Others – Page 6

2nd Lieutenant Walter James Ablitt

Walter James Ablitt was born on August 16, 1891 in Cairo and was educated at Fettes College, Edinburgh. Prior to the war he was employed as an Advocate.

He was commissioned into the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment on January 1, 1915 as a Second Lieutenant and his military records indicate that he first served overseas on the same date in Egypt.

He landed with the battalion in Gallipoli on May 9, 1915 but the war diary mentions him only once there reporting that 2/Lt. and acting adjutant W.J. Ablitt was admitted to hospital on September 12, 1915. He was diagnosed with Jaundice and Impetigo and invalided to the UK; 5 days later sailing from Mudros on HMT Aquitania. He arrived at Southampton on September 25th and was treated in the UK, given six weeks leave and assigned to the 3/9th Battalion. He was pronounced fit to return to General Service on February 1, 1916 and his name was passed to the Adjutant General to be utilized as an accompanying Officer with drafts going to Egypt.

He rejoined the battalion in Egypt on April 26, 1916 and is next mentioned in the battalion war diary on June 17, 1916, reporting that he was attached to the 126th Infantry Brigade HQ where he remained until January 20, 1917 when he was subsequently assigned to GHQ of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force and appointed temporary Captain. In 1917 he was mentioned in despatches and was promoted to Lieutenant with precedence from July 1, 1917. He was once again mentioned in despatches on June 14, 1918 when he was still a temporary Captain, now serving in the Intelligence Corps in France.

He was disembodied on March 15, 1919 and relinquished the temporary rank of Captain but did not resign his commission until September 30, 1921 and was granted the rank of Captain.

After his service he returned to Egypt where he served in the Egyptian Police force as an inspector in Cairo. He married Helen Joyce Hart in Egypt and on August 21, 1923 they had a daughter, Joan MacGregor Ablitt. On August 20, 1924 he was awarded the Order of the Nile (4th Class) by the King of Egypt and by this time was serving as the Assistant Commandant of Police at Alexandria. In 1926 he was awarded the Order of the Nile (3rd Class) and is noted as being Assistant Commandant, Cairo City Police. He later became the Commander of the Suez Canal police, special branch, at Port Said. In 1936 he was made a Commander of the Order of the Nile.

During World War II he was involved with the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a secret British World War II organisation, created in July 1940, following the fall of France in June of that year. Its purpose was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe (and later, also in occupied Southeast Asia) against the Axis powers, and to aid local resistance movements.

Captain Walter James Ablitt died May 24, 1955 at St. Mark’s Hospital, Maidenhead. He was 63 years old.

2nd Lieutenant Arthur William Field Connery

Arthur William Field Connery was born in July 1887 in Ashton-under-Lyne. He was the son of Major Michael Henry Connery and the younger half-brother of Hon. Lieut. Joseph Michael Connery.

Educated at the Victoria Street boarding School in Southport he joined the Great Central Railway Company and served for about 12 years in Manchester and London. Around 1913 he resigned his position in order to take up an appointment with the Central Argentine Railways in Buenos Aires.

At the outbreak of war he returned to the UK and was awarded a commission on November 14, 1914 with the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment and joined them in Southport for training. He volunteered, along with 2nd Lieut. JOHN MATLEY ROBSON and 2nd Lieut. ALLAN H. HUDSON, for active service with the 1/9th Battalion. On April 1, 1915 the three officers were sent to Egypt, where they joined the Battalion around April 13th. He landed with the 1/9th in Gallipoli on May 9, 1915 as a platoon commander in “C” Company.

He was involved in the bayonet charges of June 7th and June 18th, the latter undertaken by “B” Company but he and 2/Lt. John (Jack) Wade both volunteered to join them. Despite surviving these events, on July 5^th 2/Lt. Arthur William Field Connery was badly wounded in the mouth by shrapnel and was evacuated to hospital in Malta. On August 8, 1915 he was invalided to the UK arriving back in Ashton on August 16th. He did not return to Gallipoli.

By November 1915 he was with the 3/9th Battalion in Southport and paid a brief visit to Ashton on December 8th before rejoining the 3/9th prior to their move to Codford, Salisbury Plain. On March 8, 1916 he was seconded to the Machine Gun Corps and promoted to temporary Lieutenant on the 6th of July.

In early 1917 he married Gladys Frances Botwell (ne Salter) a widow but sadly she died 18 months later on October 9, 1918, possibly of the Spanish Flu.

