2/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment

The battalion was formed at the Armoury in Ashton-under-Lyne in August 1914 after the 1/9th Battalion left for Chesham Fold Camp in Bury.

Their original purpose was as a feeding battalion for the 1/9th, providing much needed drafts of men to replace their mounting casualties in Gallipoli.  In this capacity they supplied significant reinforcements for the 1/9th Battalion on three separate dates; July 23, 1915, August 22, 1915 and October 22, 1915 and through three much smaller drafts on June 22, June 25 and December 1, 1915.

Capt. Ralph Lees Marching at the head of the 2/9th Battalion in Ashton, 1914
Copyright Imperial War Museum

The 2/9th moved from Ashton to Southport on Friday November 13, 1914, where they were billeted in digs, mainly on King Street. In May 1915 they moved to Haywards Heath, in Sussex.  A little over a month later, on June 26, 1915 they made the short move to Pease Pottage and they stayed there until September 21st when they moved again, this time to Burham Camp, near Maidstone, Kent. On October 31st they moved to Crowborough Camp.

The training carried out by the men consisted of Squad Drill, Platoon Drill, Rifle Exercise, Care of Arms, Physical Exercises, Outpost Exercise, Company Exercise (in attack and defence), Company Exercise (in Fire Control), Judging Distance and Visual Training, etc. , Entrenching, Route Marching, Bayonet Fighting. Musketry & Lectures.

June 22-25, 1915

The first draft of men to arrive in Gallipoli from England was a small group of 16 men along with 2/Lt. EDWARD BALMFORD on June 22, 1915, as reported in the 126th Brigade war diary. These men were taken on the strength of the Battalion as they embarked ship on June 4, 1915. Fourteen of the 16 men are listed below.

Rank No. Forename Middle Surname
Pte 2447 ALBERT BUTTERWORTH
Pte 3027 JAMES CALDERBANK
Pte 2492 OWEN CONNOLLY
Pte 3035 TOM COOPER
Pte 2802 REGINALD JONES
Cpl 3025 JOHN KELLY
Pte 2408 JOHN LEECH
Pte 2496 WALTER LEECH
Pte 2456 ARTHUR REDFERN
Pte 2718 BENJAMIN SHATWELL
Pte 2326 THOMAS SMITH
Pte 3033 SAMUEL STOPFORD
Pte 2506 EDWIN WHITE
Pte 2689 FRANK WRIGLEY

Shortly after this draft arrived, on June 25, a small group of other ranks also arrived. It is almost certain that these men travelled from England with the original draft and were for some reason detained for a few days at Mudros before travelling to Cape Helles and joining the Battalion.

Rank No. Forename Middle Surname
Pte 2713 JOSEPH TAYLOR

Other men with disembarkation dates of June 1915 but who don’t exactly match the above dates are shown below:

Rank No. Forename M.I. Surname Date
Cpl 2765 WALTER TRACEY 02-Jun-15
Pte 2605 ERNEST SHAW 24-Jun-15

July 23, 1915

The War Diary for the 1/9th Manchesters indicates that a draft of 222 men and five officers arrived in Gallipoli on July 23, 1915.  They left Devonport on July 3, 1915 sailing on the Transport Ship IONIAN. The following list of 215 men has been pulled mainly from the 1914-1915 Star Medal Roll and includes men with “disembarkation” dates of July 1 (when they embarked the ship), July 5 (when the men were taken on strength), July 21 (when the IONIAN arrived at Mudros) and July 23 (when they actually joined the Battalion in Gallipoli). The vast majority of men belonging to the latter group.

