Manchester Regiment


The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd Regiment of Foot and the 96th Regiment of Foot as the 1st and 2nd battalions; the 6th Royal Lancashire Militia became the 3rd and 4th battalions and the Volunteer battalions became the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th battalions.
After distinguished service in both the First and the Second World Wars, the Manchester Regiment was amalgamated with the King's Regiment in 1958, to form the King's Regiment, which was, in 2006, amalgamated with the King's Own Royal Border Regiment and the Queen's Lancashire Regiment to form the present Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.

1881–1899

Between the 1860s and 1880s, the British Army underwent a period of reform implemented by Edward Cardwell and Hugh Childers. Single-battalion regiments were amalgamated and regiments were affiliated with a geographical area. The Manchester Regiment came into being on 1 July 1881 by the union of the 63rd and 96th Regiments of Foot. They had been linked in 1873 by their allocation to the 16th Sub-district Brigade Depot in Ashton-under-Lyne, near to Manchester. The 2nd Battalion, as the 96th Foot, had been raised in the town of Manchester in 1824. Eight additional battalions were gained through the incorporation of the 6th Royal Lancashire Militia and rifle corps units from Lancashire. By July, the regiment had the following under its command:
  • Regimental Headquarters
  • 63rd Regimental District based in Ashton
  • 1st Battalion
  • 2nd Battalion
  • 3rd Battalion
  • 4th Battalion
  • 1st Volunteer Battalion — former 4th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers
  • 2nd Volunteer Battalion — former 6th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers
  • 3rd Volunteer Battalion — former 40th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers
  • 4th Volunteer Battalion — former 20th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers
  • 5th Volunteer Battalion — former 23rd Lancashire Rifle Volunteers
  • 6th Volunteer Battalion — former 7th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers
The 1st Battalion was deployed to Egypt to take part in the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882 and was then deployed to Gibraltar in 1897. The 2nd Battalion was based in India from 1882 to 1897 and saw action on the North-West Frontier before departing for Aden.

1899–1914

Second Boer War

Amidst growing tension between Boers and the British in the Transvaal, the 1st Manchester shipped to South Africa in September 1899. The battalion arrived in Durban, Natal Colony in early October, and was soon afterwards moved to Ladysmith. The war began on 11 October with a Boer invasion of the colony. After Boer forces captured Elandslaagte railway station, the Manchesters had four companies sent by armoured train to Modderspruit. While disembarking there, the Manchesters and accompanying Imperial Light Horse came under ineffectual artillery fire.
The 1st Manchesters, along with the Gordon Highlanders and the Imperial Light Horse, took part in the subsequent assault. The fighting was heavy, with the Boers pouring accurate fire into the advancing British troops. Under increasingly heavy fire, the battalion halted its advance. The Manchester became the main vanguard of the frontal assault, having originally been tasked with a left-flank attack on the Boer hills. Once the battalion closed in, the Boers withdrew to their main line of defence.
On 2 November, Boer forces encircled and isolated the town of Ladysmith, beginning a 118-day siege. On 6 January 1900, a contingent of 16 soldiers of the 1st Manchesters came under attack at Wagon Hill, near to Caeser's Camp. Against superior numbers, the detachment held its position for 15 hours. Only two survived, Privates Pitts and Scott, who had continued to hold out for many hours when the others had been killed. Both received the Victoria Cross for their actions, giving the regiment its first two VCs. By 28 February, Ladysmith had finally been relieved by a force under the command of General Redvers Buller.

The 2nd Manchesters was mobilized into a new 8th Division going to South Africa for the war. 930 officers and men of the regiment left Southampton in the SS Bavarian in March 1900, and in April arrived in Natal as reinforcements. Both battalions participated in the offensive that followed the relieving of Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking. After the fall of Bloemfontein and Pretoria, the Boer commandos transitioned to guerrilla warfare. The 2nd Manchesters operated in the Orange Free State, searching farms and burning those suspected of housing commandos. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging in May 1902. The 2nd battalion stayed in South Africa throughout the war. Four months later 340 officers and men of the battalion left Cape Town on the SS Michigan in late September 1902, arriving at Southampton in late October, when they were posted to Aldershot.
When the Boers proved more resilient than predicted, a number of regiments recruited in large centres of population formed additional regular battalions. The Manchester Regiment formed the 3rd and 4th Battalions in February 1900, at which time the militia battalions were relabelled as the 5th and 6th battalions. The 3rd Battalion was stationed in Saint Helena and South Africa from August 1902, while the 4th Battalion was stationed in Cork. In 1906, the 3rd and 4th battalions both returned to the United Kingdom, where they were disbanded.
The 5th Battalion was embodied in May 1900, disembodied in October that year, and re-embodied in May 1901 for service in South Africa, for which it embarked the following month. More than 800 officers and men returned to Southampton in July 1902, following the end of the war.
The 6th Battalion was embodied in May 1900, disembodied in October that year, and later re-embodied for service in South Africa. More than 640 officers and men returned to Southampton by the SS Guelph in October 1902, following the end of the war, and was disbanded at the Ashton barracks.
The 1st Manchesters left South Africa for Singapore in 1903. The following year, the 1st moved to India, where, in 1911, the battalion paraded at the Delhi Durbar, attended by King George V and Queen Mary. The 2nd Manchesters had returned to Britain in 1902, where it remained until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