On August 9, 1917 he was promoted to full Lieutenant with precedence as from 1st June 1916, and ordered to remain seconded to the Machine Gun Corps where he remained until November 29, 1918 when he was seconded for service with the Royal Engineers (Railway Troops). On February 1, 1919 he became a Railway Traffic Officer and on June 1st was promoted and awarded the rank of temporary Captain. On November 16, 1919 he was seconded to the British Military Mission to South Russia and was awarded the Military Cross in the 1920 new year’s honours list. On August 13, 1920 he relinquished his position with the Mission and rejoined the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment on October 15th. He continued to serve with the Manchester Regiment until he resigned his commission on February 28, 1925 retaining the rank of Captain.

On leaving the Army in 1921 he returned to work in Argentina as the district paymaster on the British-owned Central Argentine Railway. In October 1934 the following short report was published in several British newspapers:

MURDERED IN ARGENTINA.
Buenos Aires, Tuesday

Mr. Arthur W. Connery (45), district paymaster on the British-owned Central Argentine Railway, who was shot by unknown assailants in Matinez, a suburb of Buenos Aires a week ago, died of his wounds yesterday. The funeral will take place to-day.

Captain Arthur William Field Connery, M.C. was murdered in Argentina on October 15, 1934. He was 47 years old.

In January 1935 the following was published in the Western Mail newspaper:

SHOT ENGLISHMAN
Alleged Assailant Arrested and Extradited
BUENOS AIRES, Wednesday.

Edward John Jones was to-day extradited from Uruguay on a charge of murdering Capt. Arthur W. Connery, M.C., district paymaster of the British-owned Central Argentine Railway, on October 8 last.

Jones, who was arrested in the township of Esperanza, Uruguay, is now detained in gaol at La Plata.

Capt. Connery, who was a native of Ashton-under-Lyne, and a son of the late Col. Connery, of the Manchester Regiment, was alleged to have been shot by an unknown assailant in Martinez, a suburb of Buenos Aires.

He himself took a taxi and drove to hospital, where he died from his injuries. A reward of 10,000 pesos (£500) was subsequently offered in connection with his death.

2nd Lieutenant John Matley Robson

John Matley Robson was born on February 16, 1892 in Ashton-under-Lyne. His father, George Hudson, was headmaster of Christ Church (Gatefield) School in Ashton. George Hudson married Mary Dewhurst Matley on March 29, 1891 at St. Peter’s church. Their second son, Frederick Josiah Robson was born on March 23, 1898.

John Matley Robson was educated at Christ Church (Gatefield) School and later at Manchester Grammar School. After leaving school he joined Messrs. Bryce and Sons, chemical importers and shippers, of Manchester and was a member of Ashton Golf Club.

He was commissioned into the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment on November 14, 1914 and joined the 2/9th Battalion in Southport for training. He volunteered, along with 2nd Lieut. A.W.F. CONNERY and 2nd Lieut. ALLAN H. HUDSON, for active service with the 1/9th Battalion. On April 1, 1915 the three officers were sent to Egypt, where they joined the Battalion around April 13th.

After special service as Officer in Charge of the Base, at Port Said, El Kantara, and Alexandria, he joined the battalion at the Dardanelles on June 2nd as a platoon commander of “C” Company.

The following day, the 1/9th went into the line and remained there until they were relieved on June 22nd. “C” Company charged the Turkish trenches on June 7th losing two senior Officers and leaving 2/Lt. Robson as second in command. Shortly before the next major frontal assault that occurred on the 18th, 2/Lt. Robson was required to report to headquarters and subsequently attended a course of instruction in the Maxim gun down at the base behind the firing line.

Second Lieutenant John Matley Robson died of enteric fever in the 15th General Hospital, Alexandria, on July 17th, 1915 after leaving the peninsula on July 7th and being admitted to the hospital on July 10th. He was 23 years old. He was buried at the Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War Memorial Cemetery and is commemorated at the following places:

Ashton-Under-Lyne Civic Memorial.
Manchester Grammar School Roll of Honour.

2nd Lieutenant Allan Harrison Hudson

Allan Harrison Hudson was born on December 1, 1894 at Tiviot Dale, Stockport, Cheshire. His father, Jervis Tarbuck Hudson, was a publican and married Ann Harrison on August 2, 1893. A daughter, Kathleen Louise Hudson, was born on June 19, 1896.

