9th Battalion Manchester Regiment | Grandad's War

Sergeant James Greenhalgh, DCM

James Greenhalgh was born on February 11, 1897 in the port city of Ancud on Chiloé Island, Chile. His father, Daniel Greenhalgh, was employed by the Pacific Steam Navigation Company and later became the chief of claims at the port of Valparaiso. Upon his father’s death, James and his older brother William came back to England and were adopted by their uncle John Ralph Greenhalgh, the head teacher of a school in Audenshaw and a member of the Lancashire Education Committee.

By 1911, James and William were living in Audenshaw and were both employed as Fitters at W.J. Bates & Co. Engineering Works in Denton, James as a 14-year-old apprentice. In February 1914, the 9^th Battalion Manchester Regiment was under strength and so a big recruiting drive at Ashton Town Hall was organized for Saturday February 14. It was widely advertised and James decided to beat the rush and attested on February 9^th when he was just 2 days short of his 17^th birthday. At 5ft 9” tall he was bigger than many of the recruits who would be attesting at the weekend and after 3 years of living with his uncle and aunt, both school teachers, he was better educated.

At some point after he attested, and before the outbreak of war, he changed from manual to clerical work being employed in the accounting department of Beyer Peacock’s engine works at Gorton. Outside of work he was a Sunday school teacher at the Wesleyan Sunday School, Hooley Hill, and a member of the Y.M.C.A. Denton Road, Audenshaw.

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 James Greenhalgh was an 18-year-old Lance-Corporal with “B” Company. In June he was severely wounded in the neck and shoulder by a Turkish bullet while deepening a sap and was medically evacuated to hospital in Malta. After he recovered, he returned to Gallipoli and was subsequently promoted to Corporal. In November he was promoted to sergeant and later that month was again wounded, this time not so severely, when he was struck in the face by shrapnel. He was treated in the field and did not leave the battalion.

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.

In James’ own words (as published in the Ashton Reporter on July 15):

“It was on the 19^th 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 2^nd 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:

1623 Sjt. J. Greenhalgh, 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 Lance-Corporal Davis.

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.

James Greenhalgh served with the 9^th Battalion for the duration of the war, serving in Egypt and France, and was demobilised on February 27, 1919. On April 9, 1925 he married Emily Louisa Mantle in Ashton and by 1939 they had moved to Liverpool and ran a small grocery shop, on Finvoy Road. Eventually, they retired to a small bungalow close to the sea at Abergel, North Wales. James Greenhalgh, D.C.M. died on April 17, 1976, a month before the death of his wife. He was 79 years old.

RSM John Alexander Christie, DCM

John Alexander Christie was born on June 15, 1869 in Belfast to John and Mary Anne Christie (née Archer). When he was 18 ½ years old, he joined the 2^nd East Lancashire Regiment at Belfast on January 5, 1888. Within 3 years he had been promoted to Corporal.

He deployed with them to Gibraltar on January 29, 1893 where they remained for 2 years and 3 months returning to England on April 30, 1895 as a Sergeant. He passed a Regimental Transport Course the following year but in January 1897 he went absent without leave from Aldershot for a week and upon his return was arrested, stripped of his rank and, at his own request, transferred to the Army Reserve on February 15, 1897. While he was a civilian, he married Emma Tyler, in December 1898, and would eventually have seven children, the first two dying as infants in late 1901. Earlier that year he had been allowed to rejoin for another 12 years which would extend his service to 21 years.

At the outbreak of the Boer War, he was called up for service on December 18, 1899 and deployed to South Africa with the 1^st Battalion East Lancs Regiment in January 1900. There he served for a year before being invalided back to England but would later be awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal with Paardeberg, Dreifontein and Cape Colony clasps.

Back in England he spent two years at the Regimental Depot and by July 1902 had been promoted back to Sergeant. In March 1903 he was posted back to the 1^st battalion then in Ireland, where he passed his Mounted Infantry Certificate, but after 7 months transferred to the 2^nd battalion in Poona, India where he and his family remained for the next 3 years. In India he passed his School of Musketry course at Satara in June 1906.

Returning to England in October 1906 he was posted back to the 1^st Battalion East Lancs Regiment in Ireland again and in 1908 was preemptively granted permission to continue in the service beyond 21 years. As such, he was posted to the 5^th Battalion at Burnley in December 1910 as Sergeant-Instructor. Here he received a Certificate of Proficiency Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield Lock, in May 1912. In 1914 he received his Long Service and Good Conduct Medals but his military service was far from over.

Shortly after the outbreak of War, he sailed to Egypt with the East Lancs Division, in early September 1914, just over 2 months after his youngest son, Albert Frederick Christie, was born in Burnley. In Egypt, the men drilled, trained and improved their physical fitness and on May 5, 1915 they embarked at Port Said for Gallipoli, arriving there on May 9th. Sgt. Christie was 45 years old and he was about to spend the next 8 months living under canvas in extremely difficult conditions which would severely challenge men less than half his age.

On March 18, 1915 the 9^th Battalion, Manchester Regiment war diary notes that Colour-Sergeant James Holt of the pre-war permanent staff was invalided home from Egypt. In August 1914 the Cheshire Reporter lists three permanent staff members: Sergeant-Major Fowler, Colour-Sergeant Holt and Sergeant Craig. These men were regular Army N.C.O.s, permanently attached to the 9th Battalion, whose remit was to properly train the men and instill in them the same professionalism found with the regular forces. Only two traveled to Egypt with the battalion; Fowler and Holt. To lose such an experienced man just a few weeks before deployment to Gallipoli was a huge blow and it is likely that Sergeant-Instructor Christie was attached to the 1/9^th Manchesters in March or April to fill this gap. Although we do not know exactly when Christie joined the 9^th, we are certain that by May 23^rd Sergeant-Instructor Christie was attached to them and assigned to “C” Company as he is referenced by name in Lance-Corporal Albert Platt’s interview with the Ashton Reporter. Christie would remain attached to the 1/9^th for the duration of the war and provided exemplary and invaluable service.

On June 7, “C” Company was involved in a bloody bayonet charge that resulted in almost 50% casualties, Sergeant-Instructor Christie was one of them but was only slightly wounded and did not leave the battalion. Remarkably, on the following day he was back in the thick of things when Lieut. A.W.F. Connery, and No 11 Platoon, took over a small redoubt from troops of the Chatham Battalion, Royal Naval Division and spent the next 48 hours under heavy fire from Turkish shells and machine guns rebuilding the parapet a number of times as the bombardment repeatedly knocked it down. From the Ashton Reporter:

“On the afternoon of the 8^th the company took over the guard in the gully, and Lieut. Connery, with his platoon and Sergt.-Inst. Christie, took over a redoubt from the Marines, which was subjected to a continuous heavy fire from Turkish gun and machine guns. Whilst Lieut. Connery was on this duty the Turks several times knocked the parapet down, and under a hot fire he himself, ably assisted by Sergt.-Inst. Christie and some of the men, rebuilt it as often as it was knocked down, and in addition greatly improved the defences. After 48 hours of this strenuous work the platoon was relieved.”

On June 22 another veteran, Regimental Sergeant Major Joseph Fowler, senior member of the battalion’s pre-war permanent staff, was wounded when he was shot through the scalp, and forced to leave the peninsula and go to hospital. Sergeant Christie was given an immediate field promotion to acting Regimental Sergeant Major, confirmed one month later when RSM Fowler left Gallipoli for good, and ante-dated to June 22.

