in bringing them in. He carried Private Fielding back to our trenches, a distance of 300 yards, on his back. On two occasions in Gallipoli he also assisted in bringing in wounded under fire. He was a keen, capable, and very courageous non-commissioned officer, and is greatly missed by officers and men of his company, on whose behalf I beg to extend you our deepest sympathy in your terrible loss.

“Your son was brought in from the advanced trenches by some of his comrades, under difficult and dangerous circumstances. He was buried with fitting ceremony in a British soldiers’ cemetery, near to Lieutenant Marsden, Private Fielding, and Private Ashcroft, who were killed about the same time. A special wooden cross bas been erected on his grave.”

Corporal Wilde was the eldest of a family of nine children, and had been serving with the Ashton Territorials from the time they left England, being just over 16 years of age when he went to Egypt with them at first. At Gallipoli he was slightly wounded in the face, and when the peninsula was evacuated he went back to Egypt, and from there was sent to France last October. He was previously employed as a piecer at the Rock Mill, Waterloo, and was associated with the Waterloo Wesleyan Sunday School and Church, where a service in memory of him is to be held to-morrow (Sunday) night. He was also a playing member of the Wesleyan Football Club, and was very much esteemed by his comrades.

Sgt. 1634 James Hoke

James Hoke does not have a surviving service record and does not appear to have been mentioned in any local newspaper articles of the time. At some point after March 1917, he was transferred to the 2nd Battalion Manchester Regiment but ended the war as a Sergeant at the Manchester Regiment Depot. He was discharged, being no longer physically for military service, on January 18, 1919 and awarded the Silver War Badge. In 1939 he was still working as a Joiner and Woodcutter, and serving as a local Air Raid Warden, in Ashton. He died in 1978, in North Wales, at 81 years of age.

Pte. 1481 Clifford Holden

Clifford Holden survived Gallipoli and deployed with the battalion to Egypt in 1916. In March 1917 he deployed to France with the battalion. At some point after April 1917, he was transferred to the Tank Corps and in August 1918 was wounded, receiving a gunshot wound to the neck. After a short stay in hospital, he was assigned to the Royal Artillery and Tank Corps Command Depot at Catterick from where he was demobilised on January 25, 1919. His claim for a disability pension was denied. After the war he married and had two children, living on Park Road, Dukinfield. He died in November 1966; he was 69 years old.

Sgt. Harry Grantham, D.C.M.

Harry Grantham was born on March 10, 1890 in Ashton under Lyne to Joseph and Ellen Grantham (née Gaskell). He was the oldest of three boys, brothers William and Joseph, and the younger brother of Adelaide Grantham. His father was a cotton minder when Harry was born but later became a labourer on the railways.

On March 11, 1906, when he turned sixteen years old, he joined the 3rd Volunteer Battalion Manchester Regiment which was re-designated the 9th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, Territorial Force in 1908.  Appointed Lance Corporal in May 1910 he was promoted to Corporal in July 1911, when he was 21 years old. In June he was one of the less than 30 men of the Ashton Territorials selected to attend King George V’s coronation in London as a member of the composite battalion representing the East Lancs Division. In his civilian life he was living with his family in Ashton and working as a piecer at a Cotton Mill.

By 1914 he had switched employers and was now working for Messrs. R.A. Barrett and Co. a mineral water business owned and run by the Makin family, two of the brothers being officers in the 9th Battalion. He was also a Primo of Victory Lodge, The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes (R.A.O.B.) being one of the largest fraternal movements in the United Kingdom. In the Territorials, he was by now a Sergeant in A Company, one of whose officers was his employer, Lieutenant Frederick Arthur Makin.

Harry Grantham
Sgt. Harry Grantham, D.C.M.

At the outbreak of war, the 9th Battalion, Manchester Regiment was mobilised and on August 20, 1914 they marched into Chesham Fold Camp, Bury. Throughout August around 100 new recruits were added, many of whom had previously served with the battalion in the pre-war years. On September 1, 1914 another 100+ men were added, many of whom were friends and family of the existing members of the battalion. On Wednesday September 9 the battalion entrained to Southampton and at midnight the following day sailed for Egypt. In Egypt the men were drilled, trained and worked hard to build their fitness and endurance.

The battalion landed at Gallipoli under shell fire on Sunday May 9, 1915 and at that time Harry Grantham was a 24-year-old Sergeant in A Company.