Allan was educated at Denstone College, Staffordshire, where he obtained his colours for both cricket and football, and where he was in the Officers Training Corps (O.T.C.) for two years. Afterwards he was articled to Messrs. Brown, Briggs and Symonds, solicitors, Stockport, and passed his intermediate examination in March 1914. He was a member of Hyde Golf Club. On the outbreak of the war he joined the Manchester University O.T.C., and was given his commission in the 9th Manchester Battalion on November 14, 1914.

He proceeded with the 2/9th Manchesters to Southport for training, and later he volunteered with 2nd Lieut. A.W.F. CONNERY and 2nd Lieut. JOHN M. ROBSON, for active service with the 1/9th Battalion. On April 1, 1915 the three officers were sent to Egypt, where they joined the Battalion around April 13th. He landed with the 1/9th in Gallipoli on May 9, 1915 as a platoon commander in “B” Company.

The following is excerpted from the personal diary of 2/Lt. Charles Earsham Cooke:

June 13. Sunday. HUDSON, poor fellow, went down to base early and was climbing over parapet to get 2 men who were over gathering-up equipment and got badly hit in left side; died a few hours later.

2/Lt. Allan Harrison Hudson died of wounds on Sunday June 13, 1915. He was 20 years old. He was buried at the Lancashire Landing Cemetery and is commemorated at the following places:

Ashton-Under-Lyne Civic Memorial.
St. Stephen’s Church, Flowery Field, Hyde.

The brass plaque at St. Stephen’s read: To the glory of God and in loving memory of their only son, Allan Harrison Hudson, 2nd Lieutenant 1/9th Manchester Regiment, who was killed in action in Gallipoli, June 13th 1915 aged 20 years. The East Window is erected by his devoted father and mother.

2nd Lieutenant Fred Jones

Fred Jones was born in Openshaw in June 1894. His father, Arthur Jones, was a plumber and married Emily Rogers on 29 May, 1880. In 1901 Fred was six years old and living in Openshaw with his parents and siblings Bertha, Eva and Arthur.

By 1911 Fred was at school and living with his parents in Droylsden, his older sisters and brother having left home. He studied at University in London and Manchester and initially took a position as assistant master at Birley Street School, Manchester later becoming an assistant master at the West End Council School in Ashton-under-Lyne. He was getting ready to take his final University exams when war broke out.

Private 1551 Fred Jones joined the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment on December 15, 1913 when he was 19 years and six months old. He passed a class of Instruction for promotion on April 11, 1914 and was subsequently promoted to Corporal on May 14, 1914. He was promoted to Sergeant on August 4, 1914 when the 1/9th were mobilised. On leaving Bury with the Battalion in September for Egypt he was still officially a Sergeant but he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and gazetted on September 30, 1914 a week after the battalion’s arrival in Egypt.

He served with the Battalion in Egypt throughout their training and preparations for action and subsequently landed with the 1/9th in Gallipoli on May 9, 1915.

Cpl. 243 Thomas Valentine, a 26 year veteran of the 9th Manchesters, stated that he was stood behind Lt. Jones in shrapnel gully. He was at the top of the gully talking to two other officers when he suddenly fell, one of the officers asked, “have you fell over Jones?”, but when he looked he realised he was dead. He was dead before he hit the floor. We carried him away on a stretcher and buried him in the gully.

Second Lieutenant Fred Jones was killed in action on May 24, 1915. He is buried in the Redoubt Cemetery, Helles and commemorated on the Ashton-Under-Lyne Civic Memorial.

2nd Lieutenant John Broadbent

John Broadbent was born in Ashton-under-Lyne on September 4, 1872. His father, Timothy Broadbent, was a Pawnbroker and died when John was just 2 years old.

His mother, Mary Henshaw Broadbent (née Wright) took over the Pawnbroker business when his father died and John lived with his mother and his uncle’s family at 243 Stamford St, Ashton-under-Lyne. He was educated at Stamford Academy, Ashton-under-Lyne and enlisted in the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, the Manchester Regiment on February 8, 1892. Three years later he was awarded a commission as a Second Lieutenant, on May 22, 1895.

On December 22, 1897 he married Mary Hannah Marland and they lived in Ashton. He was promoted to Lieutenant on December 16, 1896 and served with the detachment the Battalion sent to South Africa in the Second Boer War being promoted to Captain on June 13, 1900. He was promoted to Major on July 18, 1907 and was subsequently appointed to the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment when it was formed on April 1, 1908.

By 1911 he and his wife had moved to Bella Vista, Castleton, where he was a large land owner, and were living there with a servant. Major John Broadbent resigned his commission with the 9th Battalion on April 20, 1912, retaining the rank of Major.