Rank No. Forename Middle Surname
Pte 2449 JOSEPH HIGHAM ANDREW
Pte 2375 THOMAS ATHERTON
Cpl 3085 LEONARD BAILEY
Pte 3069 SAMUEL BARBER
Pte 3050 HERBERT BARDSLEY
Pte 2391 JAMES WILLIAM BARDSLEY
Pte 2616 JOHN BARDSLEY
Pte 2241 JEREMY BARKER
Pte 3055 JOSEPH BARLOW
Pte 3175 WILLIAM BARTON
Pte 3122 SAMUEL BATTY
Pte 2889 HUGH BAXTER
Pte 2975 FRANK BEARD
Pte 2645 JOHN BENDALL
Pte 2949 HERBERT BENNETT
Pte 2434 REGINALD BENNETT
Pte 2995 ERNEST BENNISON
Sgt 3047 ROBERT BEVAN
Pte 3171 SAMUEL BLEAKLEY
Pte 3307 WALTER BOLD
A/Cpl 2542 JAMES WILLIAM BOON
Pte 3118 WILLIAM BOOTH
Pte 2678 JAMES BOSTOCK
Pte 2959 PERCY BRADLEY
Pte 2846 VICTOR BRAMALL
Pte 3039 GEORGE BROCKLEHURST
Pte 3097 FRED BROMLEY
Pte 2963 ARTHUR BROOKS
Pte 2874 JOHN BROOKS
Sgt 2425 ERNEST BROWN
Pte 3316 THOMAS BUCKLEY
Pte 2433 SAMUEL BUTTERWORTH
Pte 2680 SYDNEY CAINE
Pte 2265 JOHN WILLIAM CAMPBELL
Pte 3029 TOM ARNOLD CARR
Pte 2952 HAROLD CARTER
Pte 3048 SAMUEL CASE
Pte 2905 JOHN CASSIDY
Pte 2330 HAROLD CHADWICK
Cpl. 2324 WILLIAM PARKES CHALMERS
Pte 2878 GEORGE BANNERMAS CHAPMAN
Pte 2465 HARRY CHAPMAN
Pte 2275 JAMES WILLIAM CHAPMAN
Pte 2399 HAROLD CHARNLEY
Pte 2251 ROBERT CHEETHAM
Pte 2727 GEORGE CLARKE
Sgt 2410 JOHN CLAYTON
Pte 2897 HARRY CLEGG
Pte 2607 JOHN WILLIAM COLLINS
Pte 3089 SAMUEL COOKE
Pte 2258 ALBERT COXON
Pte 3094 WILLIE CRABTREE
Pte 2337 WILLIAM HENRY CRANE
Sgt 2533 JOSEPH CRYER
Pte 2485 FRANK CUMMINS
Pte 2859 JAMES DARCY
Pte 2935 JAMES DAVIES
Pte 2924 JOSEPH DAVIES
Pte 2685 LAWRENCE DAWSON
Pte 2695 SYDNEY DEVLIN
Pte 3078 JOSEPH DOLAN
Pte 2968 JOSEPH DOWNS
Pte 3052 ARTHUR DYBALL
Pte 2994 ERNEST GEORGE ELLIS
Pte 2728 WILLIAM ELLIS
Pte 2646 CHARLES ARTHUR ELLY
Pte 2807 WILLIAM FIELDING
Pte 2764 EDWIN FITTON
Pte 2946 WILLIAM BELL FORRESTER
Pte 3170 ROBERT FOSTER
Pte 3178 JOSEPH FOULKES
Pte 2806 ARTHUR FOX
Pte 3016 GEORGE FULLARD
Pte 2904 WILLIAM GILL
Pte 2328 WILLIAM SYKES GODDARD
Pte 2756 ROBERT ALLEN GRAHAM
Pte 2902 RICHARD GRAINGER
Pte 3144 WILLIAM GREAVES
Pte 2547 JOHN HADFIELD
Pte 2374 ERNEST HAGUE
Pte 2627 WILLIAM HAGUE
Cpl 2393 FRED HALKYARD
Sgt 2262 JOSHUA HALL
Pte 3017 WILLIAM HALL
Dmr 2978 WILLIAM HALLATT
Pte 2734 VICTOR HAMER
Pte 2875 RICHARD HAMPSON
Pte 2345 ALFRED HARDING
Pte 2293 WALTER HARDY
Pte 2349 JOHN HARGREAVES
Pte 2971 ALBERT GEORGE HARLING
Pte 3061 ERNEST HARRISON
Pte 2574 HARRY HARRISON
Pte 2427 HUGH HARRISON
Pte 2271 PERCY HARROP
Pte 2344 JOSEPH WILLIAM HARTWELL
Pte 2242 WILLIAM HARWOOD
Pte 2854 FRANCIS PETER HAWKINS
Pte 2451 ARTHUR HAYNES
L/Cpl. 2601 GEORGE HEROD
Pte 2618 LEONARD HEROD
Pte 2731 EDWIN HIBBERT
Pte 3036 JOSEPH HIBBERT
Pte 3006 ALFRED HOBSON
Sgt 2580 HERBERT HOLDEN
Pte 2758 THOMAS HORSEFIELD
Pte 1213 ERNEST HOUGH
Pte 2435 JOHN HOWARD
Pte 3005 JOSEPH HOWARD
Pte 2598 JOHN HULME
Pte 2595 GEORGE HENRY HUNT
