Harold Ingham was born in Moston, Manchester on March 19, 1886. His father, William Walter Ingham was a cotton yarn agent. Harold was educated at private school in St. Annes on Sea which he attended with his older brother Claude Harrop Ingham. By 1911 Harold was living at “Vine House” in Moston with his parents, his brother Claude and his younger sister Irene. The family employed two servants. Harold and Claude worked in their father’s business as cotton yarn agents.
At some point, Harold Ingham joined the 6th Battalion Manchester Regiment as a private and was subsequently promoted to Corporal. On March 11, 1915 he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment and joined the 2/9th in training at Southport. 2/Lt. Harold Ingham was one of the 5 Officers (and 222 men) who traveled to Gallipoli in July 1915, joining the Battalion at Cape Helles on July 23rd.
There is no mention of him in the Battalion war diary but there is anecdotal evidence from the Ashton Reporter that he transferred to C Company in late August and took over command of the Company on September 17th when temp. Captain George William Handforth was evacuated to hospital in Malta. The London Gazette notes that he was made a temporary Captain on September 20, 1915. However, he too succumbed to the endemic sickness at Cape Helles and on December 3, 1915 was sent sick to hospital in Malta, subsequently invalided to the UK on January 24, 1916. He did not return to the Battalion.
After he recovered, he was attached to another Battalion and was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant on July 1, 1917. Throughout 1917 and 1918 he was made temporary Captain and after the war had ended resigned his commission on March 4, 1919.
He married Marjorie Howorth on December 18, 1918 and 11 months later his son, William Norman Ingham was born. By 1939 they were living in Didsbury and Harold was working as a commercial traveler in the timber trade.
Lt. Harold Ingham died on November 9, 1953 and is buried in the family plot at the Southern Cemetery in Chorlton-cum-Hardy. He was 67 years old.