When war broke out he re-enlisted with the 1/9th and was awarded a commission as Second Lieutenant, dated September 5, 1914 while the Battalion were at camp at Bury. This must have been quite a difficult decision for him as he was by now 42 years old and his wife was about to give birth which she did on September 13th when Mary Henshaw Broadbent was born, (named after his mother who had died in 1912).

Nevertheless, he joined the Battalion at Chesham Fold Camp, Bury in September 1914 sailing with them to Egypt later that month. He served with them there throughout their training and preparations for action. He landed with the 1/9th in Gallipoli on May 10, 1915 as Transport Officer arriving one day after the main force.

Regimental records note that he was assigned for special duty in Alexandria for 16 days from September 11, 1915 and the Brigade war diary reports that 2/Lt. J Broadbent was sent sick to hospital on October 7, 1915. Two weeks later he was invalided to the UK on October 21, 1915.

In England, he rejoined the 3/9th Battalion at Codford, Salisbury Plain in January 1916 and on April 26, 1916 rejoined the 1/9th Battalion in Egypt. The London Gazette in 1917 notes that he was promoted to Lieutenant with precedence from June 1, 1916. He managed to take 4 days leave in Cairo from October 22-26, 1916 and took another 2 days, again in Cairo, from February 18-20.

He sailed with the Battalion from Egypt landing in France on March 11, 1917. He took two weeks home leave in the UK from May 6-21, 1917 and again from October 4 – 18th, 1917. Six weeks later he was sent to hospital sick and remained there from November 27 to December 28, 1917. He left the battalion in the field for the last time on January 10, 1918, reporting to the War Office in the UK. The January 18, 1918 London Gazette announced his promotion to Captain, with precedence from Aug 5, 1917. In England he was transferred to the Territorial Reserve as Captain on March 19, 1918.

After the war, orders to reform the regiment were received in October 1920 and Lt-Col D. H. Wade was appointed Commanding Officer. Captain John Broadbent was appointed Major, (antedated to August 5, 1917), and rejoined the 9th Battalion on August 3, 1921. When Col. Wade retired from the Territorial Force on January 27, 1922 having reached the age limit, Major Broadbent was appointed as the new Commanding Officer and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel the following day. Lt-Col. Broadbent remained in command of the battalion until he completed his tenure on January 27, 1926 retiring with the rank of Brevet Colonel.

Away from the battalion, he became involved in politics and served as Mayor of Ashton-under-Lyne from 1923 to 1925. As a consequence, Broadbent Avenue in Smallshaw, Ashton under Lyne is named after him. In 1931, after he had retired from the Territorials, he became a Member of Parliament for Ashton and remained so until the election of 1935.

Colonel John Broadbent, T.D. died at his home in Castleton on June 9, 1938. He was 65 years old.

2nd Lieutenant Albert Edward Stringer

Albert Edward (Ned) Stringer was born in Ashton-under-Lyne on January 18, 1878. His father Edward Stringer J.P. was headmaster of the Trafalgar Square Day School.

His father died in 1900, leaving a substantial sum of money, and in 1901 Ned was living with his mother Ann Stringer and his sisters Bertha and Janet and his younger brother John (Jack) James Stringer. All of his siblings were teachers, his brother being a pupil / teacher. His oldest sister, Elizabeth Ann (Stringer) was married to Ralph Lees and also living in Ashton-under-Lyne.

He entered the Manchester University in 1897, taking a course in chemistry and obtaining his B.Sc. in 1900. In 1904 he was appointed as a Chemistry Master at Ashton Under Lyne Secondary School, and in 1906 Ned became a Freemason, joining the Ashton Minerva lodge where the 9th Battalion’s Medical Officer, Major Albert Hilton, was also a member. By 1911 he was living with his sister Ann and her husband in Trafalgar Square, Ashton where Ralph Lees had become the headmaster of the Trafalgar Square Day School. Ralph Lees had also been commissioned into the 1/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment in 1905 and by 1911 was a Captain.

At the outbreak of the War, Ned Stringer was the 36-year-old Deputy Headmaster at the Municipal Secondary School, Ashton-under-Lyne. With his brother-in-law’s help, he was commissioned into the 1/9th Manchesters as Second Lieutenant on September 2, 1914 and joined the Battalion at Chesham Fold Camp, Bury. Also in Camp was CQMS Henry Stringer, Ned’s cousin, and a long serving member of the battalion but Captain Ralph Lees had fallen ill in camp and had to return to Ashton to undergo an operation.