On the evening of July 10, 1915 Lieut. Oliver Jepson Sutton, on his own initiative, conceived the idea to make a reconnaissance, and voluntarily undertook to carry out this highly dangerous duty. He was accompanied by Sergeant Harry Grantham. They discovered that the Turks were digging to the S.E. of trench G.12 and reported their findings. They were asked to repeat their reconnaissance the following night to verify their observations, which they duly did. In Harry’s own words:

“Lieut. Sutton and myself went out two nights in succession, July 10th and 11th. We each took a piece of rope with us, attached to our wrists and to the parapet of our trench. We pulled it along with us until we reached the Turkish trenches, and so were able to measure the distance between our trenches and theirs. The Turks saw us, but we ran about five or ten yards, and then lay flat on the ground among dead Turks. It was somewhat exciting, especially when they fired at us, but luckily we were missed. Both General Prendergast and General Douglas congratulated us.”

The September 15, 1915 London Gazette carried the following citation:

969 Sjt. H. GRANTHAM 1/9th Bn. Manchester Regiment, TF

For conspicuous gallantry and ability south of Krithia, Gallipoli Peninsula, on 10th and 11th July, 1915, when making a reconnaissance of the enemy’s new trenches under very dangerous circumstances. He gained valuable information and located the hostile positions.

Harry Grantham DCM Citation

On August 8, 1915 the battalion took part in the Battle of Krithia Vineyard. Lieut. W.T. Forshaw won the Victoria Cross and three N.C.O.s won the Distinguished Conduct Medal. As a Sergeant in “A” Company, Harry was necessarily involved in the Battle of Krithia Vineyard and the October 16, 1915 Ashton Reporter carried an interview which described what happened to him in the Vineyard Trench:

“Sergeant Grantham was shot in the neck by a bullet in the ‘Vineyard’. He can just remember being taken on a stretcher to a French hospital ship, and thence on another hospital ship to Alexandria, and from there to the New Zealand hospital at Port Said. Although the bullet was extracted soon after the injury, the poison from the bullet got into his gums, and caused a number of abscesses, and he had to undergo an operation and have the abscesses treated, and five teeth extracted. He arrived at Devonport last week. He was taken on to Birmingham, where he arrived on Wednesday night, and was given permission to return home on Saturday.”

The No. 1 New Zealand Stationary Hospital, New Zealand’s first overseas hospital in the war, arrived in Port Said on 1 July 1915. In mid-1915, there were no antibiotics and sepsis (also known as blood poisoning) was a significant post-surgical risk, especially with battlefield wounds. Treatment was rather basic; antiseptics were used to clean the wounds and deep surgical incisions were used to drain the pus from infected parts of the body. In Harry’s case, since he was hit in the neck the blood poisoning manifested in his mouth and the only viable treatment was to surgically remove the affected teeth and drain the abscesses. It cannot have been a pleasant experience.

He left Port Said for the UK on September 16, 1915 onboard the hospital ship Runic and by mid October he was back in Ashton. A few weeks later was sufficiently recovered from his wounds to attend the event at Ashton Town Hall when Lieut. W. T. Forshaw, V.C. was granted the freedom of Ashton. Sgt. Grantham subsequently spent time with the 3/9th Battalion at Codford camp for several weeks prior to rejoining the 1/9th Battalion in Egypt. embarking the H.T. Aragon at Devonport on April 4, 1916, rejoining the battalion at Suez on April 21st. After serving in Egypt for almost a year he deployed with the battalion to France in March 1917.  On July 6, 1917 Company Sergeant Major (CSM) George Newton was accepted for a commission and left the battalion for officer cadet training in the UK. Harry was appointed acting CSM (Warrant Officer Class II) to fill the gap. He was promoted to WO II and appointed CSM a month later.

On August 1, 1918 he left for England as a candidate for a commission. Arriving in Ashton he did not waste any time and  married his long-time fiancé Annie Victoria Norton on September 1st.

