Manchester Co-op's Battle of the Somme

Contents  



 









Introduction  Author’s Note Initial Recruitment in 1914  Regular Army and Reserve  Territorial Army Kitchener’s Army – Your Country Needs You  Service Battalions  The Manchester Pals  Lancashire Fusiliers  Other Regiments and Corps Western Front and Genesis of the Somme Offensive The First Days in the Battle of the Somme. 1st to 4th July 1916  Montauban  Mametz  La Boiselle  Thiepval  Redan Ridge Later action in July 1916  Trones Wood  High Wood  Guillemont – 19th Manchesters  Guillemont – 90th Brigade Subsequent Months of 1916  September 1916. Flers- Courcelette  October 1916. North of Flers  November – December 1916 Beyond the Somme  Was CWS recruitment representative?  Losses in the Battle of the Somme  Casualties and the Manchester Pals  Medals and Awards Acknowledgments

Introduction With the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme, we reflect on the Great War and the changes it made to our communities.

There is a focus on the men of the New Army and Pals, who joined up together to serve King and Country. Mass enlistment of thousands of men in the autumn of 1914 captures the imagination; yet the scale and effect is challenging to envisage in the context of any particular place or community.

The men from Co-Operative Wholesale Society’s Head Office in Balloon Street, Manchester represent a Case Study of a group of men who enlisted and served together. The information that is available on these individuals is more extensive than records found for most other sectors of the community. The research should provide a useful example that can then be considered in the context of general recruitment and service in the Great War. Co-Operative Wholesale Society (CWS) provided men to most branches of the Services. A Roll of Honour was created by CWS for the names of 2,975 employees who had enlisted in the Services by 13th December 1915. This list of names is published in the Manchester Co-operative Wholesale Society Memorial Hall. Old Bank Building, City Battalions Manchester. Unveiled 11th November 1930. Courtesy Co-Op Archive Book of Honour; which also provides the Platoon photographs and Rolls for men in the Pals Battalions in April 1915. The timeline continues with the Drysaltery Works Memorial Roll 1 which addresses 4,690 CWS men serving up to 31st December 1916 and identities almost three hundred casualties in this period. The Roll records the man’s Rank, Battalion and place of work; noting whether they were killed in action, missing, died of wounds or natural causes.

The ornate War Memorial in Co-op’s Old Bank Building on Corporation Street provides further information on CWS casualties. 497 employees are listed and the Memorial provides the previous Department, or place of employment, for each individual. The Manchester Head Office forms the first column of names on the Memorial. This is selected as the sample for research because it is an extensive group of one hundred and thirty casualties and the men all worked in one location.

City Battalions Book of Honour. Six of these men are named on the CWS Memorial – Manchester Office

1

http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=8393

The combined information provides a detailed database; particularly in relation to the Pals. In effect, the profile of CWS recruitment provides some reflection on the rest of the City; and in many respects other communities in the country. The Company introduces a closer perspective on the recruitment campaigns of 1914 and the context of losses of CWS staff can be more clearly understood.

This sample of young men, who predominately enlisted in 1914 and lost their lives, encapsulates the people of the City and the generation that suffered so heavily. The group will be followed through from joining up, to varied routes of training and service in the conflict.

In remembrance of the men named on the Memorial, we then address the circumstances of their deaths, focussing on Soldiers who were killed on active service in the Battle of the Somme in 1916.2 Almost fifty CWS Manchester Office men were killed in the battlefields, trenches and reserve lines; situated in the rolling hills, villages and woods of Picardy.

This comprises the largest group of staff named on the Memorial; who had volunteered with such fervour in the first five months of hostilities. They retain an indelible image in our national psyche.

City Battalions Book of Honour. XII Platoon 17th Battalion

Author’s Note I appreciated the grandeur of the CWS Memorial, on visits to the Co-op Group Property Department; although I never noticed the first name on the Roll as P A Amos. Sergeant Percy Amos had trained with my Grandad in III Platoon of 2nd Manchester Pals. He was killed on 1st July 1916 and this paper is dedicated to Percy and his former colleagues.

Lest we forget.

2

Sgt PA Amos

Other casualties are noted and remembered with equal status. The Somme in 1916 is identified as a focus due to the large number of CWS losses in such a short period.

Initial Recruitment in 1914 Regular Army and Reserve At the outbreak of hostilities, the British Army was relatively small and stationed across the globe as an integral part of the Empire’s infrastructure. In August 1914, the Army was called back Home for War Service and quickly found themselves in Belgium and France; ultimately defending Paris and preventing the German Army cutting off the supply route to the Channel. As examples, the 1st Battalion3 Manchester Regiment had been stationed in India and arrived at Marseille on 26th September 1914 – they moved to Ypres and served alongside their 2nd Battalion at Festubert in late October 1914. The 2nd Battalion had been garrisoned in Ireland before arriving at Le Havre on 16th August 1914.

Time served Soldiers were called up from Reserve to provide a significant increase in troop numbers. Charles Moroney of the CWS Grocery Department had previously served in the Lancashire Fusiliers, having enlisted in 1908. He left his job in the Manchester Office, when he was mobilised at the outbreak of hostilities. He later disembarked in France, on 22nd August 1914, with a draft of other Reservists of the 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers. Soon in the thick of the action, the Battalion was near Le Touquet on 18th October 1914. The Germans had attacked the British defences in the night and early morning. The positions were held, but there were four men killed and eight wounded4 during the defence, with a heavy German bombardment and counter attack.

None of the Lancashire Fusilier casualties have known resting place, being commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial.

Charles Moroney5 is the only 1914 casualty and sole Old Contemptible that has been identified on the Manchester Office Roll. There is no doubt that staff from other offices and Departments returned to duty for the King.6

2/Lt H W Price © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MEN 10/8/1916

3

The scale of losses in the professional British Army soon caused alarm. Other steps were needed to meet strategic and political obligations. Apart from the former Regular Army Reservists, there was also a part time group of Special Reservists in most infantry Regiments. Second Lieutenant Henry Wall Price was a member of the 4th (Special Reserve) Battalion of the Manchester Regiment. Henry’s father was Captain in the 4th Battalion and must have encouraged his architect son to take a Commission in the Battalion. Henry disembarked in France on 10th May 1915 and served with 2nd Battalion.

He had been employed in CWS Architects Department.7

In Memory of 1095 Lance Corporal Alfred Ridge of 1st Battalion Manchester Regiment.

CWGC record 6 losses on 28th October 1914. It is likely this includes men recorded wounded, who subsequently died.

5 Charles Moroney’s wife Mary Ellen and son lived at 10 Sandywell, Greengate, Salford. He had been born in Dublin and enlisted in Manchester. He was aged 23 and the son of Charles and Mary Moroney of 50 Ryland St Salford.

6 In Memory of Joseph Locker 2nd Battalion Manchester Regiment. Newly commemorated by Commonwealth War Graves Commission as a result of this research.

7 Henry Snr was died on 19/6/1919. His grave is recorded in CWGC records in Dukinfield Cemetery. On 23/1/1901 he had been Hon Lieut in Somerset Light Infantry. In peace time volunteers in the Special Reserve enlisted for a 6 month period of full time training, followed by 3-4 weeks of service for each year of their 6 year commitment. During the War men were attracted to the Special Reserve because the men were automatically deemed to serve with the prestigious Regular Battalions of each Regiment.

4

Territorial Army

6th Manchesters. Crown Copyright reserved. Trafford Council

Manchester had a proud tradition of Volunteer and Territorial Army Service. At the outbreak of the war, most men from the six Territorial Battalions of the Manchester Regiment and those in the Lancashire Fusiliers volunteered for overseas Service. A number of other men joined their local Companies in August and September 1914. In many respects the Territorials may be seen as a forerunner to the Manchester Pals. The men had commonly enlisted to join school friends or colleagues in the Terriers and shared the experience of training and camps in their spare time. It is also notable that many of the Manchester Territorials were white collar workers, consistent with the profile that will be found for the Pals in the City Battalions.

Men from the 1/6th (Stretford Road) and 1/8th (Ardwick) Battalions Manchester Regiment are mentioned on the C.W.S Memorial. The Manchester Office Roll for 1/6th Battalion includes Audit Clerk Thomas Casson MC8, and Lance Corporal 1838 James Jones from the Drapery Department.9 James is the earliest Manchester Office casualty identified on the Memorial. He was killed near Krithia, Gallipoli on 2nd June 1915, aged twenty four.

Sergeant 2463 Henry Downes10 was a member of the 1/8th Battalion. It is probable that Henry enlisted at the beginning of September 1914 and followed the established members of the Battalion to training.

The Manchester Territorials formed part of the 42nd East Lancashire Division, providing fifteen thousand troops for the war effort in the first month of hostilities. The 6th and 8th Battalions were mobilised on 4th August 1914 and moved to a camp at Hollingworth by the end of that month. They embarked at Southampton on 10th September 1914 and arrived in

8

Private 2181 Thomas Casson was wounded in the Gallipoli campaign and later Commissioned into the Cheshire Regiment. In July 1916 Thomas was awarded the Military Cross for his part in a raid on the Red Dragon Crater at Givenchy near Arras. He was later evacuated with trench fever and returned to duty at a bombing school at Oswestry. Thomas was killed in a grenade accident on 17/5/1917 aged 21. Buried in Stockport’s Willow Grove Cemetery. http://www.stockport19141918.co.uk/soldier.php?name_id=485 9

James Jones is thought to have attested in the 1st/6th Battalion at the end of 1913. James has no known resting place and is commemorated at the Helles Memorial.

Prior to hostilities he lived with his mother Hannah Jones at 14, Grange Road, Ashton-on-Mersey, Sale.

10

Henry Downes went on to serve in the 11th & 1st Battalions Royal Fusiliers- London Regiment. He was missing presumed dead in the German Spring Offensive on 22/3/1918. Pozieres Memorial. Unconfirmed as H J Downes on the Memorial. Henry was a bank clerk in 1911. Son of William and Sarah Downes, of 34, Birkdale St., Cheetham Hill

Alexandria for further training and Garrison duties on 25th September. The Brigade then landed at Gallipoli on 6th May 1915.

Private 1341 Herbert Arthur Walmsley was also a member of 42nd East Lancs Division, serving with the 1/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers. 11

Fred Stacey, 2/6th Manchesters. Courtesy Lucy Wickens

Some of the pre-war and newly enlisted Territorials did not volunteer for overseas service. They would remain in Britain as a training reserve for each Battalion, providing a source of fresh drafts of men as replacements became necessary.

When the first line Manchester Regiment Battalions left for Egypt, the second line Battalions were formed from the Home based troops as 2/5th and 2/6thetc.