Ned sailed with the battalion to Egypt in September 1914 serving with them there throughout their training and preparations for action. While he was in Egypt he wrote a number of letters and postcards home to his sister Ann and brother-in-law Capt. Ralph Lees. These letters are published here.

Ned landed with the 1/9th in Gallipoli on May 9, 1915 as a platoon commander in “C” Company. There is only one surviving letter written while he was in Gallipoli, which was to his younger sister Bertha, and it is reproduced below:

Mediterranean Expeditionary Force
May 28, 1915

My Dear Bert,

Your welcome letter arrived today and as I am “resting”, so called, I have time to reply. We have been three weeks here & during this time I have lived many lives. We saw a bit of fighting on the Canal and then came on here. As we arrived, we found the whole British fleet in action and hundreds of guns replying. I never realised how real Belle Vue fireworks were but this bombardment which I suppose is the biggest that has happened in the history of the world was terrible.

At any rate the army is now well fixed up on land. When we landed, we were heavily shelled & an old South African soldier said he had seen more shells aimed at us in 10 mins than he saw in the whole South Africa war.

We advanced and occupied trenches and all through the night realised what rifle and maxim fire was. Later, we dug ourselves in the earth and then lived in dug-outs in the earth for some days. At last, we occupied the firing line & at the end of five days when we could not sleep, my company was given the job of making an advance. Each man took a pick and shovel and we rushed out in front and began to dig a trench 150 yards forward. We of course got head cover as soon as we could and by 2am were fairly well established though machine guns tried their best to remove our cover and get us at all points. We struck a spring about 3am and the water got above our knees and to add to our discomfort a heavy storm broke over us.

We worked on however, as only men who fear the worst can and they could not relieve us until 3pm next day. During those 30 hours I lived a lifetime and the feeling came that anything was preferable to a continuance of things. Now in the rest camp in delightful sunshine by the sea in a country resembling Marple things seem brighter.

Of our many casualties and trials, I will say nothing but I think all actually fighting, & realising what war is, want peace – peace with honour but not too unbending an attitude. Of the many thousands of England’s best lives lost I say nothing but no one can realise what privations men on service have to go through.

Give my love to all & may we meet sometime again.

This serves as a reply to all letters. As regards business matters, they must go by the board. I am in agreement with any action taken. Money matters so little now that it might not exist at all.

Again, I give you all my love & hope to meet you again before very long.

Ever yours, dear Bert

Ned.

The following letter from his friend and then Company Commanding Officer Captain Okell was written to his brother-in-law Capt. Ralph Lees just 10 days after Ned’s and published in the Ashton Reporter on June 26, 1915:

“It is my painful duty to inform you that Ned (Lieutenant Stringer) was killed in action on the evening of the 7th inst. On that day our Company was ordered to charge the enemy and clear them out of the trenches in front of the firing line. On the left were other troops not belonging to our battalion, who had a similar task to perform. Captain F. Hamer and Lieutenant Wade were to charge one trench, and Ned and I the other trench. I was posted a little to the left to give the signal for the advance. I gave it shortly after 7.30, and with a mighty cheer our boys advanced. Immediately the enemy opened a terrific rifle and maxim fire, but Ned and I succeeded in reaching the trench. Unfortunately the enemy were able to open an enfilading fire, which made the trench absolutely untenable. We had to retire, but only about four of us succeeded in doing so safely. Hamer and Wade were subjected to cross fire. Captain Hamer fell before he reached the trench. Wade succeeded in capturing the trench, and held it until about 2 o’clock in the morning. I was of the opinion that the trench would be enfiladed as soon as dawn came, and ordered the troops to evacuate the trench. All the battalion was shocked at the terrible news of Ned. Ned had made himself a favourite with the men, and also with his brother officers. We all send you our deepest sympathy”

A couple of weeks after his death Ralph & Ann Lees received his official death notification from the Army:

2/Lt Albert Edward Stringer was 37 years old. His body was never recovered and he is commemorated on the Helles Memorial.

He is also commemorated on the Ashton-Under-Lyne Civic Memorial and the University of Manchester War Memorial, Main Quadrangle.

In March 1916, Captain and Mrs. Lees presented the Ashton Secondary School, where he was deputy headmaster before the war, with a large framed photograph of 2/Lt. Stringer.