By August, sickness was becoming widespread and on August 3 Christie was medically evacuated to hospital in Alexandria, with pneumonia, on the hospital ship Assaye. He rejoined the battalion at Gallipoli on October 28 and remained with them until they evacuated the peninsula two months later on December 28, 1915. On Saturday November 6, the Ashton Reporter published a first-hand narrative of events at Gallipoli by an un-named N.C.O. of “C” Company. In his report he specifically called out the good work of Sgt.-Major Christie, along with Sgt.-Major Fowler and Lance-Corporal Albert Platt as well as two young 2^ndLieuts.

“It is almost certain that had Lieuts. Wade and Connery and the two new N.C.O.s mentioned [Christie and Platt] been recommended for various good works carried out by them some distinction would have been awarded.”

The battalion sailed to Egypt in January 1916 where they were engaged in the defence of the Suez Canal from potential attack by the Turks from the Sinai. In March he was admitted to hospital at Suez suffering from Pyrexia, rejoining the battalion two weeks later. In June he was granted one month’s leave in England embarking at Alexandria on June 4, 1916 and rejoining the battalion at Kantara on July 27, (leave being exclusive of travel time).

On February 13, 1917 the London Gazette made the following announcement (Christie’s B.103 making the clarification: for distinguished service in the [Gallipoli] Campaign):

Decorations and medals conferred by HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF SERBIA. (September and October, 1916.) Cross of Karageorge, 1st Class (with Swords):

2218 Acting Regimental-Serjeant-Major John Alexander Christie, Manchester Regiment.

On March 2, 1917 the battalion embarked HMT Arcadian at Alexandria for France, arriving at Marseilles on the 11^th. On May 2 he was promoted to Temporary Sergeant-Major (Warrant Officer Class I) for the duration of the War. He attended a 4^th Army School of Instruction for 5 weeks at Flixecourt followed by 10 days leave in England, rejoining the battalion in the field on August 15, 1917. While he was in training the London Gazette carried the following announcement on July 24, 1917:

His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal to the undermentioned Warrant Officers, Noncommissioned Officers and Men for acts of gallantry and devotion to duty in the Field: —

2218 S.M. J. A. Christie, E. Lan. R. attd. 1/9th Bn. Manch. R.

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has performed consistent good work throughout, and has at all times set a magnificent example of courage and initiative.

As can be seen from the annotated D.C.M. listing above, it was awarded specifically for his actions in Krithia Gully, (actually starting on the afternoon of June 8), rallying his men and repeatedly rebuilding the parapet over a 48-hour period while under heavy fire but also, as the inscription states, for his repeated good work throughout the Gallipoli campaign.

Shortly after he returned to France from leave, he was wounded on September 9, 1917 and again 8 days later on the 17^th, remaining with the battalion both times. He was not so lucky on March 26, 1918 when he was wounded by shellfire in the left thigh and treated at 26^th Field Ambulance. From there he was medically evacuated to No 9 General Hospital, Rouen and then transferred to England on the hospital transport ship Panama, on March 31. In England he was treated at Red Cross Hospital Highfield Hall, Southampton, being discharged on May 7, 1918, 36 days later. After 3 weeks leave, he reported to the 4^th (Reserve) Battalion, East Lancs Regiment at Scarborough on June 1 where he remained until he was discharged upon completion of his service on May 6, 1919. He had served for a quite remarkable 31 years 122 days, the majority of the war years in front line infantry positions with the 9^th Battalion Manchester Regiment.

In his civilian life he remained in Burnley, and became the landlord of the Derby Arms Hotel, Standish Street, Burnley. He remained active after the war with the South African War Veteran’s Association, the 42nd Division Old Comrades’ Association and the British Legion and had been in charge of every Burnley Armistice day parade of ex-servicemen since the War. But on September 8, 1934 he died after a month’s illness and was interred at Burnley Cemetery. Regimental Sergeant Major John Alexander Christie, D.C.M. was 65 years old. His wife, daughter and four sons survived him.

Lance-Corporal George James Silvester, DCM

George James Silvester was born on September 7, 1894 in Ashton under Lyne. He was the oldest son of Alfred Edward and Sarah Silvester (née Mellor) who had married the previous year and made their family home at 227 King Street, Hurst, Ashton. Alfred was an educated man who was employed as a Clerk in a Cotton Mill Warehouse in Ashton and would eventually become an undermanager at the Mill.

George was educated at Hurst British School and, according to the headmaster J.W. Spencer, took the efficiency and progress prize each year he attended. By 1911 he was living with his parents, his brother Kenneth and younger sister Phyllis and working as a weaver at a cotton mill. His sister Isabel Fanny Silvester having died just under a year after she was born in 1896.

On November 25, 1912, a few weeks after his 18^th birthday, he joined the 9^th Battalion Manchester Regiment, Territorial Force as a Private (1358). At 5ft 8” tall he was bigger and better educated than many of the other enlisted men and so although younger than the old hands, was at some point promoted to Lance-Corporal. His career also progressed outside of the military becoming an Overlooker at Messrs. Whittaker’s Mills, Queen Street, Hurst.

At the outbreak of war, the battalion was mobilised and on August 20 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 George Silvester was a 20-year-old Lance-Corporal with “C” Company. Two days later he became the first recorded casualty of C company when he was hit in the leg by a stray bullet while the battalion was while the battalion was in brigade reserve in a line of trenches known as Backhouse Post trenches. He was treated at the field ambulance and remained with his unit.

On May 21 the battalion moved into the Redoubt Line trenches and the following day Lt-Col. D.H. Wade, the battalion’s commanding officer, was shot and wounded in the thigh while stepping over some sleeping men. Major Nowell assumed temporary command of the battalion. By the following evening, May 22, A and B Companies were in the firing line with C and D Companies in the reserve line. In preparation for the Third Battle of Krithia, the Allied forces started to undertake a series of coordinated and stealthy night operations to advance and straighten the firing line so that they could reach within striking distance of the Turkish positions. This night, a coordinated action was planned involving the 1/9th Manchesters in the centre, the 1/5th East Lancs on the battalion’s right and the 1/10th Manchesters on their left. The basic idea was to create a series of disconnected “firing pits” which could later be joined together to create a new “fire trench”. It was hard and dangerous work and many, if not all, of the men that went out that night were volunteers.

In the 9th Manchesters’ section, at least 32 men, (4 per platoon from C and D Companies), formed a digging party and a further 16 men were detailed to form a covering party. The covering party advanced first and took up position about 50 yards in front of the intended new line of trenches. They doubled out carrying rifle, bayonet, rations and half-filled sand bags for a semblance of cover. After a pause to allow enemy fire to die down, the digging parties went forward, carrying full entrenchment kit and supplies, spade, rifle, bayonet, rations and also with half-filled sandbags. The Turks became aware of the activity as soon as the covering parties left the Redoubt Line and opened fire but after a short time the firing stopped, the covering parties having been ordered not to return fire. However, as soon as the digging parties made their advance the Turks open a heavy fire which continued throughout the night causing a number of casualties.

Lance-Corporal Silvester, in the digging party and still carrying his wound from a few days earlier, saw that (1413) Pte. Thomas Penny had been wounded and crawled out to him under heavy fire and brought him 120 yards back to safety. He may have then repeated the act for two other men but regardless, when he had finished bringing in wounded men, he crawled back out and resumed digging.

Four months later, the Ashton Reporter carried a large article about several men of the 1/9^th Battalion who had been recommended for decorations for their actions at Gallipoli, one of who was Lance-Corporal Silvester:

On the evening of May 25th Lance Corporal Silvester, Lance Corporal Wilde and a working party of about 30 soldiers were engaged in straightening up the line of trenches, when the enemy opened up with heavy fire. The working party lost five men killed and wounded. Silvester, although wounded, continued to carry out his duties and showed the highest courage in aiding the wounded under fire. By daybreak, they had achieved their objective, and were safely dug in.