Further recruitment was limited at first, with the competition for enlistment from other sections of the Army; notably the Pals or Service Battalions. Family connections, colleagues or friends may have encouraged men into joining the second Line Territorials. It is also likely that some of the autumn 1914 recruits had been rejected elsewhere, due to age, health or physical constraints. Otherwise older men may have selected the Territorials, in order to stay in the UK for Home service, due to family commitments. Apart from the social consequences of a white feather, there was no compulsion to enlist and many other men – including numerous CWS staff – waited until Military Services Act required them to serve twelve months later.

It wasn’t until November 1914 that the new second line Battalions gained full strength. As part of the 66th Division, they trained in Southport, Crowborough and subsequently Colchester. Through this period, the men provided drafts for the first line Battalions, before embarking for their own overseas service in France in February 1917.

11

203205 Herbert Walmsley was killed in action on 20/7/1918, serving with C Coy of 1/5th Lancs Fusils. Bertrancourt Military Cemetery. No CWS confirmation. His brother was a Co-Op Clerk and Herbert had been an accounts clerk in 1911

Records indicate 250838 Private Fred Stacey enlisted in 2/6th Battalion in November 1914. Family photos show Fred was a cook in the 2/6th Battalion at Colchester on 29th April 1916.12 The Battalion had been manning the Channel Coastal defences before they landed in France in February 1917.

Arthur Milligan arrived in Gallipoli in August 1915 as part of a draft for the 1/7th Battalion. It is thought he had enlisted in 2/7th Battalion in November 1914.

Arthur was wounded at Gallipoli in December 1915 and returned to service on the Western Front.13 Father of three, Percy Blockley is also thought to have left CWS Manchester to join the 2/7th Battalion Manchester Regiment in late September 1914.14 Company Sergeant Major 275655 Herbert Richard (Bert) Bannister was another member of 2/7th Fred Stacey Courtesy Lucy Wickens Battalion. Bert was previously an Order Clerk in the Grocery Department and enlisted from Balloon Street in September 1914. Bert’s father had been Captain on one of the Co-Operative Society’s steamships and his cousin Harold also joined the Manchester Regiment from Head Office.15 Another older recruit in the 2/7th Battalion, in September 1914, was Sergeant 275680 Thomas Edward Hollis, who had been a drapery warehouseman in 1911.16 The youngest known Balloon Street casualty is Private 3393 Frank Henry Cartledge from CWS Boot and Shoe Department. It is estimated that Frank attested in the 2/8th Ardwick Battalion in December 1914; which was close in time to his sixteenth Birthday. The minimum age was eighteen, and men should have been nineteen to serve overseas. His parents Walter George and Margaret Barbara Cartledge of 64 Palatine Road, Northenden lost their son in Gallipoli prior to his seventeen birthday. 17 CSM Bert Bannister Courtesy SWARM

Charles Millhouse18 is likely to have enlisted in a Territorial Battalion of the Manchester Regiment during the autumn of 1914. He was transferred to the Kings (Liverpool) Regiment when he entered France after 1915 and served as a Signaller with 19th Battalion.

It became common practice for drafts of men to be sent where they were needed during 1916; irrespective of a man’s training regiment or choice.

Charles Millhouse © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Manchester Evening News 25/5/1918

12

Fred Stacey had married Florence Sibbold on 25/7/1914. They lived at Moston Lane. The couple had Beatrice as a daughter born in December 1916. . He was killed while sleeping on 24/9/1917. 6 Orderlies and 4 Officers of B Coy (1 on attach from 8th Battalion) died when a long range German shell hit the Officers Mess. (Courtesy John Hartley) The group were originally buried in No 3 East Dunkirk Cemetery and later relocated to Ramscappelle Road Military Cemetery. Obituary confirms CWS employment. (See MEN 15/10/1917) 13 Private 3167/275887 Arthur Milligan was killed in action on 26/6/1918. He had worked in the jewellery Department in 1911. Arthur had married Alice Oldham in 5/12/1917. Press reports indicate he may have served with 11th Battalion. This is unlikely.

14 Percy Blockley was killed in action on 22 April 1917 Age 35. Vermelles British Cemetery 15 See Eccles Journal. Herbert Bannister was wounded in the summer of 1916 and killed in action during the German Spring offensive on 21/3/1918.

16 Thomas Hollis was killed in action in Flanders on 8/10/1917. Tyne Cot Memorial.

17 Frank Cartledge was killed at The Vineyard on 7/8/1915. Frank is also commemorated at the Helles Memorial because his body was never recovered and he was declared missing, presumed dead. Memorial, St Wilfrid's Church, Northenden 18

Charles Millhouse’s former Manchester Regiment number 2708 and War Gratuity are consistent with enlistment in October 1914. Charles lived in Stretford, which was the recruitment area for the 6th Battalion. L/Cpl Millhouse 52130 was killed on 29/4/1918 serving with KLR.

Your Country Needs You – Kitchener’s Army Service Battalions Lord Kitchener of Khartoum didn’t accept the view expressed by the press that the war would be over by Christmas. His drive for further men continued and the Minister for War’s strident image drew many volunteers into recruitment offices to attest. The first one hundred thousand soldiers came to be known as K1 – Kitchener’s 1st New Army. The recruitment continued with two more groups of ten thousand volunteers, known as K2 and K3.

A number of CWS Manchester staff enlisted in these Service Battalions - for a period of 3 years, or the duration of hostilities. In the local Manchester Regiment, the 11th Service Battalion was formed as part of K1 in August 1914, with 12th and 13th Service Battalions following as K2 and K3 in October 1914. CWS Service Battalion recruits include Frederick Locker of 12th Manchesters and a number of members of the Lancashire Fusiliers. CWS men also joined Kitchener Battalions in a range of other Regiments, notably the 10th Borders with 8th, 11th and 12th Rifle Brigade (all K2).

The Manchester Pals In September 1914, the Mayor of Manchester invited clerks and warehousemen to enlist in a City Battalion of the Manchester Regiment.19 Within days, the first Brigade, comprising more than four thousand men, had been formed, including the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th City (or Pals) Battalions. Fervour for service continued into the first few months of 1915 and the Regiment filled nine City © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Battalions and a large Training Manchester Evening News 02/09/1914 Reserve. The War Office took over control in the spring of 1915 and the City Battalions were redesignated as the 16th – 24th Service Battalions.

The City Battalions were known as Pals because the Mayor had committed that the volunteer soldiers would enlist, train and fight together.

Manchester’s white collar workers had not previously felt compelled to enlist.

The recruitment process of the 11th (K1) Service Battalion had been reported in a very poor light20 and the middle class volunteers were not comforted by the knowledge that they wouldn’t serve with men who were unknown to them, or the working class. The Pals Battalions provided an ideal solution.

Courtesy Co-op Archive 19

Manchester followed Liverpool’s successful formation of City Battalions a few days earlier. Lord Derby was instrumental in both initiatives. Each Battalion comprised approximately 1,000 men.

20 Manchester Guardian 26/8/1914 described the 11th Battalion recruits as “…look already unpleasantly like prisoners of war.”

Hundreds of CWS men joined the Pals Battalions, encouraged by the business, which supported families and promised to make up Military pay to the same level as pre-war employment and reinstate staff in their jobs when they returned. The CWS commitments were universal to all men serving in the Military - not just Pals or men from Manchester.

The business spent more than £538,000 supplementing employees’ wages during hostilities.

CWS support was more extensive than the wider commitment to other Pals Battalion recruits. Other men would have full pay for the first four weeks; re-engagement guaranteed; and half pay to wives during a soldier’s absence.

Men from XII Platoon. Probably including CWS staff. Courtesy Clive Dunn

Groups of friends will have enlisted together from the different Sections or Departments at Balloon Street and other branches of the company. It is suggested that the offices, stores and warehouses of the Co-operative movement provided an ideal recruiting ground, with the Society’s spirit of communal responsibility, solidarity and combined resolve.

This will have been reinforced by the financial support from the business.

The combination of historic records provides an opportunity to identify the Platoon where men served from each employer and names of the men they served with. For example thirteen names of men on the XII Platoon Roll of 17th Battalion correspond with names on the CWS Roll.21 The equivalent Rolls for I and II Platoons of 18th Battalion identify twenty nine names of CWS staff. Some men may have duplicated names from other th William Toole and men from 17 Battalion XII Platoon, Regiments, but the probably including CWS men. Courtesy Theresa Hesketh list provides a reasonable sample and insight into some CWS Pals who enlisted in the City Battalions.

There are also a number of examples of particular individuals, being sole CWS representatives in a particular Platoon. This may have resulted from men being promoted to another Platoon, such as Sergeant Percy Amos. It is also possible recruits enlisted with friends or sporting team mates and later chose to join other Pals. For example, almost half of 19th Battalion’s II Platoon were CWS representatives, though there is no explanation why 18 year old Private 11628 John Wilfred Pedley trained in IV Platoon.22 XII Platoon’s Thomas Marsh wearing the early Tram Guards uniform. Courtesy SWARM 21 Most XII Platoon casualties were on the Somme. Pte 8149 Arthur Kenneth German arrived in France with the 17th Battalion and later transferred to 12th and 1/6th Battalions. He died of wounds on 16/5/1918. Doullens Communal Cemetery Extension No.2. He had been an apprentice in a Drapery warehouse in 1911. Pte 8975 William Whittle died in hospital as a prisoner of war in Jeumont on 26/10/1918. He had been captured at the Spoil Bank in Ypres on 26/4/1918. Erquelinnes Communal Cemetery 22 John Pedley was killed in action on 9/10/1917. Derry House Cemetery No.2

The 16th to 19th Battalions (1st to 4th City or Pals) were formed in the first few days of September 1914 and undertook most of their training in Heaton Park, Manchester.23 Food, clothing, tents and other resources were provided by voluntary contribution from the City’s businesses, Council and charity groups. This was effectively a private Army, held under the auspices of the Mayor and Town Hall; until it was taken over by the War Office, when the Brigade had moved to Belton Park, near Grantham in April 1915.

The 20th, 21st and 22nd Battalions (5th, 6th and 7th City or Trench Digging with William Toole and men from 17th Battalion XII Platoon, probably Pals) were formed in November 1914 and trained locally including CWS men. Courtesy Theresa Hesketh in Morecambe, until they joined the other Manchester st Pals in Belton Park, Lincolnshire. IV Platoon of 21 Battalion included twenty eight men thought to have been recruited from CWS.24 A number of CWS men also trained in A Company of 20th Battalion.25 All seven of the Battalions arrived at Lark Hill Camp on Salisbury Plain for the final phase of home based training in September 1915. They subsequently embarked for France in November 1915. Each of these Battalions included staff from the CWS Manchester Office and there are representatives from most Balloon Street Departments identified on the War Memorial. These members of the Roll form the nucleus of Manchester’s losses in the New Army; with the majority of casualties occurring during the Battle of the Somme.