2nd Lieutenant Charles Earsham Cooke

Charles Earsham Cooke was born in Nottingham on June 22, 1896 and named after his paternal grandfather. To family and friends he was known simply as “Earsham”.

By 1901 the family had moved to Pontefract and Earsham’s father, Frederick William Cooke, was running W.J. Robson & Co Ltd, Maltsters. Earsham had a younger brother, Philip Brentnall Cooke, and a younger sister, Gladys Muriel Cooke, and they lived with their mother, Emma Louise Cooke (nee Brentnall), and father in a large house with three servants.

Earsham was educated at Marlborough College which he attended from September 1910 to July 1913. He was the 1913 Lightweight boxing champion and represented his house at cricket and rugby. After he left school he was employed in the family business and in such capacity may have sold malt to Thomas Grimshaw Hyde‘s family brewery and thus come to know him before military service.

On the 15th August 1914, on the basis of being a former cadet in the Officer Training Corps at Marlborough, he was awarded a probationary commission of 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment. The York and Lancaster Regiment having their headquarters at Pontefract Barracks, Pontefract and therefore his “local” Regiment. However, in the same edition of the London Gazette it was announced that he had become a 2nd Lieutenant in the 1/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment, effective September 2, 1914.

He joined the Battalion while they were at Chesham Fold Camp, Bury and sailed with them to Egypt in September 1914 serving with them there throughout their training and preparations for action. He landed with the 1/9th in Gallipoli on May 9, 1915 as a platoon commander in “A” Company.

On the 8th August the battalion went into the trenches, “A” and “B” Companies with the (125th) Fusilier Brigade, and “C” and “D” Companies with the (127th) Manchester Brigade. Lt. Oliver Jepson Sutton took two platoons of “A” company up to the firing line and was almost immediately wounded. Reinforcements were called for and so Lt. Forshaw and Lt. Cooke took two platoons of A” Company to the firing line. 40 hours of intense fighting at close quarters followed with the Manchesters separated from the Turks at times by only a parapet. “A” Company under Lieutenants Forshaw and Cooke held the position thus saving the entire sector from being retaken by the Turks. Lt. Forshaw stayed at his position for the entire period, killing 3 Turks with his revolver, and personally throwing a large number of the 800 bombs used in the action.

Lt. William Thomas Forshaw was awarded the Victoria Cross and Lieutenant Charles Earsham Cooke was awarded the Military Cross. Both also being mentioned in the despatches of General Sir Ian Hamilton.

On August 18 he left the battalion for Imbros on a GHQ Escort with 25 men. But shortly after arriving there he became sick and on September 5th, he was admitted to hospital. He was treated for Jaundice and quickly evacuated to Malta where he was admitted to the “Blue Sisters Hospital” on September 10, 1915. A few days later, on September 14th he was embarked upon the Hospital Ship Massilia and repatriated back to the UK, arriving at Southampton on September 22nd, suffering from enteric fever.

In the UK he was allowed to recover at home until January 21, 1916 when he was ordered to join the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion at Codford. Here he was put on light duty and on March 23 was passed fit enough to return to full duty. A month later he was ordered to rejoin the battalion in Egypt and embarked the Ivernia at Devonport on April 23, 1916.

He rejoined the battalion in Egypt on June 3, 1916 and was promoted to temporary Lieutenant on August 27, 1916. The only other mention of him in Egypt after that is returning from a course of instruction in Cairo, in late October and taking two days leave in Cairo from February 20-21, 1917.

He sailed with the 1/9th to France, landing on March 11, 1917, and is noted as being a platoon commander on April 22, 1917 when the Battalion was in Epehy. On the evening of May 6th and into the early morning of May 7th “B” Company, under Major Howorth, was responsible for carrying out the following special order:

Two small posts are to be established on either side of the road running from locality b. to QUENNEMONT FARM, one on either side of the road, and joined up. This should be undertaken as a very minor operation, with only sufficient men to dig a rifle pit on each side and then connect up. The object should be to advance these posts a short distance every night without attracting the enemy’s attention; and connect them up from behind with a communication trench.

Lt. Cooke commanded the party and they were met with heavy resistance from German machine guns resulting in many casualties, prompting several acts of heroism bringing wounded men in under fire. Lt. Cooke was wounded and evacuated to Hospital in Rouen where he later died from his wounds on May 24, 1917. Lieutenant Charles Earsham Cooke, M.C. was 20 years old.