Pte 2821 ROBERT HUNT
Pte 3125 WILLIAM HUNT
Pte 1805 JOHN FREDERICK JENKINSON
Pte 1360 JOHN LEVI KENDALL
Pte 2384 SAMUEL KENYON
Pte 2479 TOM KILSHAW
Pte 2285 FRED LATCHFORD
Pte 1697 ARTHUR LATHAM
Sgt 1151 JOHN LAWLER
Pte 2673 ERNEST LAWTON
Pte 3090 JESSE LAWTON
Sgt. 2916 THOMAS HENRY LEE
Pte 2483 ALFRED GODFREY LEECH
Pte 3042 WILLIAM LEECH
Pte 2983 HARRY LEES
Pte 2676 JOHN LEES
Pte 2883 ALBERT LOADER
Pte 2831 WILLIAM THOMAS LOMAS
Pte 2694 JOSEPH MANCLARK
Pte 2610 JOHN MARLAND
Cpl 2322 EDWARD MARLOR
Pte 2543 CHARLES MATELY
Pte 2702 SAMUEL MATLEY
Pte 2423 JAMES McDONALD
Pte 2747 JOHN McKENZIE
Pte 3200 JAMES McNEISH
Cpl 2403 JAMES MELLOR
Sgt 2631 HARRY METCALFE
Pte 2472 ALLAN MILLWARD
Pte 2514 ALFRED MOLYNEUX
Pte 2687 THOMAS ALBERT MORRIS
Pte 2737 REGINALD NEEDHAM
Pte 2863 JOHN DENNIS O’BRIEN
Pte 2488 RICHARD O’DONNELL
Pte 2651 WILLIAM O’SULLIVAN
Pte 2379 DAVID OGDEN
Pte 2837 FRED OULTON
Pte 2861 JAMES OWEN
Pte 2596 FRED PEARSON
Pte 3101 ANDREW PEMBERTON
Pte 2478 WILLIAM PEMBERTON
Pte 2873 JOHN PENNINGTON
Pte 2766 SAMUEL PICKFORD
Pte 2644 ABRAHAM PICKLES
Pte 3079 ALBERT PLANT
Pte 2684 WILLIAM POULSTON
Pte 2828 ERNEST RAWLINSON
Pte 2699 ARTHUR JAPSON REDFERN
Sgt 2364 JOHN REGAN
Pte 2725 NORMAN REVELL
Pte 2614 JAMES RIDINGS
Pte 2244 ABEL ROBINSON
Pte 2842 SIDNEY ROWBOTHAM
Pte 2665 GEORGE THOMAS CHADWICK
Pte 2385 FRANK SCAMBLER
Pte 2418 WILLIAM SHAW
Cpl 1539 MATTHEW SHEA
Pte 2426 ELISHA SHELMERDINE
Pte 2269 HARRY BERNARD SIDEBOTTOM
Pte 3086 THOMAS SIDDALL
Pte 2672 ARTHUR SLATER
Pte 2359 GEORGE HARRY SLATER
Pte 2356 FRED SMITH
Pte 3151 JAMES SPEEDLES
Pte 2742 JAMES SPEDDINGS
Pte 3158 FRED SPENCER
Pte 2256 LESTER STAFFORD
Pte 2383 ARTHUR STALEY
Cpl 2810 THOMAS STEVENSON
Pte 2984 WILLIAM STOTT
Pte 2663 STANLEY STRUTT
Pte 2499 PERCY TAYLOR
Pte 2468 SAMUEL TAYLOR
Pte 2985 ROBERT THEWLIS
Pte 1969 FRANK THICKETT
Pte 2630 HARVEY THOMPSON
Pte 2965 ISAAC THOMPSON
Pte 2759 JACK THOMPSON
Pte 3010 THOMAS EDWARD THORPE
Cpl 2657 WILLIAM TURNER
Pte 2617 HARRY WAINWRIGHT
Pte 1181 ARNOLD OSWALD WALKER
Pte 2365 GEORGE HENRY WALKER
Pte 2625 JAMES WALKER
Pte 3066 WILLIAM WALKER
Pte 2355 WILLIAM WALSH
Pte 2827 GEORGE WALTON
Pte 2613 FRANK WARD
Pte 2691 FRED WARD
Pte 3137 JOHN WARD
Pte 2260 THOMAS WELLENS
Pte 3181 JOSEPH RICHARD WEST
Pte 2900 FRANK WHITE
Pte 2797 JAMES WHITE
Pte 2751 ROBERT WRIGHT WHITEHEAD
Pte 2477 JAMES WILLIAMSON
Pte 2704 BENJAMIN WILCOCKSON
Pte 1779 CHARLES EDWIN WILLS
Pte 2910 JOSEPH ALEXANDER WILSON
Pte 1752 GEORGE EDWARD WILSON
Pte 1582 HENRY DANIEL WILSON
Pte 1780 ROBERT FREDERICK WILSON
Pte 1350 GEORGE HENRY WILTON
Pte 2808 WILLIAM WOOD
Rank Forename Middle Surname
Capt. DOUGLAS BUCHANAN STEPHENSON
2/Lt. WILLIAM MARSDEN BARRATT
2/Lt. SYDNEY WILLIAM RUTTENAU
2/Lt. HARRY INGHAM
2/Lt. WILLIAM GILBERT GREENWOOD