Public Schools Battalion Another significant group of 1914 volunteers from Manchester CWS were the men who enlisted in the 3rd University Public School Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers. This was also th Royal Fusiliers-Public Schools known as the 20 Battalion Battalion London Regiment and attracted numerous middle class men from Manchester’s commercial businesses and professions. Most will have had university, public school or, at least, grammar school education. Six Manchester office men on the CWS Memorial

© THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Manchester Courier 25/09/1914

23

The 18th Battalion initially trained at White City and the 19th Battalion at Belle Vue. Manchester Office Casualties for IV Platoon include a number lost on the Somme and most likely Private 18508 Joseph Aloysius Appleton killed in action 11/10/1918 Bellacourt British Cemetery . Former CWS jewellery salesman, Private 18524 Samuel Calvert Bennett was another member of IV Platoon killed after the Somme Offensive, on 12th January 1917. Arras Memorial. Also Private 18541 Charles Bushell who was a packer in the Drapery Department before he enlisted. Charles was killed in a gas attack near Givenchy on 11/12/1917 serving with 1/10th Battalion.

24

25

20th Battalion recruits include Pte 17269 Pte William Henry Withington. William went on to serve in 16th Battalion and was killed in the infamous defence of Manchester Hill on 21/3/1918. His Commanding Officer Lt Col Elstob was awarded a posthumous V.C. for the action having rallied his men with the Order “"Here we fight, and here we die."

enlisted in the 20th Battalion. With the significant weight of support from Manchester Grammar School, the Officer Training Corps and the University, a total 1,023 men enlisted at the beginning of September – in the same period the City Battalions were formed. The majority of volunteers in the Public Schools Contingent were sent off by the Mayor and High Master of the Grammar School on 24th September 1914. They were attached to the Public Schools Brigade26 and trained the in Epsom. In common with the Manchester Pals, they embarked for France in November 1915.

Lancashire Fusiliers

Lancashire Fusiliers

The City of Salford extends to the north and west of Manchester, beyond the River Irwell. The Manchester Regiment attracted many early recruits into City Battalions during September 1914. The Lancashire Fusiliers then gained momentum as the principal target for Salford recruits. Ten names of Lancashire Fusiliers have been identified on the Memorial Roll, including 11th (K3 Service) Battalion and a number of Salford Pals from the 15th or 16th Battalions. The Salford Pals were not necessarily white collar recruits, being drawn from the docklands and mills.27

The 11th Battalion was formed in October 1914. The 15th and 16th Battalions (1st and 2nd Salford Pals) were formed in September and November 1914 respectively. All three battalions initially trained at Conway in Wales, before moving on to Catterick and later Codford.

The 11th Battalion embarked for France on 25th September 1915. The Salford Pals Battalions remained under the auspices of their local Member of Parliament and Brigade Committee until they were adopted by the War Office in late August 1915. They arrived at Boulogne in late November 1915.

Other Regiments and Corps

Royal Scots

Grenadier Guards

Some men will have chosen particular regiments due to family connections, such as the 15th Royal Scots – sometimes known as the Manchester Scottish. Twenty seven year old, Lance Corporal 17365 Samuel Farish, had been born in Dumfries and enlisted in the 15th Battalion Royal Scots on 26th September 1914. They initially trained in Edinburgh and arrived in France in January 1916.

Some regiments were more elite. The Grenadier Guards retained their per-war stringent recruitment standards and had a level of prestige over and above their infantry regiment peers. James Flynn © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. must have met Grenadier requirements when he ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Manchester Courier 25/09/1914 enlisted in the 3rd Battalion. The 3rd Grenadiers have the interesting claim of being the last Regular Army Battalion to leave Britain in April 1915. James is estimated to have enlisted in November or December 1914 and arrived in France on 26th July 1915.

26

See http://www.worldwar1schoolarchives.org/manchester-grammar-school/

27

See Stedman M. Leo Cooper

Border Regiment

Rifle Brigade

Royal Artillery

The Manchester Office’s 17635 Thomas Mather had enlisted in 10th Battalion Border Regiment as a Private in November 1914 aged twenty one. In the autumn of 1914, the Manchester Regiment’s recruitment had begun again. Equally, as a clerk resident in Pendlebury, Thomas would also have been an obvious candidate for the Salford Pals. Nevertheless, the Border Regiment recruited many men from the City, particularly during the first month of hostilities.

Thomas may have had family connections, or he had possibly been rejected from more local Regiments –although he was described an active footballer and fine sprint runner. He trained with 10th (Reserve) Battalion in Southend and transferred to 7th Battalion after he arrived in France in September 1915.

The Rifle Brigade and Kings Royal Rifle Corps recruited numerous volunteers from Manchester during the opening months of hostilities, especially in the new Kitchener Battalions. Men enlisted in these regiment when local regiments had placed a hold on recruitment, particularly during late August and September 1914. It is thought Rifleman S/854 Arthur Farrell joined the 11th Battalion Rifle Brigade in August / September 1914. Arthur had been a baker in 1911 and lived in Salford. After training at Home, Arthur arrived in Boulogne on 22nd July 1915.28 Rifleman S/722 Frank Reaney previously worked in the ‘V. Department’ of CWS. He enlisted in the 12th Battalion Rifle Brigade at a similar time to Arthur Farrell. Frank arrived in France on 21st July 1915.

During the winter of 1914/15, the new Manchester Brigades and War Office recognised the need for more men to serve in Artillery, Royal Engineers and other trade Corps. The Territorials also included Royal Field Artillery and Royal Engineers and the Lancashire County Palatine recruited suitable men, including Co-Op employees.

It is not always possible to identify 1914 recruits, but it is thought Frank Borkin, Joseph Christian and Stanley Hawksworth of CWS enlisted in the Royal Field and Horse Artillery in the first few months of the War. It may have been a skill with horses that led them to the Corps.

Prior to employment as a labourer with C.W.S, Sergeant Frank Borkin had been an assistant chef. He went to France on 25th May 1915 and was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal for actions in August 1917 when he brought his damaged gun and water cart into position under heavy artillery fire29 Joseph Christian was a member of the Territorial Force of the Royal Field Artillery, disembarking in Egypt on 17th June 1915; quite possibly as a draft into the Manchester and Lancashire men in 42nd Division.30 © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MEN 25th and 29th August.1917 28

Rifleman Arthur Farrell died of wounds in No. 2 London Casualty Clearing Station at Merville, near Lille on 10/12/1915. The 11th Battalion Rifle Brigade War Diary identifies him as a member of D Company wounded on the previous day. The Battalion had taken over trenches in Leventie near Lille in September 1915. They had entered the line on 9th December and suffered one man killed and two wounded, including Arthur. Arthur Farrell is buried in Merville Communal Cemetery. Son of Mrs. E. Farrell, of 7, Albert Terrace, Salford, Manchester. 28 29

Sergeant Frank Borkin 24223 was killed in action near Ypres on 2/8/1917 serving with "D" Bty. 112th Bde. Royal Field Artillery. He is buried in Menin Road South Military Cemetery.

30 Gunner 1840 / 676231 Joseph Christian was killed in action in Flanders 26/7/1917. B Bty. 275th (West Lancs) Bde, Royal Field Artillery His parents were Joseph & Clarence Christian 12 Dryden Street, Longsight. He had lived at Longsight. Poperinghe New Military Cemetery

Harold Sydney Fielding was a member of the 2/1 East Lancashire (Territorial) Divisional Field Ambulance. Harold had originally enlisted in 21st Manchesters, during November 1914. He was discharged with flat feet and re-enlisted with the R.A.M.C.31 After 1914, the service of volunteers and later conscripts became increasingly disparate.

Manchester Office men listed on the CWS Memorial are identified with a range Infantry Regiments. As the war progressed and conscription developed, recruits had considerably less choice of where they enlisted and often found themselves posted to other Regiments when they Royal Army Medical Corps arrived overseas. Some men will have been recruited to local North West England Regiments and later transferred to units where they were needed at the time32. Equally, men returning after recovery from wounds sometimes had little prospect to returning to their original Battalion. The final Regiment for the casualties, listed on the Memorial, does not accurately depict the initial choice of the men concerned, especially those enlisting during 1917/18.

For casualties in 1915/16, it is much more likely- but not certain- that men had stayed with their original Corps or Regiment.

A number of 1914 recruits from CWS were subsequently commissioned. Some new subalterns stayed with their original Regiment, but most served as Officers in new Regiments. For example33 Private Joseph Dignan was one of the numerous volunteers in A Company of the 19th Manchesters – 4th Pals, attesting on 12th September. Following training and a period of illness, Joseph was discharged to his Commission in the Connaught Rangers and later served in the 5th Battalion Royal Inniskiling Fusiliers. 34 The Public Schools Battalions were an obvious venue for the Army to seek new Officers from the Ranks. This process led to the 18th, 19th and 21st Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers being disbanded by the spring of 1916, with the remaining men being absorbed into the 20th and 22nd Battalions. Percy Clegg from Heywood enlisted in a Public Schools Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers. He was then commissioned in the 10th and attached to 1st Battalion Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment.35

31

Harold died of wounds on 11/11/1917 in Australian Casualty Clearing Station. Belgian Battery Corner Cemetery See Charles Millhouse enlisting in Manchester Territorials with overseas service in 19th KLR. See also Thomas Casson MC. Wounded at Gallipoli in 1915 with 1/6th Manchesters and Commissioned in Cheshire Regiment.

34 nd 2 Lieutenant Joseph Patrick Dignan was shot in the head on a night patrol in Flanders on 16th October 1916. While he was not involved with the Somme, he must be noted for the record. Joseph had enlisted in the 19th Battalion Manchester Regiment. As part of a group of at least 30 CWS men, Joseph had trained in II Platoon of the 4th City Battalion. He was discharged from Belton Park to Commission 22/5/1915. While serving in Belgium with the 4th Battalion Connaught Rangers, Joseph was attached to the 5th, or 8th Battalion Royal Inniskiling Fusiliers. He had previously been employed by Bank of Ireland and may have worked for Co-Op Bank. Joseph had grown up in Manchester, attending St Bede’s Roman Catholic School, although his family remained in Ireland, near Roscommon.

32 33

35

In memory of Private Arthur Bell, 1st Kings Own Royal Lancasters. Killed in Action 8/5/1915.

Western Front and Genesis of the Somme Offensive During 1915 the opposing Armies were bogged down in the static trench warfare of the Western Front. Kitchener’s New Army trained in Britain and gradually embarked for France and Belgium from early-summer to the winter of 1915. The earliest of these CWS losses concern men who had enlisted in Kitchener’s first Service Battalions.