Sergeant-Drummer Stopford, also of C Company and a neighbour of Silvester’s from Hurst, wrote a letter home to his wife where he said:

“I am very pleased to tell you that Sergt. Grantham and Corpl. Silvester have been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for bravery in the trenches. … Corpl. Silvester got his for going out three times and carrying in wounded comrades under a heavy fire.”

In a letter home to his family near the end of July, Lance-Corporal Silvester said:

“It is quite true that I have been recommended for some decoration, but I can’t say whether I shall get it or not. Major Nowell (commanding officer) sent for me last week, and told me he was doing all he could to get it for me, and that General Prendergast [42^nd Division CO] had promised to do what he could. I hope I shall get it as I know how you will feel.”

And around a week later in a letter dated August 8 he added:

“No doubt you will know by now that I am Corporal Silvester D.C.M. … The name of the man I carried was Private Penny. I am sorry to say he died of his injuries about a month later. I have not received the medal yet, I have it to come, but I am entitled to wear the ribbon now. I dare say it will be in the Reporter about the affair, but I don’t want to brag about it.”

Lance Corporal Silvester was awarded the DCM and was promoted to Sergeant. The following citation was published in the London Gazette on September 15, 1915, a week after his 21^st birthday:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Although wounded on the 20th May he continued to perform his duties, and showed the highest courage on 25th May in aiding the wounded under fire.

It’s worth noting that the dates given in the official citation do not exactly match the dates provided contemporaneously from war diaries, personal diaries and letters home from the front. The balance of evidence shows that the dates in the official citation are wrong.

But before he was awarded the DCM, Cpl. Silvester was wounded for a second time. His name was present on the July 26, 1915 London Times Casualty List along with a number of other killed and wounded men of the 9^th Manchesters. Unlike when he was wounded on May 11, this means that he left the peninsula for hospital treatment. In fact, in his letter home written “near the end of July”, excerpts of which were published in the Ashton Reporter, he references that he had been wounded twice and that “Jim Taylor’s son was in the same ward as myself”. It’s likely that Cpl. Silvester received a sufficiently serious but not life-threatening wound early in June, (perhaps in the bayonet charge of June 7), was medically evacuated to Egypt and returned to Gallipoli a few weeks later. If so, he was in good company. One other man also named on the same casualty list was 1192 Corporal Harry Trunkfield who was shot through the thigh on June 9^th and medically evacuated to a hospital at Alexandria. By August 7 he was back in the thick of things at Gallipoli in the battle of Krithia Vineyard and subsequently received a congratulatory card from Major General Douglas for his actions that day.

On December 24, 1915 Sgt. Silvester was medically evacuated from Gallipoli after suffering his third wound of the campaign; a gunshot wound to the back. Unfortunately, this wound was far more serious than the previous two and it effectively marked the end of his military combat service. He spent several months recovering in hospital in Malta before becoming fit enough to embark for England on April 4, 1916. He arrived in the UK during the week of April 9th and received treatment at Whitchurch, Glamorgan before returning to Ashton on Thursday May 25, 1916.

Back in Ashton he was, quite rightly, treated as a hero and minor celebrity and on June 3 was presented with a gold watch by the overlookers and weavers of Messrs. Whittaker’s Mill, Hurst where he had been employed as an overlooker before the war. The watch was engraved “Presented to Sergt. G. Silvester, D.C.M., by the weavers and overlookers at Whittaker’s Mill, in commemoration of his gallantry.”

He underwent a long recovery but at some point after July 1917 he was pronounced permanently unfit for General Service but fit for home service. He transferred to Fort George, Guernsey as (2302) Sergeant-Instructor to the 2nd (Reserve) Battalion Royal Guernsey Light Infantry which was formed to receive and train recruits as replacements for casualties in the 1st Battalion which was then serving in France.

He must have impressed his superior officers because in May 1918 he was recommended for a commission in the regular forces and submitted his papers in early June. He was accepted and ordered to report to No 15 Officer Cadet Training battalion at Gidea Hall, Romford on July 5, 1918. He graduated in February 1919, his confidential report noting that he was “Conscientious and Hardworking. Rather unpolished but trustworthy and quiet in manner and should make a sound and reliable officer.”

He was duly commissioned as a temporary 2^nd Lieutenant, effective March 3, 1919, to the 2^nd Royal Guernsey Light Infantry Reserve of Officers. But since the war was now over, he returned to Ashton and resumed his civilian life. In May, the National Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Sailors & Soldiers wrote to the War Office on his behalf requesting a pension payment of 6d per day in respect of his DCM. This was refused on the grounds that he had not been discharged on disability pension and so was required to accept only the £20 lump sum gratuity.

In October 1920 the 9^th Battalion Manchester Regiment was re-formed and many former Officers, NCOs and men of the 1/9^th Battalion re-joined. George Silvester was appointed Company Sergeant-Major but he was not a well man and on August 13, 1921 he died of Bright’s Disease at Ashton District Infirmary. He had been at Caernarfon Camp with the 9th Battalion and was taken ill there. Returning to Ashton on August 13th he was attended by a local Doctor and immediately moved to the Ashton Infirmary where he died shortly after admission. He was buried at Hurst Cemetery the following Wednesday, with his mother who had died in February that same year, and with his infant sister Isabel who had died in 1897. There was a large attendance at the funeral, the bearers being six sergeants of the 9th Battalion. The firing party was under the command of another battalion sergeant and the Last Post was sounded as he was laid to rest. George James Silvester, DCM was just 26 years old.

A year after his death, the London Gazette incongruously announced that he had relinquished his commission in the Reserve of Officers on completion of service on September 1, 1922 retaining the rank of Second Lieutenant. His gravestone at Hurst Cemetery records him for posterity as DCM winner and Company Sergeant Major in the 9^th Manchester Regiment.

Lance-Corporal Albert Platt, MM

Albert Platt was born on September 17, 1887 in Lees, Oldham. He was the oldest of three boys, his younger sister dying when she was just two years old. By the age of 13 he had left school and was employed as a Cotton Mill Hand and living with his parents, George and Nancy Platt, (née Halkyard), on Warrington Street, Stalybridge.

On December 26, 1910 he married Jane Ann Baily at Castle Hall Parish Church, (now Holy Trinity), Stalybridge and they made their home at 13 Medlock Rd, Woodhouses, (now Failsworth). Albert was employed as a Stripper & Grinder at a Cotton Spinning Company.

Shortly after the outbreak of war, Albert joined the 9^th Battalion Manchester Regiment, Territorial Force as a Private (2146) on Tuesday September 1, 1914 at Ashton. At least one hundred men attested this day and at that time the intent was for the battalion to take the most able-bodied and experienced men, deferring the others until later in the month, as they knew they were shortly to leave overseas. Albert and the others quickly joined the battalion at Chesham Fold Camp in Bury and a week later they entrained for Southampton and boarded HMS Aragon, leaving at midnight September 10, bound for Egypt.

In Egypt, the men went through rigorous training and Albert was appointed Lance-Corporal on February 9, 1915. He landed in Gallipoli on May 9, 1915 with the rest of the 1/9^th Manchesters as a junior NCO of C Company.