Another 5 men with disembarkation dates of July 1915 but whose dates do not exactly match the known dates of the July 22 draft are shown below:

Rank No. Forename M.I. Surname Date
Pte 3135 WALTER ROGERS 13-Jul-15
Pte 2815 HAROLD CHATTERTON 15-Jul-15
Sgt 3009 HARRY ROBERTS 15-Jul-15
Pte 2047 HARRY ANDERSON 18-Jul-15
Pte 2640 HARRY BENNETT 22-Jul-15

August 22, 1915

Although there is no mention of this draft in the Battalion war diary, the 126th Brigade War Diary states that a batch of 4 Officers and 145 men joined the 1/9th Manchesters in Gallipoli this day. The 1/4th East Lancs and the 1/5th East Lancs each recorded the arrival of reinforcements of 120 men and 123 men on the 20th and 21st respectively). From this batch, the following 139 men includes men with “disembarkation” dates of August 2 (when they embarked the ship and were taken on strength), August 19 (when the HMT ARCADIAN arrived at Mudros) and August 22 (when they actually joined the Battalion in Gallipoli).

Rank No. Forename Middle Surname
L/Cpl 2350 ALFRED ADAMS
Pte 2989 JOHN ROBINSON ALCOCK
Sgt 2955 GEORGE ALLEN
Pte 2688 JOHN SAMUEL ANCHOR
Pte 2855 ROBERT ANDREW
Pte 2743 CHARLES HERBERT ASHTON
L/Cpl 2744 ERNEST SPENCER ASHTON
Cpl 2270 ALFRED ASHURST
Pte 2519 JOSEPH ASHWORTH
Pte 2710 FREDERICK JOHN BACON
Pte 2964 EDWARD BAILEY
Pte 3102 WILLIAM BALL
Pte 2804 ALFRED BANN
Pte 2336 THOMAS BASKWELL
Pte 2912 JOSEPH BELFIELD
Pte 3132 SAMUEL BENNETT
Pte 2526 THOMAS BESWICK
Pte 3146 WILLIAM BIRCH
Pte 3154 GEORGE HARRY BOOTH
Pte 2745 JOHN HENRY BOOTH
Pte 3112 FRANK BOTTOMS
Pte 2739 JOSEPH BOULTON
Pte 2911 ELLIS BOWKER
Pte 3267 JOHN BOWKER
Pte 2642 WILLIAM BRAMALL
Pte 2502 JOHN BROADBENT
Pte 2941 JAMES HENRY BROWN
Pte 2553 WALTER BURTON
Pte 3244 ERNEST CHADDERTON
Pte 2943 GEORGE WILFRED CHANDLER
Pte 2746 HORACE CHARLESWORTH
Pte 2460 HERBERT CHRISTIAN
Pte 2314 JAMES CLAYTON
Pte 2635 JOHN COKELEY
Pte 2491 HAROLD COLLINS
Pte 2255 JOHN COMMERFORD
Pte 2847 HAROLD COOKSON
Pte 2624 WILLIAM COOPER
Pte 3141 SAMUEL LESLIE CROOKALL
Pte 3207 ELIJAH CURTIS
Pte 2561 JOHN DALE
Pte 3131 JACK DAVENPORT
Pte 2394 GEORGE HARRY DAVIES
Pte 2629 ENOCH DENTON
Pte 2794 WILLIAM DIBSDALL
Pte 2848 WILLIAM DOXEY
Pte 2436 FRANK DUCKWORTH
Pte 3049 PETER EADES