One of Manchester Office’s Clerks, 17635 Thomas Mather was the first of many later men from Manchester CWS to be lost in Flanders. The attrition of trench warfare is introduced with the 7th Battalion Border Regiment War Diary entries for the day of his death. 36 Thomas was posted to A Company and killed in trenches south east of Ypres, near Roulers on 14th December 1915.

In common with most of the New Army, the Manchester Pals were posted to trenches in Picardy at the beginning of 1916. Many other local Service Battalions were also in the area, including the Lancashire Fusiliers. The 16th, 17th and 18th Manchesters defended trenches between the village of Maricourt and the River Somme. This was immediately to the north of the French Army, which was stationed to the south of the river.

Thomas Mather © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MEN 28/2/1916

The first CWS casualty of the Manchester Pals was 18th Manchesters’ Private 9934 John Edward Sumner, aged twenty two. He was killed near the village of Vaux during a heavy bombardment of the British trenches on 28th January 1916. The 18th Battalion War Diary also records eight men being wounded.37 The initial Head Office casualty posted to XII Platoon of 17th Manchesters was Corporal 8298 Robert Sturgeon. The Royal Institution of British Architects Journal shows that Robert had gone missing on a night patrol and he was initially assumed to have been captured. He was later posted killed in action on 10th March 1916. As with many losses on the Somme, Robert has no known resting place and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.38

John Sumner’s Grave. Suzanne Communal Cemetery Extension 36

The Battalion War Diary reports a heavy German bombardment in the afternoon of this day and the detonation of a German mine at 8pm. This was followed by a hostile fight for possession of the crater with grenades and the 7th Borders’ succeeded in this task, but Thomas was lost at some stage. Eight members of the Battalion were killed on this day, including five from A Company. More than twenty other members of A Coy were wounded in the action. Thomas is buried in Menin Road South Military Cemetery. His parents were Thomas and Elizabeth Mather, of 49 Rake Lane, Clifton. He played football for St Thomas's Clifton and Rugby for Deane Rovers.

37 John Sumner had trained with II Platoon and is buried in near to the Brigade’s billets in Suzanne. He was the son of Margaret Jane Sellers (formerly Sumner), of Kell House, Brigsteer, Kendal, Westmorland, and the late Edward Sumner.

38

Robert Victor Sturgeon worked in the Balloon Street, Architects Department prior to enlisting. He was born in Wilmslow and resident 21 Range Road Whalley Range.

© THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MEN 16/5/1916

The second XII Platoon casualty in the Maricourt defences was CWS Boot Departments’ Private 8744 Thomas Henry Marsh who died on 3rd May 1916. His cousin Private 8626 Willian Leslie Hadcock, was also a CWS employee and member of the same Platoon.

Contemporary information from Leslie indicates that Thomas was killed by friendly fire on a night patrol into no man’s land. C Company was posted in the Vaux area. It is likely the incident took place in the marshes of the river Somme, or the fields inside the wide meander, known as Trafford Park.39 Thomas had written home five days before his death, describing his perilous scouting expeditions “I will not say it is not a bad game, a bit risky patrolling, and it’s a long two hours’ walk from one end to the other, having a word with each post, which consists of a few men, who have not the slightest bit of cover. The only trouble is shrapnel and getting collared…”

CWS men of 19th Battalion, serving in the Somme trenches suffered no fatalities, although there was sickness and wounds. Edward (Teddy) Pickering 11634 was promoted Lance Corporal on 1st April 1916 and was wounded by a Gun Shot Wound to the buttock on 30th May.40

© THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MEN 10/6/1916

Private 18554 Edgar Colton was killed a few miles north of Suzanne on 3rd June 1916. He was serving with 21st Battalion.

The War Diary records a German bombardment of the trenches near Curlu, on a day the Battalion was withdrawn to Divisional reserve. Five men were also wounded. The family obituary reported Edgar enlisting in November 1914 from the Furnishing Department. of CWS Balloon Street.41

Suzanne Communal Cemetery and Extension. Sixty Six casualties from the Manchester Regiment are buried here.

39

John Joseph Plum was the final Manchester Office casualty prior to the enormity of the Somme offensive. John was killed in action near Arras on 28th June 1916; serving as a Gunner 70142 with 111th Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, aged thirty nine. Records indicate John was killed in action a short time after the Battery had arrived in France on 17th May 1916.

His Officer in Command described John as a painstaking soldier who had been singled out for promotion. 42

Thomas Marsh was 25 years old and his body was recovered to be buried near his CWS colleague, John Sumner (above) in Suzanne Communal Cemetery Extension.

His cousin, Leslie, will have been present for his funeral service, representing the family, including Widow Agnes B. Marsh of 47A New Lane, Patricroft. Also credit his Leslie Hadcock’s grandson Alan Elliott.

40 Following treatment in French Hospitals Teddy Pickering returned to duty in August 1916. He was later treated for dental issues and went back to his Battalion in January 1917. He was killed in action near Arras 2/4/1917. Henin Communal Cemetery Extension. Son of Edward & Sarah 65 Vine Street, Stalybridge. Grocery warehouseman living with grandparents in 1911.

41 Edgar is buried at Bronfay Farm Military Cemetery, Bray-Sur-Somme. He was aged 18 and the son of Samuel James and Grace Colton, of 65, Bedford St., Hulme.

42 John Plumb is buried in Faubourg D'amiens Cemetery, Arras, aged 39. His parents were John Joseph and Mary Ann Plumb and he was married Elizabeth Plumb, of 132, Lacy Street, Stretford, Manchester. John was employed in the Order Department at CWS Balloon Street for 25 years. He had been Secretary of Victoria Park Bowls Club. See MEN 10/7/1916.

The First Days in the Battle of the Somme: 1st - 4th July 1916 The stalemate on the Western Front came to a tragic halt with the British and French assault on the Somme from July to November 1916. Kitchener’s volunteers in the 4th Army were instrumental to the planned breakthrough and CWS men, particularly those serving in the Lancashire Regiments, played a significant part in the one hundred and forty one day offensive. The reporting of the CWS losses follows a geographical progression from Montauban; at the southern end of the British sector, to Serre in the north.

Montauban The men in 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th Battalions of the Manchester Regiment were part of 30th Division, at the extreme southern end of the British front, with the French advancing immediately to their south. 21st Brigade, including the 19th Manchesters, went over the top at 07.30 on the 1st July 1916. They successfully met all their objectives including the second German trench line and strong point of Glatz Redoubt. The Manchester men of 16th-18th Battalions were bolstered in 90th Brigade by the regular Army battalion of the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers. Charged with the final assault and liberation of Montauban, the 90th Brigade formed the second phase of the assault.

Several CWS staff were members of 19th Battalion and they all survived to see their Pals in 90th Brigade pass through the hard fought positions as they pressed on towards Montauban, on the ridge to their north. Private 11670 Harry Skeet

received a gun shot wound to the left forearm, serving with 19th Battalion. Harry had enlisted on 8th September 1914 and trained with II Platoon. He was previously a drapery salesman in CWS Harry was evacuated Home on 7th July 1916 and discharged in February 1918 with disorderly action of the heart.43 90th Brigade left their assembly trenches at 08.30 and advanced with the 16th and 17th Manchesters in front, 2nd RSF behind and 18th Battalion in support, on carrying duties. The mechanised slaughter from German shells and machine gun took its toll, but relatively few losses took place, compared with the general slaughter in other sections of the British front.

“The German shells littered the battlefield with dead and wounded: all around us and in front, men dropped or staggered about. A yellow mass of Lydite shrapnel would burst high up and a section in two formation would crumple up and be gone. “A” Company was in front of us, advancing in sections, with about 20 paces between blobs, in perfect order at a slow walk.”44 The men of XII Platoon were with 17th Battalion as they entered the German stronghold. They then held the village for more than thirty six hours, without fresh supplies, in the face of a well-directed German bombardment and two unsuccessful counter-attacks. CWS men suffered many casualties at Montauban.

XII Platoon’s Private 8908 Peter Taylor was wounded in the attack and was seen making his way towards a dressing station. It is assumed he was evacuated to a Casualty Clearing Station in Daours, where he was probably being treated when died the next day. 45 Sergeant Percy Alfred Amos 8047 was killed at Montauban. He had been employed in the CWS Architects Department. He was also an Engineering Design lecturer at local Colleges. Percy had joined the Pals, with the many of 17th Battalion on 2nd September 1914. His maturity and skills must have been recognised as Percy was swiftly promoted to Lance Corporal on 17th September, through the rank of Corporal on 7th January 1915, Lance Sergeant on 23rd August 1915 to Sergeant on 1st September 1915.46 CWS Drapery Department had many men serving and a number in XII Platoon.

Corporal 8968 Gilbert Wallwork was killed in action on 1st July. Gilbert has no known resting place and is commemorated at the Thiepval Memorial.47

Percy Alfred Amos

Private 8178 Charles Higgins was initially posted as missing and his death was later assumed. He had been promoted to Corporal on three occasions and then relinquished rank to ensure he went to France with the Battalion. By April 1915, Charles had been transferred to XVIII Platoon of E Company, presumably to assist with the training of newer recruits. It is

43

Harry Skeet was transferred to the Labour Corps prior to his discharge.

2nd Lt Kenneth Callan Macardle, 17th Battalion Manchester Regiment. Courtesy IWM 45 He is buried in the Communal Cemetery Extension. Peter was aged 29 and the husband of Margaret Taylor of 54 Henry Street, Withington. His parents were John Daniel and Hannah Taylor, of Pendleton.

46 Percy Amos had been born in Colchester, Essex and lived at Woodleigh, Western Road, Flixton before he attested. He was a 33 year old engineering draughtsman and lecturer on corn milling at Rochdale Technical School 44

47

Gilbert Wallwork was 19 years old and had previously been an errand boy at CWS He lived in Clayton Bridge with his father who had been a hoist attendant at Balloon Street.

quite likely he had enlisted in C Company with Gilbert Wallwork and the other drapers and he will have transferred back to A – D Company by November 1915, when the Battalion embarked for France.48 Private 8099 William Daniel Cann of 17th Battalion was wounded in the face and neck at Montauban. He was evacuated Home and received treatment in Military Hospital in Toxteth, Liverpool.49 16th Battalion’s Lance Corporal 6493 Frank Gudgeon is one of numerous 1st Manchester Pals wounded at Montauban.