In December 1915. Albert was interviewed by the Ashton Reporter primarily because they had recently published an extensive report from an anonymous NCO from “C” Company of the 9^th Battalion who had referenced Albert by name as having been “continually doing good work” in Gallipoli, a euphemism for multiple acts of conspicuous gallantry in the field. In Albert’s own account of his exploits on the peninsula he referenced the events of three different significant days which are outlined below:

May 23, 1915

“Two of our Companies, A and B, were put into the firing line, and C and D Companies were in the reserve Companies. Four men from each platoon in C and D Company were required to go and dig themselves in 120 yards in advance of A Company’s lines. This took them into the open between our lines and the Turks. Three men of my section volunteered, namely, Private Robinson, Pollard (of Woodhouses), and Stockdale, and a man named Rimmington from another platoon, made up the fourth. I said to Sergeant Joe Wood, ‘Well, I suppose I can go up and see the men off?’ and he gave me permission. I took a cloth bandolier with ammunition and my rifle. The lads had to go with full entrenchment kit and supplies, spade, rifle, bayonet, rations, etc. They had not been gone long before I heard someone was wounded. It turned out to be a lad named Penny. Lance Corporal Silvester, who has won the D.C.M. and another man brought Penny in. I then said to Silvester, “I’ll see if any of my lads have got wounded. They may be requiring help,” and leaving my rifle and ammunition I went out some distance, and then discovered that I was lost. I was in a very uncomfortable position. It was quite dark, and plenty of bullets were flying about. I decided to turn round, and see if I could find my way back. I did so, but instead of going back I afterwards found that I had gone to the right, and I stumbled on a dead Turk. I then got level with a hole and saw a head come up from it. I thought the hole must contain a Turkish sniper, and I got hold of the fellow saying, “Who are you?” He did not speak at first, and I was just going to take drastic measures with him when the fellow says, “What’s to want?” He turned out to be one of the East Lancs, an old soldier who had seen service in South Africa, named Jimmy McGuire. He and others were digging themselves in. I said, “I will stick with you.” I stuck with him all night and the next day, helping him to dig himself in. The following night I rushed back and enquired from Sergeant-Major Christie where Sergeant Harrop was. Sergeant-Major Christie told me that the whole Company were going to dig themselves in and make a new firing line. He asked, “Are you Lance Corporal Platt?” and I replied, “Yes,” and he said, “You are just the man we want. You are going to be shot for being absent without leave.” I then heard a laugh. I had not had a drink or bite since the previous night.”

1358 Corporal George James Silvester was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for bringing in 1413 Private Thomas Penny while under fire. Cpl. Silvester had been wounded earlier that month but had remained with the battalion. Although Pte. Penny was safely brought back to the Allied lines, he was severely wounded and later died in Hospital at Malta, on June 6, and is buried at Pieta Military Cemetery.

Three of the four men who volunteered to go out into no man’s land and dig themselves in that night were 2011 Pte. Joseph Pollard, 1373 Pte. Noel Williamson Stockdale and 1383 Pte. Charles Irvine Rimmington. There were three Robinson’s at that time at Gallipoli: 1382 Pte. Ernest Robinson, 1681 Pte. Harry Robinson and 1887. Pte. Mark Robinson. Ernest Robinson was Killed in Action on June 7 in the bayonet charge referenced below and so we know that he was in C Company and so there is a stronger possibility that the “Robinson” referred to above was him.

Joseph Pollard was a 25-year-old neighbour of Albert Platt’s who’s family lived within 5 minutes walk. Pollard attested with the 9th Battalion on August 5, 1914 and had previously served 4 years with them. In 1911 Albert and Joe were both working in Cotton Mills and so there’s a strong possibility that they were friends and work colleagues too and perhaps this was part of the reason Albert enlisted on September 1st.

June 7, 1915

“Another night about 60 or 70 of us were told to dig a communication trench, and whilst we were engaged a fellow told me that Dick Stott was wounded in the head. I was fagged out with digging, but I crawled down to Stott, and took him a short distance. Then I passed word to Pollard, of Woodhouses, to come and give me a lift with Stott. We got hold of him and rushed into the trench. Stott had been wounded while we were in the open digging ourselves in. When we got to the trench Sergeant Harrop gave us a lift with him, and we placed him in a blanket and carried him to the dressing station. In the afternoon of the same day, C Company made a bayonet charge on the Turks. We were a little over 100 strong when we went out, but about 45 got either killed or wounded. When we got into the Turkish trench Tom Finnerty said to me “Joe Bertenshaw is over there, Albert, are you going for him?” I replied, “Sure!” and I climbed back over the parapet. Tommy Finnerty came with me and we found Joe lying on the ground. I said, “Is that you Joe?” and he replied, “Yes … is it Albert?” I replied in the affirmative, and Joe says, “Get me in, will you?” I said “That’s what we’ve come for.” We dragged him to the parapet and I shouted to some of the men to catch him. Then we rolled him over. Then we went back for another wounded lad called Wilson, of Ashton, and got him in, and we also fetched in Albert Wrigley. Just as we were getting him to the parapet the Turks opened rapid fire, and we had to lie down until their fire ceased, and they resumed independent fire again. Then Finnerty and I dragged Wrigley to the parapet and rolled him over, and the men caught him. In and between these I was fetching ammunition, etc., and passing it into the trench. I was in the open while doing this and exposed to the fire of the Turks. Just as we got to the parapet after taking Wrigley, Finnerty was shot in the leg.”

1652 Pte. Richard Stott died of wounds just under a week later, on June 13, on a hospital ship whilst at sea. Richard had just turned 15 years old and had been one of the first to attest at a big recruiting drive at Ashton Town Hall on the evening of February 14, 1914. He lied about his age and stated that he was 17 years old, the minimum age, but he was only 5ft 2” tall and it’s hard to imagine that they really believed him.

Despite being retrieved from no man’s land, 2141 Pte. Joseph Richard Bertenshaw did not survive the day and was reported as killed in action June 7. He had joined the battalion with his brother Percy the same day as Albert Platt, September 1, 1914. A third brother, Herbert, had been with the battalion since November 1913 and no doubt they joined to make sure they all served together.

2068 Pte. Albert Wrigley also retrieved that day did not survive and was listed as killed in action on June7. Pte. Wilson was more fortunate than the others and survived.

1776 Pte. Thomas Finnerty was shot in the knee on June 7 and medically evacuated to Malta. He was one of the 100 or so men who joined the battalion on February 14, 1914, along with Richard Stott. While in hospital at Malta he wrote home to his parents but remarkably did not make any mention of the role he played in bringing three wounded men in with Albert Platt, choosing instead to report on his neighbours’ wounds, (all three men living on Wellington Street in Ashton):

“I am sorry to say that I had the misfortune to get hit by a bullet in the knee, but I am doing very well indeed, so you must not trouble or worry about me. I shall be in good hands and well looked after. I want you to let Mrs. Barratt and Mrs. Turner know that Herbert and John have also been wounded, and tell them not to worry, as they are doing as well as can be expected. Herbert Barratt was hit in the right arm near the shoulder, and John Turner has been hit two or three times in his right hand, wrist and arm near the shoulder. We all got wounded on the same night, it was June 7th. I am posting this at Malta”.

June 7 was a truly memorable day for Lance-Corporal Platt and no doubt one that he remembered for the rest of his life. Having just taken part in a bayonet charge that resulted in almost 50% casualties, and having voluntarily risked his life to check on the welfare of his men in May, he repeated that courageous act to bring in four seriously wounded soldiers. The fact that three of them did not survive is irrelevant to the conspicuous gallantry he showed that day which closely emulated that of Corporal Silvester in May. But June 7, 1915 was by far the bloodiest day in the battalion’s time at Gallipoli so far, with two officers of C Company killed in action and dozens of men killed or wounded, and we can only speculate that the chaos that day meant that he did not receive any official recognition for his actions.

June 18, 1915

“Another day, B Company made another bayonet charge, and while this was going on I was digging a trench for the bombing party.”

Although Albert devoted just one sentence to the events of June 18 it was in fact the bloodiest day of the battalion’s time on the Peninsula eclipsing that of June 7 less than two weeks before.

June 24, 1915

On June 23^rd the battalion came out of the line and moved to “Shell Bivouac”, a rest area that had become notorious for being in sight of the Turkish artillery and which was constantly, randomly shelled.