L/Cpl 2987 HAROLD EASTWOOD
L/Cpl 2782 WILLIAM EATON
Pte 2771 FRANK FELL
Pte 2428 JOHN HENRY FERN
Pte 2282 JOHN FINUCANE
Pte 2266 JOSEPH GARFORTH
Pte 2304 PERCY GARSIDE
Pte 3031 SIDNEY GARSIDE
Pte 2540 WILFRED GARSIDE
Pte 2715 JAMES GASKELL
Pte 3081 GEORGE GREATWICK
Pte 2446 ALEXANDER GREEN
Pte 2342 HARRY GREENHALGH
Pte 3149 FRED GUNNELL
Pte 3062 ALBERT HADFIELD
Pte 3124 WALTER HAGUE
Pte 1590 HARRY HALLAM
Pte 2716 JOHN WILLIAM HALL
Pte 3345 GEORGE HAMBLETON
Pte 3093 LEONARD HARROP
Pte 2572 ALFRED HARROTT
Pte 1624 ELLIS HARTLEY
Pte 2926 HAROLD HELLIWELL
Pte 2603 GEORGE HESKETH
Pte 2820 WILLIAM HETHERINGTON
Pte 2974 ELLIS HIBBERT
Pte 2830 FRED HILL
Pte 2563 EDWARD HINDLEY
Pte 3113 HERBERT HOLT
Pte 2608 JAMES HORROCKS
Pte 2723 ALBERT HOULDSWORTH
Pte 2406 JOHN HOWARD
Pte 2401 WILLIAM HOWARTH
Pte 2791 AMBROSE HUGHES
Pte 3169 JAMES? HULME
Pte 2868 JOHN HUNT
Pte 2877 WILLIAM JENKINSON
Pte 3134 BENJAMIN JEVONS
Pte 3110 JOHN WILLIAM JEVONS
Cpl 2249 CHARLES WILLIAM JOLLY
Pte 2376 SAMUEL JONES
Pte 2917 ROBERT KANE
Sgt 2475 FRANK KERSHAW
Pte 2558 ROBERT KIMLIN
Pte 2509 ROBERT LEE
Cpl 2668 ALBERT LEES
Pte 2320 EDWARD JOHN LEWIS
Pte 2757 WILFRED LILLEY
Pte 2505 TOM KENDRICK LLOYD
Pte 2599 TOM LOWE
L/Cpl 2872 GEORGE MacGREGOR
Pte 3045 FRANK REUBEN MARTIN
Pte 3030 GEORGE HARRY MATHER
Pte 2297 SAM MATHER
Pte 2549 WILLIAM MATLEY
Pte 2951 EDWARD McLOUGHLIN
Pte 2721 WILIAM MELLOR
Pte 2432 HAROLD MILLS
Pte 2937 CHARLES WILLIAM NEWCOMBE
Pte 2999 HARRY NEWMAN
Pte 2546 ROBERT PERRY
Pte 3059 FRED PICKFORD
Pte 3072 WILLIAM HENRY POTTER
Pte 2929 OLIVER RATCLIFFE
Pte 2309 ERNEST MALTRAN RAWLINGS
Pte 2335 HAROLD REEVES
Pte 2513 JOSEPH REYNER
Pte 2306 PERCY RIDINGS
Pte 2833 WILLIAM EDWARD RUSSELL
Pte 2960 JOHN SAMUELS
Pte 2584 FRED SEVILLE
Pte 2829 HARRY SHARPLEY
Pte 2730 NORMAN SIMISTER
Pte 2931 DOUGLAS SIMISTER
Pte 2915 GEORGE WILLIAM SISSIONS
Pte 1233 JOHN WILLIAM SMITH
Pte 2327 THOMAS SMITH
Pte 2639 FRANK STOCKDALE
Pte 2922 ALBERT STOTT
Pte 1452 ALVIN SUMNER
Pte 3187 HARRY SUMNER
Pte 3053 ARTHUR TAYLOR
Pte 2439 WILLIAM THORPE
Pte 2002 WILLIAM TINSLEY
Pte 2573 HARRY WALMSLEY
Pte 2352 DANIEL WEBB
Cpl 2638 FRANK WILDE
Pte 2788 ERNEST WILSON
Pte 2537 ALBERT WINTERBOTTOM
Pte 2623 WILLIAM WOOLDRIDGE
Pte 2779 ERNEST WRIGHT