Frank had enlisted in the 16th Battalion on 2nd September 1914, aged 26. He was promoted to Lance Corporal in V Platoon of B Company in April 1915. Frank was 6’2” tall and had been a warehouseman in the CWS Woollens Department. After evacuation to England on 7th July, Frank recovered and later became an Officer Cadet in September 1917; training in Kilworth, Ireland. Frank later received his commission in the 3rd Battalion Cheshire Regiment. 50 18th Manchesters’ Private 9823 Harold Parkinson Bannister was killed on 1st July 1916. He had trained with II Platoon and was posted missing; later presumed dead. The 18th Battalion were in support in the assault, carrying supplies and ammunition across the shell torn ground and suffering enfilade machine gun fire as they will have struggled forward.51 Corporal 9960 Richard Whitehead was one of many staff from CWS to serve with I Platoon of 18th Battalion. He was also killed at Montauban and had previously been an order clerk at Balloon Street.52

48

17th Battalion Charles Higgins is commemorated on the Thiepval Mem. Charles was Age 21 and the son of James and Emma Higgins, of 7, Gleaves Road, Eccles. Press reports show was employed at Balloon Street prior to enlistment. He had been an apprentice draper with Co-Operative Society in 1911.

49 17th Battalion William Cann was a Grocery Assistant at CWS when the census was taken in 1911. He was born in 1895. The Royal Defence Corps generally provided guards for Prisoner of War camps. (See MEN 18/7/1916) Following recuperation, William Cann was transferred to the Royal Defence Corps, promoted Acting Corporal and Discharged from the Army in January 1919 as surplus and still suffering from his wounds.

50 Following recovery in a Plymouth hospital Frank Gudgeon was declared fit for duty. He received 10 days furlough before transfer to 25th Reserve Battalion. He married Fanny Borthwick at Ripon Cathedral in June 1917 while serving in the 69th Training Reserve See MEN 1/8/1916. He survived hostilities and lived in Chorlton on Medlock in 1920.

51 Harold Bannister is named on the Thiepval Memorial. He was a Postal Clerk, resident with his mother at 190 Barton Lane, Eccles in 1911. Harold was 22 years old. He had been born in Barrow-in-Furness and lived in Eccles.

52

See MEN 27/7/1916 Richard Whitehead is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. He was 25 years old. He was the son of the late William and Margaret Whitehead and lived in Radcliffe, Lancs

Mametz Just over 2 miles to the west of Montauban lay the village of Mametz. This was the second village to be liberated on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme. The success came at a great cost to the 7th Division, including men of the 20th, 21st and 22nd Battalions, Manchester Regiment.

To the west of Mametz, the 20th Battalion assembled in a trench line south of Fricourt. Private 17173 Herbert Morgan was killed in the assault, aged nineteen. He had worked in CWS Furnishing Department and lived in Ardwick.53 Herbert Morgan is buried in Dantzig Alley Cemetery to the east of Mametz. His body had been relocated from a battlefield grave close the German Front Line that he had been attacking.

Dantzig Alley was also the location of the German second line trench, which was attacked by 91st Brigade, including 21st and 22nd Manchesters. Twenty one year old Private 18615 Frank Holt of Whitefield was killed in the assault on Mametz; and is commemorated at Thiepval. He was serving with the 21st Battalion and his obituary says he worked in the CWS Jewellery Department. Frank’s father, Robert, was a retired Co-Op Manager. 54 Private 20488 George Dearden had been an apprentice haberdasher and worked in the CWS Drapery Department prior to enlisting in the 22nd Manchesters. He was killed in action and originally buried between the German front and second lines, before his remains were relocated to Dantzig Alley. 55

Dantzig Alley British Cemetery, Mametz. The last resting place of 198 Manchester Pals who were killed on 1st July 1916. Courtesy CWGC

53 54

See MEN 24/7/1916. Herbert Morgan lived at 27 Ashley Lane, Moston and was a member of Moston Wesleyan Church and Football Club

See MEN 21/7/1916 55 George Dearden was 24 years old and the son of James and Mary Dearden, of 53, Westminster Rd., Walkden.

La Boiselle Another member of the Drapery Department was a few miles to the north of Mametz, taking part in the assault near another German stronghold at Oviller-La-Boiselle. Lance Corporal 17365 Samuel Farish was serving in the assault with 15th Battalion Royal Scots. Samuel must have proved to be a good soldier as he was promoted to the Rank of Lance Corporal, but suffered Tonsillitis in March and a gunshot wound in the leg in May 1916. He still managed to recover for the big push on 1st July. Along with many other parts of the British Line, the 15th Battalion failed to sustain any advance, with most men scythed down by machine gun fire within yards of going over the top. Two hundred and thirty members of the 15th Battalion were killed and many more wounded or missing.56

Thiepval

Lancashire Fusiliers on 1st July 1916. Copyright IWM Q744

There are few places where the horrors of the First Day are more pronounced than the assault on the German stronghold at Thiepval. The German defenders held a commanding position overlooking the Somme valley to the south and Ancre to the east. Men of the 1st Salford Pals, the 15th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers, were charged with taking the village of Thiepval, supported by the 2nd Salford Pals. At 7.30am, they left their trench and faced an immediate onslaught from German machine gun fire. Most of the Salford Pals were lost within yards of their own trench line and no gains were made in this section of the line.

56

Samuel Farish is commemorated at Thiepval and resided at 90 Derby Terrace, Castle Hill Road, Hindley near Wigan. He was associated with St John's Methodist Church, Hindley. Samuel was a member of 13th Platoon.

Two hundred and seventy four men from the 15th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers were lost on 1st July, with the majority being commemorated up the hill on the Memorial in Thiepval. This number includes two CWS employees.

One of these was Private 10571 Richard Roberts, who was initially posted missing and later presumed dead on 1st July.

Richard had worked on the Engineers Department prior to enlisting- with his brother Joseph- and lived at 105 Robert Hall Street, Salford with his wife, May. 57 The other casualty was Corporal 10609 Louis Benjamin Tee, who died aged thirty and previously worked in the Drapery Department. 58 On the same day in Thiepval, Private 12008 Robert Bardsley Holt was wounded, serving with B Company of 16th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers; he had trained with VIII Platoon. Robert had been a salesman at Balloon Street, prior to enlisting in autumn 1914. Following recovery in Hospital, Robert had furlough at home in Eccles, before returning to the Lancashire Fusiliers where he was posted to 11th Battalion.59 The 2nd Battalion Manchester Regiment were attacking positions close the Thiepval, making a small advance in the area of Authuille. In the face of German counter-attacks this Regular Army Battalion held its gains. Lieutenant Henry Price was killed in action on the morning of 4th July. The 2nd Battalion fought off a counter-attack on 4th July. The War Diary describes “At 1 A M. the enemy again launched as strong bombing attack on the Quarry, at the same time heavily bombarding our original line, our communications trenches and AUTHUILLE.” The Battalion was withdrawn at 02.30 AM and Henry must have been killed in the earlier action. He is buried at Aveluy Communal Cemetery Extension. 60

Robert Holt. Courtesy SWARM

Redan Ridge Towards the northern end of the British assault line, the 1st Battalion Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment was attacking positions between Serre and Beaumont Hamel. Their number included 2nd Lieutenant Percy Clegg, who was one of one hundred and twenty fatalities for the Battalion. Percy was twenty one years old and is buried Sucrerie Military Cemetery, Colincamps. Percy had enlisted in the Royal Fusiliers, Public Schools Battalion in November 1914. He received is commission twelve months later, prior to his posting to the 1st Kings Own. He had arrived in France just one month earlier, on 1st June 1916.61 Trench warfare continued throughout the Western Front during the Somme Offensive. James Flynn was killed by a sniper serving with 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards on 3rd July, aged twenty three. He is buried in Essex Farm Cemetery, north of Ypres.62 57

Richard Roberts is commemorated at St Clements Church and the Thiepval Memorial. The two brothers had consecutive Regimental Numbers and trained in X Pln of C Coy.

58

Louis Tee had been born in Bombay and lived with his wife, Elizabeth Tee at 6 Watford Avenue, Platt Lane, Rusholme. They had marries in the 4th Quarter of 1914, after Louis had enlisted and later trained with XI Pln of C Coy. His brother 8909 Arthur William Tee served at Montauban with 17th Manchesters and was killed 9/7/1917 serving with 6th Battalion E Yorks. Youngest brother Harold Ernest also served in E Yorks 59

Robert Holt was killed in action 25th December 1917. Rocquigny-Equancourt Road British Cemetery, Manancourt Second Lieutenant Henry Wall Price must have been wounded soon after his arrival in France as he is mentioned in a Wounded List published in the press on 9/8/1915. Henry found time to marry Fanny Bolton during his convalescence.

61 Percy Clegg’s family lived at Higher Lomax, Heywood. (See MEN 7/7/1916). In 1911 he had been an apprentice grocer and shop assistant with Co-Op. 62 Guardsman 20417 James Flynn was the Son of Mary Hannah Flynn, of 5, Arnside Rd., Southport. Resident 21 May Grove, Levenshulme. See MEN 12/7/1916.

60

Later action in July 1916 “About then there was a Divisional Parade and we were addressed by the General – “You have behaved so well that you deserve the finest rewards that good troops can have, we are going to reward you by sending you back into the line again”!…… (What, no cheers!)” 63 The Big Push on the 1st July made little progress along the majority of the British sector and subsequent action was initially focussed at the southern end of the line. The allies wanted to capitalise on the gains made by the French and British, by advancing through to the German reserve positions, in the area where the men from Manchester had played such a significant role.

A feature of the first day in the Somme offensive has been shown to involve the assaults on strong point villages, with the now infamous names, such a Thiepval and La Boiselle. In the next phase of the advance, villages continued to be involved, but the Woods of Picardy became a major new focus for British objectives.

The Picardy woods were planted and remain used by the French farmers to breed and shoot game birds. There is little trace of the battles that took place on the rolling chalk hills of Picardy, although the Woods still hold the history of thousands of men lost in battle, many of whom remain interred in their original resting places, below the plush regrowth of the deciduous trees.

The woods of Bernafay, Bazentin, Trones (Troncs to the French), High Wood and Delville (Devil to the British) were set to become synonymous with the horrors of war.

Trones Wood Trones Wood lies to the east of Montauban and stood beyond the apex to the British line, after Bernafay Wood had been taken on 3rd July. On 8th July, 30th Division made the first assault on Trones Wood, which held a commanding position on the next targeted area for the planned advance.