“Altogether we had been in the trenches 21 days, and then came down for a rest. I was wounded while at the rest camp. I was just going to have a bath in the sea when a piece of shell struck me on the leg, just above the ankle. The leg was hanging, and I was taken down to hospital at Malta.”

He was medically evacuated to hospital in Malta where his right leg was amputated at the “seat of election”, just below the right knee. The “seat of election” was that point in the limb where, with practically the whole length at his disposal for an amputation, the surgeon elected to cut the bone and his preference for this particular spot was largely driven by the unsatisfactory nature of existing artificial limbs. Consequently, it was an advantage if the portion of the limb below the knee was left as short as possible and that the end of the stump was most protected and least in the way. The alternative approach for an ankle injury was a Syme amputation which is an amputation done through the ankle joint. The foot is removed but the heel pad is saved so the patient can put weight on the leg without a prosthesis. Presumably the shell fragment had damaged the tibia and fibula far enough above the ankle joint to make this procedure impractical.

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. Corporal Albert Platt, by his own account, underwent at least five operations for blood poisoning in his shoulders while he was in hospital at Malta. He was lucky to survive.

Almost 3 months after being wounded he embarked a Hospital Ship at Valetta bound for England on September 18, 1915, probably arriving 8-10 days later. By early December, he was being treated in the Ashton District Infirmary Wounded Soldiers’ ward but was sufficiently recovered to be able to make periodic day trips from the hospital to see friends and family. His wife at this time gave an address on Warrington Street, Stalybridge presumably to be closer to her family and in-laws.

On March 3, 1916 the battalion in Egypt received congratulatory cards from the Major-General commanding the 42^nd Division, for good work done in Gallipoli, for a handful of men including 2146 Corporal Albert Platt. Clearly a belated attempt to provide official recognition of Albert’s actions on June 7 submitted by the battalion at the end of the campaign in an effort to address the oversight.

Albert had been promoted to Corporal on June 27, 1915 for his actions in the field and this, of course, provided slightly higher pay. On September 1, 1916 he was awarded Proficiency Pay, Class II, which would have resulted in an additional 3d per day over and above his regular pay. During the period that he was convalescing and being actively treated he remained on the Army payroll but in January 1917 he was medically assessed and pronounced permanently unfit for military service, registered for the silver war badge, and on February 3, 1917 was discharged under Paragraph 392 (XVI) of King’s Regulations. His Army disability pension began the following day.

Three full years later, on January 30, 1920, the following announcement appeared in the London Gazette:

His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Military Medal to the undermentioned Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Men for bravery in the Field, whose services have been brought to notice in accordance with the terms of Army Order 193 of 1919. To be dated 5th May, 1919, unless otherwise stated: —
MANCHESTER REGIMENT
2146 Cpl. Platt, A., 9th Bn. (Stalybridge).

This was a quite remarkable announcement since it meant that Cpl. Platt was awarded the Military Medal (MM) for his actions at Gallipoli. We know this since he did not serve under fire in any other military theatre of operation and the MM was awarded for “acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire”. But the Military Medal was not established until March 26, 1916, two months after the evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula, and so he is a member of a very select group of men to have received this decoration for the Gallipoli campaign. From a purely practical perspective, the award of the MM meant an additional 6d per day for Albert’s disability pension.

Back in the civilian world, Albert and his wife moved to Heyrod Hall Farm, Heyrod, Stalybridge where he became a self-employed poultry farmer, thus side-stepping the need to try to find regular employment as a disabled ex-serviceman. Proving that he wasn’t completely disabled, on December 1, 1922 his son Albert Jnr. was born there. By 1939 the family had moved to Haltham, near Horncastle, Lincolnshire and in 1952 they sold their house in Haltham and moved to Saddleworth to be closer to their son.

Corporal Albert Platt, M.M. died on July 13, 1955 from a cerebral thrombosis, caused by underlying atherosclerosis, at his home in Saddleworth. He was 67 years old.

Major Thomas Frankish, RAMC (Att’d)

Thomas Frankish was born on November 21, 1867 in Bromley, Middlesex to George Frankish, an inspector for the Inland Revenue, and Sarah Jane Frankish (née Nettleton). He was the oldest of four boys; George (b.1870), Walter (b.1874) and Henry (b.1877). His sister Alice Gertrude Frankish was born in July 1880 but died in 1882.

Thomas went to medical school at Edinburgh University graduating in 1889. He remained at university and received a Bachelor of Science in Public Health in 1893. After graduating and undergoing residencies at Bournemouth and Lewes, he moved back to live with his parents working as a Surgeon at Accrington Victoria Cottage Hospital and the Royal Infirmary, Bradford.

Royal Field Artillery

On February 9, 1898 he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 3rd Lancashire Artillery Volunteers. In 1901 he married Edith Mary Jennings and on July 18, 1903 their only daughter, Freda May Frankish, was born. By 1911 they were living in Accrington with two domestic servants and Thomas was a Major in the 5th Lancashire Battery, Royal Field Artillery, 1st East Lancashire Brigade. On September 23, 1913 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and assumed command of the Brigade. In his civilian life he was working in private medical practice, in partnership with Dr. J. S. Harbinson, and had been the Honorary Surgeon at Accrington Victoria Cottage Hospital for over a decade.

The Outbreak of War

At the outbreak of war, when he was 47 years old, he closed his medical practice and sailed with the 42nd Division to Egypt in September 1914 as Officer Commanding the 1st East Lancashire Brigade, RFA. While in Egypt his worsening presbyopia meant that his eyesight deteriorated to the point where he was reported as unfit to command due to defective eyesight. To his credit, he arranged to resign his commission in the RFA, allowing the promotion of his successor, Major Arthur Birtwistle, and to be granted a new commission in the Royal Army Medical Corps, (RAMC). The War Office granted the request on condition that he accept the rank of Major, which he did, and thus he lost both seniority and tenure which he struggled to come to terms with throughout the remainder of his war service.

Royal Army Medical Corps

He was commissioned Major in the RAMC on March 9, 1915 less than a week after Major Hilton of the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment died at Heliopolis, leaving them without a Medical Officer. Since there was a need for his services with the 42nd Division but no suitable vacancy, he was added to the Army’s list of RAMC officers not attached to a medical unit and rotated through various posts as and where he was needed. By his own account, he served as the Senior Medical Officer at the British Military Hospital, Khartoum and as Medical Officer for the 1/7th Manchester Regiment. The 1/7th Manchesters being based in Sudan from September 30, 1914 until they returned to Egypt in April 1915.

Gallipoli with the 9th Manchesters

Back in Egypt he was attached to the 9^th Battalion, Manchester Regiment on May 5th, 1915 serving as their Medical Officer. This attachment was wired to the War Office by the G.O.C. Egypt Expeditionary Force and it turned out to be the last official communication from the field concerning him and so for the next several years, as far as the Army was concerned, he remained attached to the 9th Battalion and was presented as such on the Army List. In later years he spent much personal effort attempting to correct the record without much success.

In fact, his tenure with the 9^th Manchesters lasted less than 4 months, landing with them at Cape Helles on May 9, 1915 and remaining with them until temporarily transferred by the 42^nd Division Assistant Director Medical Services (ADMS) to the 1/3^rd East Lancs Field Ambulance on August 31, 1915. He was belatedly struck off the strength of the Battalion on October 21^st when he was permanently transferred to Divisional HQ, as Sanitation Officer.

He did not serve as Sanitation Officer long because on November 11, 1915 he was medically evacuated to the 17th General Hospital, Alexandria (ex Hospital Ship Delta) suffering from dyspepsia and dysentery, the third attack that he had endured on the peninsula. He remained at the 17th General from November 17 to December 6 when he was transferred to an Officer’s Convalescent Hospital at Luxor.