The 4 Officers who arrived with this draft were:

Rank Forename Middle Surname
2/Lt. HAROLD HARRISON KNIGHT
2/Lt. PERCY AINSWORTH
2/Lt. PERCY ASPDEN WOODHOUSE
Hon Lt. JOSEPH MICHAEL CONNERY

2/Lt. PERCY ASPDEN WOODHOUSE who joined the Battalion with this draft of men died of Dysentery a few weeks later on the Hospital Ship DELTA on his way back to England.

Honorary Lt. JOSEPH MICHAEL CONNERY was commissioned from the 2nd Battalion Manchester Regiment and was the son of Major MICHAEL HENRY CONNERY, the Battalion QM.

The six men below all have disembrkation dates of August but their dates do not exactly match those associated with the draft. However, it is likely that they arrived with, and were part of, the draft and their dates differ due to clerical inconsistencies and errors.

Rank No. Forename M.I. Surname Date
Pte 2870 FRANK S CHARLESWORTH 14-Aug-15
Pte 3007 HERMAN DEAN 14-Aug-15
Pte 2302 CLIFFORD PROCTOR 14-Aug-15
Pte 2386 AUSTIN O’NEILL 16-Aug-15
Pte 2712 ROBERT HATTON 20-Aug-15
Pte 2339 HERBERT DAWSON 21-Aug-15

October 22, 1915

On October 22, 1915 a final large Draft arrived from England consisting of 3 Officers and 134 Other Ranks. This draft of men left Devonport on October 8, 1915 sailing on the Transport Ship DEMOSTHENES. The following list of 117 men have “disembarkation” dates of September 30 (when some embarked the ship), October 8 (when the majority embarked and were taken on strength) and October 22 (when they actually joined the Battalion in Gallipoli).