The initial assault was unsuccessful and the 90th Brigade took part in a more extensive assault at dawn on 9th July 1916. The 16th, 17th, 18th Manchesters, alongside the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers, were initially successful and took control of the entire wood. Then, in the early afternoon, the ferocity of the Trones Wood, the Somme, France Stanley Llewelyn Wood (1867–1928) Maidstone Museum & Bentlif German artillery barrage made the wood untenable with high explosive and Art Gallery shrapnel smashing the trees and the men sheltering below. The majority of 90th Brigade withdrew, leaving an isolated group from the 17th Battalion (who were all killed or captured) and a small pocket of 18th Manchesters at the south west corner of the wood. There were numerous casualties in the carnage of splintered timber. Private 11178 Ernest Howarth of 18th Manchesters was one of the many men who were initially posted missing and later presumed dead, being commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. He was twenty five years old.64

63

Pte Arthur Bell 2nd Manchester Pals Herbert was the son of West and Mary Ann Howarth, of 1, Cicero St., Moston, Manchester.

He was born and enlisted in Manchester. Employment with CWS remains unconfirmed. Herbert was a shorthand typist in 1911.

64

Private William Leslie Hadcock, of 17th Battalion’s XII Platoon, was wounded at Trones Wood. He recovered in hospital and was discharged fit for duty in January 1919.65 © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MEN 20/7/1916

© THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MEN 20/7/1916

In 18th Battalion’s A Company, Private 9908 James Leo O’Neil also suffered from shrapnel at Trones Wood. He was treated for his arm and leg wounds in a Perth Hospital and returned to duty with subsequent service in 23rd and 22nd Battalions.66

High Wood On the 14th July, Trones Wood was the latest woodland stronghold to be gained by British Army. To the west, the 20th, 21st and 22nd Manchesters continued with the Somme offensive, directly north of the scenes of their success in Mametz.

Fresh drafts of men had been received to reinforce the original Pals and the 21st and 22nd Manchesters were charged with the second phase of the advance, passing their 20th Battalion comrades at Bazentin-le-Grand Wood and onwards to High Wood. The 21st Battalion attacked with 2nd Queens and 1st South Staffs at 7pm. They were positioned on the right flank of the assault and successfully advanced to Black Lane at the southern tip of the Wood.

At some stage during the day, Private 18693 William Ralphs was killed in the assault. He had worked in the CWS Carpet Department and lived at Whitefield. 67

Fred Moffatt Courtesy http://macclesfieldreflects.org.uk

The Battle for High Wood ebbed and flowed: the British advanced and were then forced to withdraw in the face of relentless German artillery and their fierce infantry defences. On 20th July, the Manchester Public Schools men in the 20th Battalion Royal Fusiliers entered the fray. They followed the initial advance to the Switch Line on the right flank and joined the fight in the southern part of High Wood.

Two CWS men were posted missing from 20th Royal Fusiliers and later presumed dead. Former Glossop Grammar School man and CWS clerk, Private 5450 Harry Pemberton, is the first to be noted. The second such casualty was Private 7435 Fred Moffatt, an Old Boy of Macclesfield Grammar School.

War poet Robert Graves was inaccurately reported as having died of wounds in the High Wood assault. He had been a Captain in the 2nd Royal Welch Fusiliers, who were in support, behind the Public Schools Battalion. In Graves’ biographical account, he is somewhat disparaging about the Public Schools men, witnessing their withdrawal in the face of a German counter-attack and earlier describing the 20th Battalion as “…proved a constant embarrassment to the 65

William Hadcock had attended his Cousin Thomas Marsh’s funeral in May 1916. Thomas had also been a CWS employee. William had married on 5/8/1915 and his son Thomas Stanley was born on 12/7/1917. William served in 3rd Battalion in Cleethorpes from May 1917.

66 James O’Neil was fit and transferred to reserve on 9/4/1919.

67

William Ralphs was originally posted missing. William has no known resting place and is commemorated at Thiepval. His father, Herbert Harold and elder brother, S Herbert Ralphs were also Co-Operators. Herbert Jnr had been an architect’s assistant and was killed in Gallipoli on 7/8/1915. He served with 1/6th Manchesters and is commemorated on the Roll of the CWS Building Department at Broughton.

Brigade.” However, Graves also recounted that some of the Royal Fusiliers held their positions until relieved by the 7th Division.

There are no records of the particular circumstances of Fred Moffat or Harry Pemberton’s death. Harry has no known resting place and is remembered at Thiepval. Fred was originally buried, possibly by the Germans, in the eastern side of High Wood. His remains were relocated to Ovillers Military Cemetery in the 1930s. Fred’s neighbouring grave is occupied by one of Robert Graves’s men, as an unknown casualty of the Royal Welch Fusiliers.

IWM Q68234B B Coy 20th Bttn Royal Fusiliers at Leatherhead in September 1915

Guillemont – 19 th Manchesters Enormous loss of life prevailed as the British, French and Commonwealth troops continued to grind onwards through the Picardy woodlands. The Germans still maintained significant strongholds in the villages. One such fortress was Guillemont, two miles to the east of Montauban and beyond the costly positions then held in Bernafay and Trones Woods. The fighting that took place in the area of Guillemont would produce the greatest geographical concentration of casualties for CWS Manchester.

19th Battalion Manchester Regiment War Diary. Crown Copyright.

The 19th Battalion Manchester Regiment provided the first Balloon Street men into the fray. They attacked from the east side of Trones Wood, over an open area of fields; with the German trenches a little less than one mile distant. Four CWS employees were casualties in A Company, which took the northern flank of the advance. They successfully entered the German defences near the quarry, but the continuing defence by artillery, rifle and machine gun, prevented further progress and the lack of support ultimately led to their withdrawal.

All four of the Battalion’s CWS Casualties were posted missing and later presumed killed in action. They have no known resting place, with commemoration at Thiepval.

Private 11509 James Clowes, from the Furnishing Department, was posted missing at Guillemont. James had Pre-war service in 7th Volunteer Battalion Cheshire Regt, enlisting in the 4th City Battalion on 9th September 1915. He had trained as a machine gunner and was a member of IV Platoon. In the earlier assaults on Glatz Redoubt or Trones Wood, James had been wounded in the leg and back, but returned to duty.68 The Drapery Department's Corporal 11539 Frank Fenton was the first of three members II Platoon to be on the CWS Roll for losses at Guillemont. Frank was a thirty one year old salesman and resident of Salford, when he enlisted on 4th September 1914. His Promotion to Lance Corporal had been made in April 1916, receiving the second Corporal’s stripe after the 1st July assault.

Courtesy http://macclesfieldreflects.org.uk

Private 11588 William Henry Jones is the third A Company casualty. William had lived in Urmston and worked as a CWS Clerk before enlisting on 12th September 1914. He was twenty four years old.

Private 11600 James Lyons had enlisted in 19th Battalion on 11th September 1914.

Previously employed as a Clerk, James was the fourth CWS representative in II Platoon who was killed at Guillemont. He was twenty two years old and had lived with his parents, William and Mary at Rochdale Road.

II Platoon of 19th Manchesters had almost thirty CWS men posted to it in April 1915.

Some did not go to France in November 1915 and at least eight men died during hostilities. 23rd July marked the end of the 19th as being closely defined as the 4th Manchester “Pals”. One hundred and forty five Officers and Other Ranks Frank Fenton. Courtesy SWARM were lost at Guillemont with many more being wounded. It is reported that only a handful returned from A Company.

Some of the ‘missing’ men were later identified as Prisoners of War, including 85 members of 19th Battalion found on Red Cross records. Two CWS men from II Platoon are recorded in © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MEN 11/8/1916 68

A Macclesfield resident, James Clowes was 37 years old when he died and left behind his widow Mary Elizabeth living at 159 Park Lane. The couple had married on 4/9/1915 before the Battalion left for France in November 1915. He had been a member of Trinity Wesleyan Church and attended Large Sunday School.

German hands. Privates 11527 Walter Drummond and 11572 William Hibbert were both captured at Guillemont.

Twenty two year old Walter had been shot in the arm and was held in Minden, Dulman and Friedrichsfeld camps. He was discharged unfit with a Pension in 1919, after repatriation in December 1918. He had been a clerk in a flour mill in 1911.

It is likely Walter worked as a Sun Flour Mills in Trafford, near his home in Stretford.

William Hibbert was held in Cambrai, Dulman and Wahn. He was a thirty five years old employee at Balloon Street and resident at 29 Kettering Road, Levenshulme. William was fit for duty when he transferred to Reserve in March 1919.

Guillemont - 90 th Brigade One week after the remnants of their 19th Battalion had withdrawn from Guillemont, the Manchester Regiment men of 90th Brigade made preparations for their own assault on the stronghold on 30th July 1916. 18th Manchesters attacked the northern side of the village with 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers (RSF) to their south. 16th Battalion followed the 18th, with 17th Battalion in support of the RSF. Good progress was made by the 18th Manchesters and 2nd RSF, who managed to reach the far side of the village. By this View of the wide open approaches to Guillemont from Trones Wood. Many CWS employees rest below the crops in these fields. time, the German artillery and machine gunners had built a fierce barrage between Trones Wood and the village. This prevented effective command of the Brigade and supporting troops couldn’t break through; leaving groups of the leading Battalions isolated in Guillemont.

The 2nd RSF was virtually wiped out and the 18th Manchesters had numerous losses and many were captured. Five of the fatalities were former CWS Head Office staff who had trained in A Company. They were all posted missing and later presumed dead. With no known resting place, all of the men are commemorated at Thiepval.

Private 9829 James Leo Coghlan from CWS Advertising Department was twenty three years old and left behind his widow Elizabeth in Eccles. James had an extensive disciplinary record including guilty charge for stealing a bottle of wine from HM Government in March 1916. Earlier health issues had almost led to discharge, but despite various crimes he retained his Service status.

Private 9844 Benjamin Denton had worked in the CWS Cleaning Department, as a window cleaner, before enlisting on 4th September 1914, aged twenty one. His mother in law, Harriet Maude received his personal effects, because Benjamin’s young wife, Ellen also died with Tuberculosis in 1917. The couple had married in Moston in March 1915, prior to the

Battalion’s departure to Belton Park. Benjamin had transferred to 25th Training Reserve Battalion on 9th November 1915 when the Battalion left for France, possibly due to illness / injury, or perhaps as a member of the training staff. He entered France at Etaples on Christmas Day 1915; and spent time in 2nd Entrenching Battalion, before being posted back to 18th Battalion in February 1916.

CWS Drapery Salesman, Private 9845 Bruce Gladstone Edmondson was twenty nine when he was killed. Enlisting on 4th September 1914, Bruce had also married in 1915 at Lower Broughton on 31st July. His widow, Eliza lived in Gibraltar when she received his personal effects; having remarried. The couple will have last seen each other when Bruce had been granted leave in April 1916.

Sergeant 10016 Francis Egan had enlisted on 7th September 1914, rising through the ranks from Corporal, when the 18th Manchesters arrived in France, to Sergeant after the Montauban assault. Francis had been a Salesman in CWS Boot and Shoe Department. He was twenty five years old when he died.