Egypt 1916

Sufficiently recovered, he reported for duty with the 42 Division’s 1/1st East Lancs Field Ambulance at Shalufa on February 13, 1916. Just over a week later he transferred to the 35th Casualty Clearing Station, on February 22nd. He was briefly made Officer Commanding RAMC Details, Sidi Bishr, Alexandria but he was not well and after constant headaches for six weeks and occasional sudden attacks of fever, made worse by exposure to the sun, he was admitted to the British Red Cross Hospital at Ginza on April 8th suffering from Pyrexia of Unknown Origin. He recovered over the next 3 weeks and no microbial infection was found but on April 22nd he was medically assessed and granted 2 months home leave to recover in a more temperate climate. Consequently, he boarded the Hospital Ship Salta at Alexandria on May 14, arriving Southampton May 26, 1916.

On May 28, 1916 he was medically assessed at the 2nd Western General Hospital, Manchester where it was noted that he had recovered on the voyage home but was still not at his usual strength. They granted him 1 month’s leave and he reported for a second medical assessment on June 17 where he was passed fit for General Service. He embarked the Troop Transport Minetonka at Devonport bound for for Alexandria on July 5, 1916, arriving there on July 19.

On July 23rd he reported for duty at the 15th General Hospital, Alexandria where he remained for the remainder of 1916.

Salonika 1917

He was not happy away from the action and so by his own request he embarked a Hospital Transport ship for Salonika on April 4, 1917 arriving six days later. Here he was briefly posted to the 28th General Hospital before assuming command of the 8th Mounted Brigade Field Ambulance on May 3, 1917. They remained in Salonika until June 1st when they embarked for Egypt, arriving 3 days later.

In early October the Assistant Director Medical Services (ADMS) Yeomanry Division wrote a scathing letter to the Deputy Director Medical Services (DDMS) Desert Mounted Corps complaining of Major Frankish’s unsatisfactory performance, especially with regard to the Field Ambulance’s field sanitation standards. The DDMS concurred and used Major Frankish’s own 3-page, detailed riposte to the charges as evidence that he would be better suited to a support, rather than a field, position. GHQ concurred and transferred Major Frankish to the RAMC Base Depot, Mustapha where he assumed command on November 3, 1917. This position carried the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and he assumed this rank from this date forward, although it took almost two years for the Army to recognize it.

Torpedoed 1918

On February 21, 1918 he was granted 3 weeks home leave and embarked the Indarra en-route to England. In England his leave expired without receiving orders to return and so on April 15, 1918 he wrote to the War Office reporting this fact. Two weeks later, upon receiving orders to return to Egypt, he wrote another letter to the War Office requesting that he be allowed to not return to Egypt due to health reasons exacerbated by the hot climate. He received a one sentence reply denying his request. This was rather unfortunate because he then boarded the Troop Transport Omrah, bound for Alexandria via Marseilles. On May 12, 1918 the Omrah was torpedoed by UB52, 40 miles S.W. of Cape Spartivento, Sicily and sunk. But remarkably there was only one reported casualty, which was fortunately not him, and he arrived relatively unscathed at Alexandria on the Malwa, 5 days later.

During his adventure in the Mediterranean, on May 11, 1918, he was awarded the Territorial Decoration for long service with the Territorial Force.

He remained in command of the RAMC Base Depot, now at Kantara, but after the war had ended he was sometimes deployed for temporary duty on board Hospital Ships sailing between Egypt and Beirut.

Demobilisation in 1919

On March 28, 1919 he relinquished command of the RAMC Base Depot and was assigned to the Convalescent Depot at Boulaq, Cairo. Consequently, when he became unwell on April 4, 1919, he was admitted to the Citadel Hospital in Cairo. Whilst being treated, he wrote to the Ministry of National Service, in England, requesting a “speedy demobilisation” citing a litany of reasons but primarily his deteriorating health in Egypt’s hot climate. He also wrote to his former medical partner, Dr. J. S. Harbinson, who had already been demobilised, requesting him to contact the War Office on his behalf, which he duly did.

He was medically assessed in Cairo on April 20th and they recommended two months rest in the UK. He boarded the Hospital Ship Carisbrooke Castle at Alexandria on May 6, 1919 arriving Southampton 10 days later. Here he was admitted to the Endsleigh Palace Hospital for Officers, London for treatment. The War Office notified him that he would be demobilised when fit and instructed the hospital to schedule a medical assessment for June 12, 1919. Remarkably, on May 24th he wrote to the War Office now requesting to remain in the Royal Army Medical Corps since he felt that he had secured a move from Egypt and claiming that there was not enough work for him in his medical practice (the opposite of what Dr. Harbinson had told them a month earlier). Needless to say, his request was summarily rejected.

He was discharged from Endsleigh on June 13 and returned home, with another medical assessment scheduled for July. On July 10, 1919 he submitted an official request for a speedy demobilisation for medical officers. The War Office must have considered starting a new department just to deal with all his correspondences. Nevertheless, he was assessed at Exeter on July 28 and granted leave until September 1st. On September 4, 1919 he was medically assessed again at Queen Mary’s Military Hospital, Whalley, Lancs and pronounced to be at fitness level ‘C1’. He was demobilised a week later on September 12, 1919.

Post War Years

On September 30, 1921 he resigned his commission with the Royal Army Medical Corps having attained the age limit and was granted the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

On October 20, 1939 he wrote to H.M. Secretary of State for War, offering his services, noting his prior service and stating that after the war he had been Chairman Pension Boards and Referee to the Ministry of Health. He indicated that he had been the Medical Officer on a troop ship for the last 4 years and was currently returning to England. He was 72 years old and his offer was very politely declined.

By this time he and his wife had moved to Quainton, near Aylesbury and in early 1946 he died there. Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Frankish, MB, TD was 78 years old and was survived by his wife and daughter.

2/Lt. Charles Henry Nash, RAMC (Att’d)

Charles Henry Nash was born on July 16, 1875 in Cork to the Rev. Llewellyn Charles Nash and Ellen Henrietta Nash (née Welland). Charles was the youngest of 3 boys (William Welland Nash and Sidney Dawson Nash) and had an older sister, (Henrietta May Nash), and two younger sisters, (Mary Welland Nash and Anna Florence Nash).

Charles’ mother died in 1893, when he was 18 years old, and two years later he enrolled as a first-year medical student at Queen’s College Cork, on October 28, 1895. By 1901 Charles was living with his father, who was now the Rector of Ballymartle, (near Kinsale, County Cork), his younger sister Mary, his uncle Robert Spread Nash, and a domestic servant. Charles took his final examinations under the auspices of the Scottish Conjoint Board and so when he passed, in 1903, he became LRCP (Edin.), LRCS (Edin.) and LRFPS (Glasg.).

By 1911 he had formed a medical partnership with a local doctor, (Dr. Walter John Roalfe-Cox), and was working as a General Practitioner and living in Mortimer, Berkshire with his brother Sidney, (a former Army officer and now a District Commissioner in West Africa), his sister Mary and a domestic servant. Shortly after the outbreak of war he dissolved his business partnership so that he could join the Army and was commissioned as a temporary Lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps on December 28, 1914.

He was attached to the 42^nd (East Lancs) Division and by August 1915 was assigned to the 1/1^st East Lancs Field Ambulance at Gully Beach, Cape Helles, Gallipoli. On Augst 31^st the Divisional ADMS issued orders for him to be attached to the 1/9^th Battalion Manchester Regiment, replacing Major Thomas Frankish, RAMC. He remained attached to the 9^th Manchesters until he reported sick to hospital on October 25, 1915. He did not return to the Battalion.