Rank No. Forename Middle Surname
Pte 3255 JAMES ALBINSON
Cpl 3408 FRED ALLEN
Pte 3358 HARRY ANDREW
Pte 3360 ARTHUR APPERLEY
Pte 1328 WILLIAM NOEL BEACON
Pte 3321 JOHN BALLAGHER
Pte 3341 EDWIN BEECH
Pte 3391 HORACE BENNETT
Pte 3203 A BOOTH
Pte 3340 CLARENCE BOOTH
Pte 3422 JOHN JAMES BOOTH
Cpl. 3346 CHARLES BOTTOMS
Pte 3423 ERNEST BRADBURY
Pte 3329 NORMAN BRAMWELL
Pte 3802 JAMES HARRY BROADBENT
Pte 3368 LEONARD BROADHURST
Pte 3201 JOHN BROCK
Pte 3224 JAMES BUCKLEY
Pte 3206 JOHN ALFRED CHADWICK
Sgt 3411 JAMES CLARE
Pte 3314 JAMES CUNCAR
Pte 3376 MICHAEL CUNCAR
Pte 3355 ALEXANDER DAVENPORT
Pte 3765 FRED DICKINSON
Pte 3317 WALTER DONE
Pte 3389 PHILIP DONNELLY
Pte 3386 JOHN DORAN
Pte 3365 JOHN DUNKERLEY
Pte 3347 WALTER EASTWOOD
Pte 3208 JOSEPH EVANS
Pte 3222 JAMES FALLON
Pte 3379 THOMAS FARRELL
Pte 3414 WILLIAM FEATHERSTONE
Pte 3281 JAMES RALPH FERNLEY
Pte 3223 JOHN FLETCHER
Pte 3192 JAMES FRATER
Pte 3335 MARTIN GATELEY
Pte 3258 ARTHUR GREEN
Pte 3312 HAROLD GREEN
Pte 3383 WILLIE GREEN
Pte 3367 JOHN GREENHALGH
Pte 3396 HARRY GREGORY
Pte 3406 WILLIAM HACKWELL
Pte 3378 WILLIAM HADFIELD
Pte 3284 NIMROD HAGUE
Pte 3399 FRANK HAMER
Pte 3243 DAVID HANSON
Pte 3361 ROBERT HARRISON
Cpl 3322 JOSEPH SIDNEY HOLT
Pte 3210 THOMAS MULLEN HOWARD
Pte 3416 JOHN HUGHES
Pte 3248 WILLIAM HULIN
Pte 3353 JOSEPH HYDE
Pte 3291 AARON JONES
Pte 3608 ALFRED JONES
Pte 3311 ERNEST JONES
Cpl 3359 HARRY JONES
Pte 3216 WILLIAM KINDER
Pte 3246 HARRY LAWLER
Pte 3377 JAMES LEAH
Pte 3356 SAMUEL LEES
Pte 3295 EDMUND LOMAX
Pte 3420 HARRY LOWE
Pte 3260 JAMES WILLIAM MANSFIELD
Pte 3268 JAMES MARLAND
A/Cpl 3196 PERCY MARLAND
Pte 3427 HARRY MARSLAND
Pte 3225 HAROLD MAYALL
Pte 3410 EDWARD MERCER
Pte 3241 ALFRED METCALF
Cpl 3364 JAMES MILLER
Pte 3417 THOMAS MITCHESON
Pte 3237 HARRY NAISH
Pte 3338 WILLIAM NALLY
Pte 3218 EDGAR NEWTON
Pte 3232 ERNEST NOKES
Pte 3387 JOHN O’BRIEN
Cpl 3413 HENRY OGDEN
Pte 3211 ROBERT OGDEN
Pte 3415 GEORGE PARKER
Pte 3296 FRED PEMBERTON
Pte 3288 THOMAS PENNY
Pte 3190 RALPH PLATT
Pte 3194 TOM PLATT
Pte 3276 WILLIAM FREDERICK POTTER
Pte 3297 ALBERT POTTS
Pte 3305 HARRY RAYNER
Pte 3320 CAMPBELL REECE
L/Cpl 3334 THOMAS RIDLEY
Pte 3357 FRANK ROBERTS
Pte 3315 HARRY ROBERTS
Pte 3294 ARTHUR ROWE
Pte 3398 WILLIAM RUSSELL
Cpl 3426 IRVINE SCHOFIELD
Pte 3418 RALPH SCHOFIELD
Pte 3220 ROBERT SHANDLEY
Pte 3286 ALBERT SHAW
Pte 3193 WALTER SILCOCK
Pte 3394 JOHN STANDRIN
Pte 3279 HAROLD SUGDEN
Pte 3343 JOHN EDWIN TATE
Pte 3395 FRANK TAYLOR
Pte 3269 ALBERT THOMAS
Pte 3351 ROBERT WILLIAM THOMAS
Pte 3266 HAROLD TOMLINSON
Pte 3729 HENRY THOMPSON
Pte 3400 JOHN THOMPSON
Pte 3369 WILLIAM WALKER
Pte 3323 HAROLD WARBERG
Pte 3301 CHARLES WARD
Pte 3302 JAMES WATERFORD
Pte 3283 JAMES WHITEHEAD
Pte 3217 NORMAN WHITTAKER
Pte 3397 WILLIAM WILKINSON
Pte 3290 SIDNEY WILLIAMS
Pte 3262 THOMAS WILMOTT
Pte 3392 RICHARD WRIGHT