He then attended No 2 Officer Cadet Battalion at Cambridge commencing November 5, 1918. And, having been demobilised, on March 13, 1919 the April 26, 1919 London Gazette carried the following announcement regarding his commission:

The undermentioned Cadets to be temporary 2nd Lieutenants under the provisions of the Royal Warrant dated 30 December 1918, promulgated in Army Order 42 of January 1919: —
Manch. R.
17 Mar. 1919.
Harry Grantham, D.C.M

Although Harry was awarded a commission, he was attending his training course when the armistice occurred on November 11, 1918 and was consequently swept up in the terms of “Army Order 42 of January 1919”. This allowed the officer training cadets that successfully graduated to serve as officers but made it clear that these were not regular commissions since they carried with them no pay, allowances or pensions normally granted to officers.

Army Order 42 of 1919 states:

Whereas We deem it expedient to regulate further the future grant of commissions to officer cadets during the period of the present war, Our Will and Pleasure is that such cadets as, on or after January 1, 1919, have completed a satisfactory course of training, may be granted Special Reserve, Territorial Force, or temporary commissions, but that they shall not be entitled to any outfit allowance, gratuity, pay or any other emoluments as officers in respect of the grant of such commissions. On leaving the Army, or on being demobilised, they shall receive such gratuities as they would be eligible for as warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men had they not been granted a commission.

In February 1920, Harry was awarded the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal having more than surpassed the requirement of 12 years continuous service, (where embodied service counted double). And in October that same year, the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment was re-formed and many former Officers, NCOs and men of the 1/9th Battalion re-joined.

Outside the military, on August 1, 1921 his first son, Harry Grantham Jr., was born. Two years later on November 13, 1923 his second son, Joseph Grantham, was born and named after his grandfather, who sadly died three years later.

Having resigned his temporary commission, Harry rejoined the 9th Manchester as Sergeant on February 20, 1925 and was promoted to his old rank of Company Sergeant Major (WO Class II) on February 21, 1928. On May 16, 1930 a small contingent of officers, warrant officers and non-commissioned officers from every regular and territorial battalion of the Manchester Regiment paraded at Buckingham Palace to mark the appointment of His Majesty King George V as Colonel-in-Chief of the Manchester Regiment. Harry Grantham was selected to be one of the eight representatives of the 9th Battalion.

On March 20, 1934 he was appointed Regimental Quarter-Master-Sergeant (R.Q.M.S.) upon the retirement of R.Q.M.S. Lee. In 1937 he became eligible for the Territorial Efficiency Medal for another 12 years of continuous service and his medal group, held by the Museum of the Manchester Regiment, shows that he was awarded it.

During the inter-war years, Harry became heavily involved with the 9th Battalion, Manchester Regiment Old Comrades Association and on May 11, 1937 the London Gazette carried the following announcement concerning Harry with regard to an award for services to the Territorial Army:

The KING has been graciously pleased, on the occasion of His Majesty’s Coronation, to give orders for the following promotions in, and appointments to, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. To be Additional Members of the Military Division of the said Most Excellent Order: —

No. 3520365 Warrant Officer Class II, Regimental Quarter-Master-Sergeant, Harry Grantham, D.C.M., 9th Battalion, The Manchester Regiment, Territorial Army.

He was now Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant Harry Grantham, M.B.E., D.C.M. and just entering his 32nd year of service with the Territorials. I January 1938 he was granted the right to continue in the Territorial Army up to the age of 50, under authority of the 42nd East Lancs Division. In June 1939 he was under canvas with the 9th Battalion again at their annual summer camp at Aldershot, one year short of his mandatory retirement from the service at 50 years of age.

At the outbreak of World War 2,  Harry was mobilised with the battalion and deployed overseas with the British Expeditionary Force in France on April 15, 1940. 47 days later he was one of 68,014 men evacuated from Dunkirk on Friday May 31, 1940 at the peak of Operation Dynamo.

Dunkirk Evacuation
Dunkirk Evacuation. See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Back in the UK he continued to serve in an operational role, thus earning the 1939-45 Star and associated WW2 medals, and the Defence Medal for non-operational home service. In fact he was posted to Ireland from April 3 to October 7, 1941 before returning to England. He was finally demobilised and discharged from service on September 8, 1943.

After the war, Harry continued his work with the Old Comrades Association. Harry Grantham, M.B.E., D.C.M. died in Ashton in 1959. He was 69 years old.

On October 30, 2000 a Blue Plaque commemorating him was unveiled in Ashton under Lyne by Joe Grantham. The plaque indicates that Harry wanted to be remembered for his commitment to the care of ex-serviceman.