On December 28, 1915 he was promoted to temporary Captain which rank he retained until he resigned his commission on March 8, 1919 retaining the rank of Captain. In October 1917 he married Julia Phyllis Smeddle, in Durham, and after he left the Army, they settled in Porthcawl, Wales where he worked in private practice. They had 3 daughters; Phyllis Kathleen Nash (b. 1919), Dorothy Joyce Graham Nash (b.1921) and Vera Peggy Nash (b.1925). They stayed in Porthcawl until the mid-1930s when they moved to Sandhurst, Berkshire.

Captain Charles Henry Nash died on February 8, 1952. He was 71 years old.

2/Lt. George Gordon Greene-Kelly

George Gordon Greene-Kelly was born on July 11, 1886 in County Dublin, Ireland. By 1901 he was attending school and living at 24 Belgrave Square, Monkstown Dublin with his widowed mother Elizabeth, his older brother Frederick William (attending Medical School) and a domestic servant.

In January 1915 he applied for a commission stating that he had been a member of his School Cadet Corps and the Planters Volunteer Mounted Corps, Malacca. He was accepted and commissioned on February 4, 1915 as a temporary Second Lieutenant with the 10th Battalion, The Prince of Wales’s Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment).

2/Lt. Greene-Kelly remained with the 10^th Manchesters as they evacuated the Gallipoli Peninsula and moved to Egypt. On March 14, 1916 he was transferred to the 126^th Brigade, 42^nd Division Machine Gun Company at Shalufa. He spent a week in hospital at Suez in April and on May 20^th was made temporary Lieutenant. In October he was granted 5 weeks leave in England and departed Port Said on the SS Caledonian on October 13^th. After his leave was over, he embarked the Indulgence in Marseilles on November 13^th rejoining the Machine Gun Company in Al Mazār, Northern Sinai, on November 27^th. The pursuit of the Turkish forces across the Northern Sinai proceeded without incident and the 42^nd Division marched into El Arish in January 1917. After a relaxing two weeks by the sea, they were ordered back to the Suez Canal in preparation of deployment to France.

The Machine Gun Company embarked for Marseilles, at Alexandria on February 2, 1917 sailing on the HT Huntspill, disembarking on March 6^th. Lt. Greene-Kelly fought with the Machine Gun Corps in France throughout 1917 taking home leave from July 8-20 and again from January 11-27, 1918. Immediately upon his return he was recalled to England leaving the Machine Gun Company on January 29, 1918. He spent the remainder of the war in England.

On November 18, 1918 he returned to France and reported to Terlincthun Chateau, Boulogne for duty as War Workers Conducting Officer with the Military Inter Allied Commission of Control. Two weeks later he was granted the rank of temporary Major while so employed. The disarmament provisions of the Armistice, in November 1918, and of the Treaty of Versailles fourteen months later were primarily carried out by the Military Inter Allied Commission of Control. He remained with them until October 21, 1921 when he resigned his commission, retaining the rank of Major, but by this time he was based in Berlin.

He remained in Berlin and started his own import / export business, Gordon Kelly Export House. On September 20, 1923 he married Paula Gertrude Karla Marie Kuhlewind and they remained in Berlin after the marriage. In May 1924 their son, Ronald Gordon Greene-Kelly was born and around that time he applied for an educational sponsorship from the Army for former officers who wanted to attend a business course at a London university but was rejected as he had not served in the regular forces. By 1926 the family had moved to Hendon, London and they remained there until he died in December 1932.

Major George Gordon Greene-Kelly was just 46 years old. He was survived by his wife, his son, his mother and his older brother.

2/Lt. Arthur James Southcott

Arthur James Southcott was born on July 18, 1895 in Woodford, Essex to Arthur Southcott, a civil servant at the royal mint and Annie Southcott (née Pattison). He was educated at The Cooper’s Company School, in London, and by 1911 was living in Woodford with his parents, his younger brother, Walter Roy Southcott, and a domestic servant. His father passed away on January 31, 1912.

Shortly after the outbreak of war, on September 3, 1914, he left his civilian job as a shipping clerk and joined the 9th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Queen Victoria’s Rifles) as a Rifleman (#3177), undergoing 3 months basic training at Crowborough and Fleet. On November 5, 1914 the 1/9^th London Regiment landed at Le Havre and went into the trenches at Neuve Eglise on November 29^th recording their first casualties on December 4^th. On December 31^st they occupied the trenches again and the following day Rifleman Southcott sprained his back and was medically evacuated to England leaving France on January 5, 1915. Back in England he was assigned to the 2/9^th Battalion while he recovered and there was granted a commission as a temporary Second-Lieutenant on March 27, 1915 with the 12th (Service) Battalion, The Essex Regiment.

He deployed to Gallipoli, and on October 7, 1915 was attached to the 1/9^th Battalion, Manchester Regiment along with 4 other junior officers from the Essex and South Lancashire Regiments. There is no official mention of his movements or activities at Gallipoli save for a reference to reporting sick to hospital on December 4-8, 1915. He rejoined the Battalion on December 9^th but two days later was admitted to the 17^th Stationary Hospital at Cape Helles suffering from Diarrhea. He was medically evacuated to England on January 3, 1916 from Mudros sailing on the hospital ship Britannic and arrived at Southampton on January 9^th, by now diagnosed with gastritis and enteritis.

He was given a month’s convalescent leave and on Feb 12, 1917 was pronounced fit for home service. A month later the Army medical board passed him fit for general service.

He deployed to France and was attached to the 10th Battalion, The Essex Regiment who at the time were part of the 53rd Brigade in 18th (Eastern) Division. They had taken heavy casualties in July at the Battle of Delville Wood and again in September at the Battle of Thiepval Ridge but on October 17, 1916 they were taking over the lines near Courcelette (S.W. of Bapaume). The battalion war diary simply states, “No 2 Platoon of “A” Company on reaching the BAPAUME POST was knocked out by a bomb from enemy aeroplane”. But a first-hand account of the incident provides more detail:

Account of Incident of Bomb from Enemy Aeroplane on morning of 17th October – by the [3] survivors:

“On the morning of the 17th inst. we were being marched up the BAPAUME ROAD in our platoon under 2/Lt. A. J. Southcott the platoon commander. When we reached the point on the road formerly known as BAPAUME POST a very heavy bomb fell and exploded about 3 yards to the left of the centre of the platoon. This was at about 5:40am when the light was poor and there was a heavy mist issuing from the river. All the platoon were rendered casualties except ourselves. Officer (2/Lt. A. J. Southcott) wounded. Other ranks: 1 killed and 17 wounded.

We were marching at ease at the time and were singing so no one either heard the aeroplane or the noise of the bomb descending. After the explosion we immediately commenced to bandage the wounded and some 3 or 4 minutes after the explosion we saw the aeroplane hovering fairly low little distance to the right, where it dropped another bomb. There were lights and fires burning in the camps both on the right and left of the road where the bombs were dropped.”

2/Lt. Southcott was struck by a fragment of bomb shrapnel which entered the lower part of the right buttock passing through the rectum from which it passed 3 days later, which can’t have been pleasant. He was medically evacuated to England on the Asturias embarking at Le Havre on October 20 and disembarking at Southampton on the 21^st where he was transported to London and admitted to Lady Mountgarret’s Convalescent Hospital for Officers. The wound became septic but healed reasonably quickly but he then developed Gastritis and Enteritis as he had before in Gallipoli. It was not until June 16, 1917 that he was finally pronounced fit for general service again whereupon he proceeded to the 27th Training Reserve Battalion, Harwich Fortress at Dovercourt, Essex.