He is buried in the Commonwealth War Grave at St Sever, Rouen and commemorated on the:

Ashton-Under-Lyne Civic Memorial.
Leeds Corn Exchange Memorial.
Marlborough College Roll of Honour.

2nd Lieutenant Harold Edward Butterworth

Harold Edward Butterworth was born in Rochdale in October 1888. His father, James Butterworth, was a successful manufacturer of eyelets and eyelet hooks.

Harold was the youngest son of James Butterworth and Ann Lees Mayall. Harold also had four half brothers and sisters from his father’s first marriage to Martha Schofield.

By 1911 Harold was living with his mother and father at Laurel House, 149 Manchester Road, Rochdale and working in the family business as a traveling salesman. Also living with them was his sister Mary Lees Butterworth and his half brother William Mayall Butterworth along with two servants.

He was commissioned into the 1/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment on September 2, 1914 (supernumary) along with several others. He joined the Battalion while they were at Chesham Fold Camp, Bury and sailed with them to Egypt in September 1914 serving with them there throughout their training and preparation for action. He landed with the 1/9th in Gallipoli on May 9, 1915 as a platoon commander in B Company.

2nd Lieutenant H.E. Butterworth was reported wounded on May 16th in the Divisional war diary and listed on the May 28, 1915 London Times Casualty List; the first Officer of the 1/9th Manchesters to make the list. According to a letter written by 2/Lt. A.H. Hudson, and published in the North Cheshire Herald, June 26th 1915, 2/Lt. Butterworth was shot in the leg while sitting with some other Officers playing cards. Evidently he was not seriously wounded as regimental records show him rejoining the Battalion 4 days later.

The London Gazette notes that he was later appointed temporary Lieutenant with precedence from June 7, 1915. Regimental records indicate that he was evacuated sick to No 21 General Hospital hospital at Ras-el-Tin Barracks, Alexandria on June 9, 1915, on the hospital ship Grantully Castle. He remained there for 10 days until he was discharged to an Officer’s Convalescent Home at Ramleh. He remained absent from the battalion for 68 days rejoining them in Gallipoli on August 16th. He is not referenced in the Battalion or Brigade war diaries in Gallipoli except to note that on September 6th he led a group of 50 Other Ranks as Guard to GHQ on Imbros and was subsequently evacuated sick to St. Andrews Hospital in Malta on September 22, 1915, arriving there on October 1. Here he was treated for dysentery and on October 29 was well enough to embark the hospital ship Italia at Valetta for England, arriving at Southampton on November 10. Here he was medically assessed and granted leave until December 24, 1915. Ironically, in a letter published on October 9th in the Ashton Reporter, he is mentioned as being only one of four Officers who joined the Battalion in Bury who was still present at Gallipoli.

He was promoted to Lieutenant on June 1, 1916 and the Battalion war diary next mentions him as arriving in Egypt from the UK on June 4, 1916. On September 2, 1916 he attended a school of instruction for 3 weeks and the following month was allowed 4 days leave in Cairo from November 26-30, along with 2/Lieut. Marsden. On January 31, 1917 he left the Battalion and formed part of the Advance Party in Port Said, (along with Major Nowell, 2/Lt. Greenwood and 2/Lt. Needham), preparing for the Battalion’s imminent departure to France.

He rejoined the 1/9th in France, on March 17, 1917, and is noted as being a platoon commander on April 22, 1917 when the Battalion was in Epehy. On June 3 he returned from 2 weeks leave in the UK and attended a week’s course of unspecified instruction in late June. In early August 1917 he attended a week’s bombing course at Divisional HQ. He was promoted to Captain on August 5, 1917. He is noted as commanding C Company on October 13 and later that month, on October 25, he proceeded to England on leave, rejoining the Battalion 17 days later on November 11th.

On March 21, 1918 the 9th Manchesters were serving in the in the 198th Brigade of the 66th (2nd/East Lancashire) Division. The 9th Battalion were in the support line south of Péronne between Ferme Lamire and Eterpigny on the morning of March 23, 1918. But on the morning of March 22nd, 2 Companies of the 9th Battalion were in front of Trinket redoubt and it’s probable that the Battalion retired through Roisel during the evening of the 22nd or the early hours of the 23rd. Capt. Butterworth was reported missing and was subsequently found to have been taken prisoner of war.

After the war, orders to reform the regiment were received in October 1920 and Lt-Col D. H. Wade was appointed Commanding Officer. A few weeks later the War Office confirmed the re-appointments of some old officers including Captain Butterworth.