Private 10038 Edwin Normington had worked in the CWS Manchester Office. Born and resident in Stalybridge, he was twenty five years old when he died. Edwin is commemorated on the Stalybridge War Memorial.

As the 16th Battalion left their trenches near Trones Wood Sergeant 6556 Arthur Singleton was shot through the throat by a machine gun bullet and died, aged twenty seven. His father, Thomas had been a joiner for Co-Op in Blackpool and Arthur had been employed in the CWS Woollens Department. Arthur had married Ada G Crossland on 31st May 1915.

Former CWS men 10020 David Guthrie, 9942 John Ernest Whitworth, 9883 Leonard Lunn and 9986 Joseph A Morris (shell splinter in foot) of A Company 18th Battalion were some of many men taken prisoner at Guillemont on 30th July. David was later transferred to Schneidemühl Camp with John in a Dutch camp. John had worked in a Drapers warehouse in 1911. 69

Sgt Arthur Singleton © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MEN 19/8/1916

To the north of Guillemont lay Waterlot Farm and Delville Wood beyond. The men of 24th (Sportsman’s) Battalion Royal Fusiliers led an assault beside the 16th and 18th Manchesters from Waterlot Farm towards Guillemont station. Some progress was made, but ultimately the Sportsmen were forced to withdraw and they were replaced at the front by midnight of 30th July. Sixty men were lost in the assault, the majority of who are shown as missing and presumed dead on 31st July 1916. It is not known why the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) postponed this to the following day, but it may relate to the date they were posted missing.

Private PS/7704 James Peduzzi had transferred to the Sportsman’s Battalion from the 21st (Public School) Battalion Royal Fusiliers. A former CWS Manchester Office employee, James was originally posted missing and later presumed dead. He was thirty years old. His remains were later found to the east of the village of Ginchy and he was reburied in Delville Wood Cemetery in the 1920s. James had married Mary Ann McIntyre at Prestwich in autumn 1914 and it is anticipated he enlisted in the following June of 1915. Mary Ann paid for an inscription on James’s grave “He gave his life that others might live”.

The final CWS casualty in the Battle for Guillemont and Delville Wood was the Furnishing Department’s Private 9950 Harry Wood. Harry originally trained with a group of CWS men as 69

Arthur Harrison and William Walker may have been other members of II Platoon captured at Guillemont.

Harry Wood © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MEN 20/9/1916

part of II Platoon in 18th Battalion. After arrival in the Maricourt trenches, he contracted trench fever and spent three months in Hospital. He was then posted back to the Regiment, but found himself posted to 21st Manchesters. It is likely he returned to duty after the initial July advances and many of the original 21st Battalion CWS men will have been absent.

On 3rd September the attrition continued and the 21st Manchesters were ordered to repeat an attempted advance in the area of Ginchy. They suffered two hundred and twenty seven casualties and the wounded were forced to lie out in shell holes until night fall. Harry is likely to have been wounded in this action, subsequently receiving treatment at a Casualty Clearing Station at Heilly Station near Mericourt. Harry succumbed to his wounds on 8th September 1916. He was aged thirty and married to Mary Ellen Wood of Monton, Eccles. They had three children, Evelyne, Gladys and Mabel.

September 1916. Flers Courcelette Many of the men from the North West England Regiments were withdrawn from the Somme in August 1916, to absorb the drafts of replacement men and train for future assaults.

Gunner 131541 Stanley Hawksworth was killed in action on 18th September 1916, aged twenty five. Stanley served with F Battery of 14th Brigade Royal Horse Artillery. On this day the battery was located a short distance north of Ginchy, to the west of Delville Wood.

They will have been targeting German positions prior to the next part of the planned advance, three days later.

The War Diary doesn’t mention casualties. Stanley probably worked in the Drapery Department and he was the husband of Gladys Hawksworth of 1 Radnor St. Hulme.

Sketch by Sam Crowder “Legge attacks the guns”

While the general offensive continued, it was not until mid-September that a further large scale attack took place. This had the objective of punching a hole in the heart of the German defences towards Bapaume. The Battle of FlersCourcelette is particularly notable for the introduction of tanks into the battlefield.

Tank D6 was supporting the 41st Division assault to the east of the village of Flers on 15th September 1916. CWS Manchester Office’s Gunner 206162 Fred Bardsley was part of the crew under the command of 2nd Lieutenant R C Legge. Making good progress through the German defences the vision of new warfare was described as “lumbering past on my left, belching forth yellow flames from her Vickers gun and making for the gap where the Flers Rd cut through the enemy trench!”

Many tanks broke down and failed to contribute in this battlefield debut. Tank D6 progressed through its objectives and continued to engage the enemy. It was ultimately silenced by three German field guns. One crewman died in the burning tank; seven got out. Of these, three returned to the British lines, two died of wounds and one was captured. Fred Bardsley was posted missing and later presumed dead.70 Lewis Midgley Courtesy Co-op Archives 70

See http://www.firsttankcrews.com/ Fred Bardsley was 24 years old and the son of John and Margaret Bardsley of 186 Copster Hill Road, Oldham.

Rifleman 14484 Lewis Midgley was situated close to Fred Bardsley’s D6 Tank at the beginning of the assault. Fred had worked in the Green Fruit Department at CWS and served in the 8th Battalion Rifle Brigade.71 The 8th Battalion advanced from trenches known as Brewery Corner to the north of Delville Wood. They made some progress towards the east side of Flers, but suffered numerous casualties from artillery and machine gun fire. Lewis was killed in action and has no known grave. The 8th Battalion suffered one hundred and nine losses in the assault. 72

October 1916. North of Flers Rifleman S/722 Frank Molineaux Reaney of 12th Battalion, Rifle Brigade died on 7th October 1916. His Battalion were taking part in a successful advance from Guedecourt to Rainbow Trench. Frank was part of the Trench Mortar Battery and was one of the thirty eight men reported killed in the assault. One hundred and fifty men were also posted wounded in the War Diary.73 The Drapery Department’s Private 8682 Lloyd Jones is the final Manchester Pals casualty on the Somme; killed in action on 13th October 1916. Lloyd had a challenging record, including various penalties for misdemeanours during his training with XII Platoon of 17th Manchesters. He was then hospitalised with piles in March 1916, before his luck temporarily changed with apparently unscathed survival in the Battalion’s assaults at Montauban, Trones Wood, Guillemont and finally Flers, on the day before he was killed. On 12th October, Lloyd had been in one of the first two waves in a Divisional assault towards Le Barque. Little progress was made and the Manchesters suffered numerous losses to German machine gun fire. There will have been few of the original CWS men remaining on duty at 6.30pm when the 16th Manchesters took over the front line. The 17th Battalion withdrew one hundred yards to Gird Support trench where they spent the next day. There is no record of casualties in the War Diary and Lloyd’s resting place is unknown, with him being commemorated at Thiepval.74

November – December 1916 Private 4895 Harold Melville Smith of 20th Royal Fusiliers died on 1st November 1916. He had gun shot wounds to both legs and had been treated in 34 Casualty Clearing Station at Meaulte. Harold is buried at Grove Town Cemetery. He had enlisted in 30th Reserve Sportsman’s Battalion and served in France in 20th Public Schools Battalion. In the preceding period, the Battalion had entered the line north of Ginchy and suffered twenty one men killed and fifty wounded.75

71

Lewis Midgely had enlisted in the Rifle Brigade after September 1915. His brother Arthur was killed on 12/9/1916 serving with the 12th Battalion. Sons of Phoebe and John Midgley of Prestwich. Lewis worked in the Fruit Department in 1911. He had been born in 1886.

72 The Battle for Flers was the final successful advance of any scale in the Somme offensive. The development of tank warfare has continued since this famous debut.

The Prime Minister Herbert Asquith lost his son in the Flers attack. Serving in the 3rd Grenadier Guards, Lieutenant Raymond Asquith had taken part in the 15th September advance as part of the Guards Division, immediately to the east of Lewis Midgely and the 8th Rifle Brigade. Raymond is buried in Guillemont Road Cemetery in the heart of the ground where many Manchester men fought and fell.

73 Frank was the son of Mary J. Reaney, of 82, Kirkhams, Bury Old Rd., Prestwich, Manchester, and the late George Reaney. The family had lived in Prestwich Post Office when Frank was younger. Frank worked in the V Department of CWS prior to enlistment.

74

Lloyd Jones had been born in Strangeways and lived at 28 Sedan Street, Hightown when he enlisted 3/9/1915 aged 28 years 9 months. He had been employed by CWS as a Packer. His mother, Mary received his medals at 6 Percival Street, Hightown. See MEN 16/11/1916

75

Harold Smith had been born in West Hartlepool in 1893 and lived at 123 Carlton Road, Whalley Range. His father was employed as Co-operative Society Secretary in 1911.

Private 28868 Frederick Locker was killed on 13 November 1916, aged thirty. The 12th Battalion Manchester Regiment War Diary notes very active enemy artillery as the 12th Manchesters withdrew from trenches near Le Transloy. Frederick was initially posted missing, which leaves his death unexplained. He is commemorated at Thiepval.76 The final 1916 CWS casualty in the area of the Somme is Private 4914 Peter Isherwood. Peter served with 20th (Public School) Battalion Royal Fusiliers and was killed in action on 18 December 1916, aged thirty. The Battalion were in the fire trench south east of Rancourt, opposite St Pierre Vaast Wood. Two offices were wounded by shrapnel during the relief.

Peter was killed in action and has no known resting place, being commemorated at Thiepval. He was the only casualty for the 20th Royal Fusiliers in the last month of 1916.77

Thiepval Memorial to the Missing

76

Fred Locker left his effects to his wife Margaret (nee Knox). The couple had married in the 4th quarter 1914, after Frederick had joined the Army. His CWS employment is unconfirmed. He was a wine & spirit merchant in 1911.

77

Son of James William and Margaret Isherwood, late of Prestwich, Manchester. His brothers Albert (12th Manchesters 8/12/1916) and John also fell. Birth Place: Bickley, Cheshire Residence: Longsight Enlistment Place: Manchester. Sister Nellie received Effects. Register & Medal Roll suggests Sportsman’s Battalion. CWS unconfirmed. Journalist in 1911 resident Longsight. Junior Engineers Clerk in 1901.

Beyond the Somme The Battle of the Somme had closed on 18th November 1916, with the British grinding to a halt in the cold, wet, muddy conditions.

Was CWS recruitment representative?