On June 7, 1918 he suffered the humiliation of a Field General Court Martial, accused of Drunkenness at Felixstowe on May 13. He pleaded Not Guilty but was found Guilty and severely reprimanded. He relinquished his commission and left the Army on February 23, 1919 retaining the rank of Lieutenant.

In 1920 he applied to the War Office for his medals and the contact address was later amended from his mother’s home in Essex to that of the Militia Council Headquarters, in Ottowa, Canada. He officially emigrated to Canada in March 1923 and became the head clerk at an aircraft engine manufacturer called Armstrong-Siddeley, (later to become Hawker-Siddeley), in Ottowa. Lt. Arthur James Southcott died suddenly on June 31, 1935 and is buried in the Beechwood Cemetery, Ottowa. He was 39 years old.

2/Lt. Laird Kirwan

Laird Kirwan was born on April 14, 1894 in London to John William Kirwan, a successful wholesale Jeweler, and Caroline Marian Kirwan (née Colins). He was the youngest of six children although his older brother Howard had died shortly after birth when he was just 7 months old. In 1911 he was living with his parents and four older sisters in Islington.

One month after the outbreak of war, on September 5, 1914, Laird joined the Honorable Artillery Company as a Private (#1931) and was assigned to Number 2 Company, 2^nd Battalion. He was granted a commission as a temporary Second Lieutenant with the 10th Battalion, The Prince of Wales’s Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment) on January 26, 1915.

2/Lt. Kirwan remained with the 10^th Manchesters as they evacuated the Gallipoli Peninsula and moved to Egypt. On March 30, 1916 he was transferred and attached to the 6th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment who were in Mesopotamia and formed part of the 38th (Lancashire) Infantry Brigade of the 13th (Western) Division. 2/Lt. Kirwan embarked at Port Suez on April 9^th and disembarked at Basra on April 24^th. This was 5 days before the fall of Kut Al Amara which no doubt delayed his passage up river to join his new battalion. Consequently, he spent some time at Basra before joining the Battalion at Sheikh Sa’ad on June 19^th where he was immediately put in command of a company, relinquishing command 5 days later. On July 9, 1916 he went sick to hospital where he stayed for a week before rejoining the battalion.

After the debacle of Kut-Al-Amara, Lieutenant-General Sir Stanley Maude, formerly commander of the 6^th South Lancs’ own 13th (Western) Division, was made commander of all Allied forces in Mesopotamia in late July 1916. He embarked upon a 7-month period of re-organizing and re-supplying his forces while steadily improving the lines of communication and medical and port infrastructure at Basra. In December 1916 he launched a new campaign whose goal was to capture Baghdad, which he did on March 11, 1917.

Shortly after the start of the campaign, on January 11, 1917, 2/Lt. Kirwan was transferred to “G” Stokes Mortar Battery and periodically served as second in command of the battery throughout his time with the battalion, temporarily assuming the rank of Lieutenant during those periods. Over the next 3 months the battalion took part in a series of minor battles including the capture of the Hai Salient, the capture of Dahra Bend, the Second Battle of Kut, the passage of the Diyala River and the fall of Baghdad. A month after it was all over, on May 16, he proceeded to Basra to commence home leave to England sailing on the transport Sofala. While in England, the War Office extended his leave and so he did not return to Basra until September 26, 1917 sailing from Bombay to Basra on the transport Torilla.

By this time the battalion was north of Baghdad at a small town called As Sindiyah, on the East bank of the Tigris and it took 2/Lt. Kirwan two weeks to reach them, rejoining the “G” Stokes Mortar Battery on October 9^th at Tuwair (an even smaller town on the West side of the Tigris). As was not uncommon, a few weeks after returning from leave the change of climate and harsh living conditions caused him to report sick to hospital on November 25^th and after a month in a field hospital went to an Officers’ Convalescent Hospital in Baghdad where he remained until December 28, 1917, rejoining the battalion at As Sindiyah. The commander of the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force, Lt.-General Sir Stanley Maude was not so lucky, he contracted cholera around the same time and died in Baghdad on November 18.

2/Lt. Kirwan remained with the battalion until August 1, 1918 when he was attached to the 31^st Wing of the Royal Air Force as an “Observer” joining the 30^th Squadron at Baqubah, North West of Bhagdad. Three weeks later, on August 20, 1918, his Army service record states that he was “Accidentally Killed” on flying duty but his RAF record was subsequently amended to state that he in fact died of wounds sustained on flying duty, and was designated a “Battle Casualty”.

2/Lt. Laird Kirwan was 24 years old. He is buried in the Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery, Iraq which is also the final resting place of Sir Stanley Maude.

2/Lt. George Frederick Barker

George Frederick Barker was born in 1884, in Brentwood Essex to Frederick Inkerman Barker, (a blacksmith and farrier) and Kate Barker (née Monsear). George was the oldest of four children and the only son. His father died in 1903 and by 1911 he was living with his widowed mother and three sisters and employed as a school teacher for the Poplar Guardians (a poor house which built a training school for around 700 pupils in 1906/07 at Hulton in Essex). He was reportedly a fine athlete playing both football and cricket at a high amateur level in Brentwood.

He was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant on December 5, 1914 and underwent his basic training with the 12th Battalion, The Essex Regiment. During this time, in the latter half of 1915, he married Lydia Laura Horwood. He deployed to Gallipoli, and on October 7, 1915 was attached to the 1/9^th Battalion, Manchester Regiment along with 4 other junior officers from the Essex and South Lancashire Regiments.

There is no official mention of his movements or activities at Gallipoli save for a reference to reporting sick to hospital on December 8, 1915, most likely the 17^th Stationary Hospital at Cape Helles. He remained in Hospital for six weeks until he was medically evacuated to Malta, disembarking on January 21, 1916 and diagnosed with Rheumatic Fever. There he was admitted to the Blue Sisters Hospital the following day. Two weeks later, on February 5^th, he embarked on the Hospital Ship Aquitania bound for England via Naples.

On September 1, 1916 he was promoted to acting Lieutenant in the Training Reserve and remained so until February 16, 1917 when he relinquished his acting rank of Lieutenant and reverted to temporary 2^nd Lieutenant. A week later he joined the 3^rd (Reserve) Battalion, The Essex Regiment at Felixstowe, on February 22, 1917. The 3^rd Essex was a depot and training unit and he remained there until he was passed fit for active service. Two months later he sailed to France and joined the 2^nd Battalion, The Essex Regiment on April 22, 1917 while they were in billets at Beaufort-Blavincourt, a few kilometers West of Arras. The timing was not good as the Battalion was engaged in the Second Battle of Arras and both sides were suffering heavy casualties.

A week after his arrival, the Battalion moved into the front lines at 8pm on April 30, 1917. There they were subjected to enemy artillery and sniper fire and took several casualties. On May 3^rd they were directly involved in an attack against the German positions and suffered 5 killed, 96 wounded and 106 missing other ranks with 2 officers killed, 8 wounded and 4 missing. The following day the battalion moved back to the support line. On May 10^th they moved towards the front lines again when they supported an attack by the 11^th Brigade. By this time the Battalion HQ was located in a cellar at Fampoux. On May 12^th they were in the front lines again supporting an attack by the 10^th and 11^th Brigades. The battalion started to pull out during the evening and was fully relieved at midnight. The scale of the battalion’s casualties over the past month is made evident by an excerpt from the war diary entry for May 12:

“Only 4 Officers came out of the line with the Battalion out of 25 who had been with them this tour. 2 Officers wounded. 2/Lt. G. F. Barker killed.”

Temporary Second Lieutenant George Frederick Barker was killed in action on May 12, 1917 at Fampoux, France. He was 33 years old. His wife was notified by telegram 6 days later:

He is buried in the Saint Nicolas British Cemetery, Arras and commemorated at the Ilford War Memorial Hall.