On September 10, 1924 he married Margaret Bessie Hitchon, in Rochdale, and on March 11, 1926 they had twin boys; Richard Mayall Butterworth and James H. Butterworth. He lived in Healey, Rochdale and worked in the family business, until it closed down, and thereafter as a company director. He was very active in the local community serving as vice president of Rochdale Rugby Union Club, vice president of the Healey Conservative Club and president of the Shawclough and Healey Band.

He remained in the Territorials and on December 28, 1926 was promoted to Major with precedence from January 28, 1926. He resigned his commission three years later, on January 30, 1929.

Major Harold Edward Butterworth died in Rochdale on May 4, 1939. He was 50 years old. He was buried in the family grave at Rochdale Cemetery, on Monday May 8, 1939 with full military honours, a detachment of the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment acting as bearers. Also present at the funeral were Colonel William Marsden Barratt, Colonel George William Handforth and Captain Henry Chorlton Shaw of the 9th Battalion.

2nd Lieutenant Philip Sidney Marsden

Philip Sidney Marsden was born on January 31, 1894 in Wigan. His father Joshua was clothier and Philip was the youngest of five children. Philip was educated at Mill Hill Boarding School in Hendon, London. He left Mill Hill in July 1911 and went on to study at the University of London. The family had meanwhile moved to Oakenrod, Rochdale.

Lt. Philip Sydney Marsden

He was commissioned into the 1/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment on September 2, 1914 (as supernumary) along with several others. He joined the Battalion while they were at Chesham Fold camp, Bury and sailed with them to Egypt in September 1914 serving with them there throughout their training and preparation for action. He landed with the 1/9th in Gallipoli on May 9, 1915 as the Officer in Command of the Machine Gun Section.

He was wounded in action on June 6th and evacuated to Cairo for treatment in Hospital where he remained for 72 days. He returned to the peninsula on August 17th and was made temporary Lieutenant immediately upon his return. He served with the Battalion until they left for Egypt on December 28, 1915.

While serving in Egypt he was able to take leave in the UK for the first time since leaving in September 1914. His leave was from May 8th to June 19th and he must have been glad to miss at least some of the summer heat in the Sinai. He took an additional 4 days leave in Cairo from November 26-30, 1916. He was promoted to Lieutenant on June 1, 1916.

He sailed with the Battalion to France, landing on March 11, 1917, and shortly after arriving there became ill and was treated in hospital for 3 weeks from April 21 to May 12. Rejoining in Templeux Quarries about 30 kilometers southwest of Havrincourt. On the evening on May 26 the 1/9th relieved the 1/5 East Lancs Regiment in the front line, Lieutenant Marsden leading D Company. Work concentrated on deepening the existing trenches in the front and support lines. Patrols were sent out on the evening of May 27th with orders to make it to the German lines, to assess the German positions, and were fired on by machine guns 600 or 700 yards from the Manchesters’ line.

In the early morning of May 30th the Battalion war diary has the following entry:

1:00am. Patrol composed of Lt. P.S. MARSDEN and 3 privates is fired on & Lt. P. S. MARSDEN and one of the men hit, both in the abdomen. The two remaining privates drag back the wounded Officer and man some distance and then obtain a stretcher and some assistance. Lt. P.S. MARSDSEN dies an hour after he is brought in and the private some hours later.

In fact, an article was published in the Ashton Reporter newspaper on July 7, 1917 that provided a slightly different account. Corporal 350351 Joseph Wilde’s family, killed in action on June 2nd, received a letter from Captain F.W. KERSHAW and Second Lieutenant ALFRED GRAY. Captain F.W. KERSHAW wrote:

“I cannot too highly praise your son. … Only a few days ago Lieutenant MARSDEN and Private FIELDING were hit out in front of our lines, and your son volunteered to go out and assist in bringing them in. He carried Private FIELDING back to our trenches, a distance of 300 yards, on his back. … He was buried with fitting ceremony in a British soldiers cemetery, near to Lieutenant MARSDEN, Private FIELDING, and Private ASHCROFT, who were killed about the same time.”

Lieutenant Philip Sydney Marsden was killed in action at Havrincourt Wood on May 30, 1917. He was just 23 years old. He is buried in Neuville-Bourjonval British Cemetery alongside Private 350454 Tom Fielding. Corporal 350351 Joseph Wilde is buried close by, alongside Lance Corporal 350567 Thomas Ashcroft.

Remarkably, for a young officer with more than 2 1/2 years of active service overseas, he died intestate; his estate passing to his father Joshua.