One of these men, 3301 Pte. Charles Ward, has a Medal Index Card disembarkation date of October 25th but an examintaion of his service record reveals that his B.103 form was missing the disembarkation date and, upon request, the Manchester Regiment provided the next dated entry which was when he joined ‘B’ Company on October 25th. This neatly illustrates the problems inherent in compiling nominal rolls of men from inconsistently created medal rolls. Nevertheless, he was clearly a member of the October 22, 1915 draft.

Rank Christian M.I. Surname
2/Lt. THOMAS AINSWORTH
2/Lt. BELTRAN F ROBINSON
2/Lt. WILLIAM H DEMEL

 

October 26, 1915

On October 26, 1915 a draft of 11 Officers arrived from England, via Alexandria, along with 110 Other Ranks returning from hospital treatment in Egypt. The Officers embarked HM TS SCOTIAN at Devonport on October 13th, 1915 arriving at Mudros on October 24th, finally joining the Battalion on the 26th.

Rank Forename Middle Surname
2/Lt. WILLIAM NEVILLE BROADBENT BURY
2/Lt. SYDNEY NAYLOR
2/Lt. IRVINE DEARNALEY
2/Lt. BERNARD HAROLD BRISTER
2/Lt. OSCAR STOCKTON NEEDHAM
2/Lt. PERCY PARKER FIELDING
2/Lt. FRANCIS CYRIL HAMPSON
2/Lt. FREDERICK BEARD
2/Lt. ROBERT JACOMB NORRIS DALE
2/Lt. JOHN REGINALD TOMMIS
2/Lt. ALFRED GRAY

December 1, 1915

On December 1, 1915 a draft of 7 Other Ranks, (machine gunners), arrived from England.

Rank No. Forename MI Surname
Pte 3705 MATTHEW ELLISON
Pte 1084 JOHN JACKSON
Pte 3594 ERNEST RILEY
L/Cpl 3853 ALBERT SHEPLEY
Pte 3697 JAMES G WHITEHOUSE

Additionally, 3289 Pte. Charles Henry Brown has a disembarkation date of December 10, 1915 and was likely part of this draft.

1916

At the end of 1915, their role as a feeding unit ceased and they were brought up to strength from additional recruits drawn mainly from the Chester and Merseyside areas and became part of the 66th Division. On May 18, 1916 they moved from Crowborough Camp to Colchester.

1917

In March 1917 they landed in France and fought on the western front. They fought at Nieuport and in the battle of Passchendaele, in October 1917, where they achieved their objectives after suffering heavy losses and were relieved by the Australians on 13th October.

1918

On the 19th February 1918 the 2/9th were amalgamated with the 1/9th Battalion. In March 1918 the 1/9th was reduced to a training cadre and in April 1918 many of the men from the 1/9th (and 2/9th) were assigned to other front line regiments such as the 1/Sherwoods.

 

Note: The original text for 1916 – 1918 was taken from the www.themanchesters.org and is their copyright.