Voluntary enlistment had continued through 1915 and conscription developed through 1916. This led to many more CoOp men serving in the War, some of which are mentioned on the Memorial. The memory of these men is respected equally, although the focus of this article remains the 1914 volunteers who left their jobs in Balloon Street, in the last three months of 1914; and never returned. There are one hundred and thirty men named on the CWS Memorial, who worked in the Manchester Office. In this Roll, half of identified individuals are thought to have enlisted in 1914.78 Initial research had formed a proposition that the men from CWS encapsulate the general profile of recruitment in the City and representation of other parts of the country. The breadth and range of recruitment in different parts of the Services upholds the hypothesis, although the relative numbers is probably skewed, due to the social profile of the CWS men. Members of staff are identified from CWS Haberdashers, Architects, Drapers, Jewellery, Boot and Shoe, Furnishing, Carpets, Statistical, Fruit, Audit, Hosiery and Cleaning. These are great representations of the profile of staff from a thriving national retailer; although not necessarily reflective of the type of civilian employment of most service men from the City.

The City Battalions of the Manchester Regiment were specifically intended for the recruitment of clerks and warehousemen. The particular CWS jobs of the men named on the Memorial Roll is not always available, although some obituaries and records assist. These show examples of Audit, Commercial, Invoice and Order Clerks, or salesman and warehousemen. There is no surprise that thirty five men out sixty four known 1914 recruits on the Roll chose the Pals Battalions. This proportion may be representative for the large commercial businesses for the City, but the overall figures for Manchester showed more extensive proportions in other Corps and Regiments.

There were nine further men on the Roll of Honour who were embodied in the Manchester Territorials and one representative of the Special Reserve. The Territorials suffered the first large scale losses for CWS, serving in Gallipoli, including the youngest know casualty as Frank Cartledge. Frank was posted missing presumed dead at the Battle of the Vineyard in June 1915. He was just sixteen and a half years old.

There was a total Roll of forty five Head Office casualties serving in the Manchester Regiment by the end of December 1914 – seventy percent of known recruits. One would expect the local Regiment to have succeeded in recruiting a high proportion of Manchester men; however, this seems more extensive than anticipated. It is also notable that only one member of the Roll enlisted in Kitchener’s K1, K2 or K3 Service Battalions of the Manchester Regiment. This is probably because the 11th, 12th and 13th were effectively directed at blue collar, working class recruits from local mills and factories.

78

64 men of 130 named on the Memorial Roll are estimated to have enlisted in 1914. 25 names have not yet been identified, but extrapolating data suggests that these would have enlisted after 1914.

The Public Schools Battalions also attracted 1914 recruits from the CWS Roll. Four members of staff are identified in the sample, who enlisted in the 20th Battalion Royal Fusiliers when it was formed. This represents one sixteenth of the casualties. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this is likely to be disproportionately high, compared with other Employer Rolls for 1914. CWS Head Office had obviously attracted well educated staff from local grammar schools, the University and Private Schools. Nevertheless, the figures for the 20th Royal Fusiliers would have been much higher, if the Pals movement hadn’t recruited numerous other young men, who had benefited from similar educational opportunities.

Residents of Salford, also joined the Manchester Pals and the Salford Pals- or other Service and Territorial Battalions of their local Regiments. The earliest identified CWS Manchester casualty is Dublin born Charles Moroney of the 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers. Charles had been called up from Reserve to return to his Regular Army Battalion. He was killed in action on 18th October 1914 in the heart of the period that many of his former colleagues were enlisting or commencing training. There are five men on the 1914 Roll who joined the Lancashire Fusiliers.

From late August 1914, the Border Regiment, Rifle Brigade, Royal Artillery and some other Infantry Regiments joined the drive to recruit men in the City of Manchester. There are ten individuals on the 1914 Roll of Casualties that form this group. This is relatively few compared to general recruitment and directly relates to the predominance of the Pals as the choice of so many men from Balloon Street. This focus on the City Battalions, especially the November 1914 men joining the 21st - 22nd Manchesters (6th and 7th Pals Battalions), supports the hypothesis that the staff in the CWS Head Office were enthusiastic to enlist, but held back until they were assured of serving together.

Losses in the Battle of the Somme The second theme of research concerns the losses of CWS Balloon Street’s staff during the events surrounding the Battle of the Somme, commencing on 1st July 1916. Forty seven losses are noted on the Manchester Roll in 1916, of which one relates to action at Arras and two men died of illness at Home.

The bald total of losses on the Somme in 1916 provides forty four individuals from CWS as the focus of research. These men form a large proportion of the one hundred and sixteen identified men on the Memorial.79 It should be noted that this group of men includes five CWS staff who enlisted after 1914. For example Stanley Hawksworth and Fred Bardsley had enlisted in the Royal Artillery and Machine Gun Corps, less than six months prior to their deaths. Fred was a member of D6 Tank Crew at Flers on the first occasion tanks were used in battle.

The first six months of 1916 reflected the grinding attrition of trench warfare, with four Balloon Street casualties arising in the Somme defences. All these men were members of the Manchester Pals which continued to bear the brunt of losses in the opening of the Battle of the Somme.

Thirty CWS men were lost in July 1916, representing almost one quarter of total casualties in the Great War. Of this group, twenty two men were members of the Manchester Regiment and twenty one were 1914 volunteers in the Pals Battalions. Volunteers in the Lancashire Fusiliers and Royal Fusiliers (Public Schools) Battalions also took a significant part in the first month of the Battle.

Casualties and the Manchester Pals

79

44 men from 116 identified casualties are anecdotally anticipated as a proportion of losses. It is expected that the 24 names that rd have not been found most likely relate to casualties in 1917/18. Should this be assumed, only 1/3 of casualties would relate to the Somme, which is lower than first thought. Comparison with other Memorials is needed.

Despite the premise that records are extensive for CWS men, the final cost of hostilities is not always available for any group of men. The casualty toll on the dozen XII Platoon volunteers in 17th Battalion from CWS was 6 dead, 4 wounded and just 2 men possibly unscathed80 – with the likelihood the records haven’t been found confirming all wounds.

II Platoon of 19th Manchesters. Ten men in this photo were CWS casualties of the Great War

Similar attrition can be noted through the volunteers in other Regiments and Corps, but the 50% proportion of fatalities is higher than some other studies.

Figure 1. Manchester CWS Casualties on the Somme

80

One member of the sample did not apparently serve overseas

Figure 1 shows the distribution of locations where it is anticipated men were killed in action, or fatally wounded during the Battle of the Somme. The scale of losses is difficult to envisage, especially when we recognise the arrows signify just one group of men from an employer in a single city. The time span of losses range from John Sumner being killed in a German Bombardment of the village of Vaux in January 1916 to Peter Isherwood serving with the 20 th (Public Schools) Battalion Royal Fusiliers at St Pierre Vaast Wood, near Rancourt in December 1916. These locations represent arrows furthest to the south and east of the map respectively.

Figure 2. Losses at Montauban and Guillemont

Figure 2 shows the geographical concentration of losses in the first month of the Battle of the Somme. The 1st July marked the opening of the Somme offensive and the losses were significant for the entire British Army. The assault on Montauban creates a significant toll for Balloon Street men of the 17th Battalion Manchester Regiment. The progression in the advance, after the gains on the first day, provides somewhat surprising results for CWS Head Office staff. In particular, the predominance of casualties in the approaches to the village of Guillemont produces the greatest geographical concentration of losses in the entire war. Fourteen men on the Roll were killed in this area before the strategically important obliterated village was liberated from German hands. This horrific focus provides almost one tenth of identified Manchester Office casualties; with further sad reflection that few of these men have known resting places.

If there is a corner of a foreign field that is forever England, the modern day Co-Op need look no further than the open land between Trones Wood and Guillemont. Numerous members of 19th Battalion Manchester Regiment were killed in this area on 23rd July 1916. They were followed a week later by men of the 18th Battalion, at the vanguard of another attack with the 16th and 17th Manchesters. There were ten Manchester Office casualties in these two assaults; all of whom are commemorated at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.

Medals and Awards Kitchener’s Army has sometimes been described as ordinary men undertaking extraordinary deeds81.

All combatants must be remembered; whether they were killed, wounded, captured as prisoners or miraculously survived hostilities unscathed.

Recognition is also made of the men who received awards for valour. Audit clerk 2nd Lieutenant Thomas Casson was awarded a Military Cross for his part in a raid near Arras in 1917. Captain Hubert Balmforth had served in Gallipoli with the Lancashire Fusiliers and later transferred to the Loyal North Lancs Regiment. Hubert survived hostilities and also received a Military Cross in the Kings Birthday Honours list of 3rd June 1916.

Military Cross

Frank Borkin was a labourer with CWS before he enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery. He received a Distinguished Conduct Medal for actions with the guns on the day before he was killed in August 1917.

From XII Platoon of 17th Manchesters, James Hulme received a Military Medal for bravery on the field on the Somme. S. Moss received the same award

81

See Graham Maddocks - Montauban Distinguished Conduct Medal

Military Medal

serving with the South Lancashire Regiment. As a final reminder of the men who enlisted later and served in the later years of the war, we close with the memory of William Worthington of the 1st Salford Pals. William had enlisted in 1916 and was awarded the Military Medal. William died on 11th November 1918 – the day of the Armistice.

Acknowledgments http://www.archive.coop/collections For some great photos and data on CWS http://www.salfordwarmemorials.co.uk/index.html has some useful data sets including obituaries, lists of photographs in the Manchester Evening News and Absent Voters Lists. http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead.aspx Provides details of commemoration of the men that lost their lives. http://grandeguerre.icrc.org/ Records of Prisoners of War and Interred civilians.

National Roll of the Great War 1914-1918 Provides profiles of 17,500 men and women from Manchester and Salford who served in World War One. Other Volumes are available from Libraries and subscription websites. http://iwmcollections.org.uk/collections/search Top site Imperial War Museum Archive http://www.awm.gov.au/ Australian War Memorial Site Census information and Service Records have been gleaned from a subscription website. As a condition for use of many photographs, this site must not lead to profit. Hence the links to subscription sites are not identified.

Forums and People A clear vote of gratitude and acknowledgment needs to be made to the encyclopaedic expert members of http://themanchesters.org/forum/index.php and http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php who were instrumental in helping build the profile of many men on this site and extracts of War Diaries. My limited research has only scraped the surface of reciprocation.

If I have failed to properly acknowledge any help or sources, please accept my apologies and don’t hesitate to let me know. Special thanks to Pete Thomas, John Hartley, Garry Helsby, Bernard Mcilwaine, Ralph Davidson and Alice Bell.

If you wish to contribute please comment on the Battalion Manchester

to the research, Author’s Blog 17th Regiment

British bombardment near Trones Wood. August 1916. Probably overlooking Guillemont IWM Q1171