Haldane reforms

In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve. The regiment now had two Reserve and six Territorial battalions:

Mobilisation

On the outbreak of war in August 1914 the 1st Battalion was part of the 8th Brigade of the 3rd Indian Division, while the 2nd Battalion was part of 14th Brigade in 5th Division, stationed in Ireland.
In August 1914 the two Special Reserve battalions went to their war station in the Humber Garrison where they carried out the dual tasks of garrison duties and preparing reinforcement drafts of regular reservists, special reservists, recruits and returning wounded for the two regular battalions.
The Territorial battalions mobilised in August 1914 as part of the East Lancashire Division. Shortly afterwards the Territorial Force was invited to volunteer for overseas service and the bulk of the East Lancashire Division did so. The division was sent to Egypt to relieve the Regular garrison for service on the Western Front and was subsequently designated the 42nd Division. Those men who were ineligible for overseas service, together with the volunteers who were flooding in, were formed into second line units distinguished with a '2/' prefix . The 2nd Line battalions of the Manchesters joined the 66th Division.
Meanwhile on 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular Army, and the newly-appointed Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. This group of six divisions with supporting arms became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'. Volunteers poured into the recruiting offices across the country and were formed into 'Service' battalions of the county regiments. So many came forward that the 'K1' battalions were quickly filled and the recruitment of the 'K2', 'K3' and 'K4' units quickly followed. The Manchesters formed the 11th Bn, 12th Bn, 13th Bn and 14th Bn.
The flood of volunteers overwhelmed the ability of the army to absorb and organise them, and by the time the Fifth New Army was authorised, many of its constituent units were being organised as "Pals battalions" under the auspices of mayors and corporations of towns up and down the country. The Lord Mayor and City of Manchester raised eight battalions of Manchester Pals, which became the 16th–23rd Bns of the Manchester Regiment, subtitled '1st City', '2nd City', etc. Meanwhile the Mayor and Town of Oldham raised the 24th Bn. Later the 25th–27th Bns were formed from the depot companies of the Pals battalions.

Western Front

The 1st Battalion moved to France, landing at Marseille in September 1914. Having been briefly attached to French cavalry, the 1st Battalion moved to the frontline on 26 October, relieving a battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment near Festubert. Three days later, a heavy bombardment preceded an attack by a German force directed against the 2nd Battalion, Manchesters and the 1st Battalion, Devonshire Regiment. Despite capturing a trench line, the Germans were unable to capitalise due to the actions of a platoon commanded by Second-Lieutenant James Leach. In the process of their methodical retaking of the trench, the party killed eight, wounded two and captured 14 soldiers. For their contribution to the defence of the Manchesters' trenches, Second-Lieutenant Leach and Sergeant John Hogan were awarded the Victoria Cross. Severe casualties were sustained by the 1st Manchesters and its brigade during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle. A succession of intensely fought battles followed, culminating in the Second Battle of Ypres and Battle of Loos.
The 2nd Manchesters embarked for France with the 5th Division in August 1914 and contributed to the rearguard actions that supported the British Expeditionary Force's retreat following the Battle of Mons. The battalion was engaged in the battles of the Marne, the Aisne and "First Ypres".
On 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the regiment had nine battalions committed, including the Manchester Pals, the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th, all serving in the 90th Brigade of the 30th Division. The day proved to be the deadliest in the British Army's history, with more than 57,000 killed, wounded or missing.
The regiment continued its involvement in the Somme Offensive. In late July, the 16th, 17th and 18th Manchesters attacked an area in the vicinity of the small village of Guillemont. During the action, Company Sergeant-Major George Evans, of the 18th, volunteered to deliver an important message, having witnessed five previous, fatal attempts to do so. He delivered his message, running more than half a mile despite being wounded. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.
On 2 April 1917, the 2nd Manchesters attacked Francilly-Selency, in which C Company captured a battery of 77 mm guns and a number of machine-guns. Two paintings were made of this action by the military artist Richard Caton Woodville. Later in the month, the Manchester Regiment fought in the Arras Offensive.
Preparations for a new offensive, the Third Battle of Ypres, in the Ypres sector had got under-way in June with a preliminary assault on Messines. The Manchester Pals' Brigade fought in the offensive's opening battle, at Pilckem Ridge, on 31 July. Conditions during "Third Ypres" reduced the battleground to an intractable morass. During "Third Ypres", Sergeant Coverdale, of the 11th Battalion, killed three snipers, rushed two machine gun positions, then reorganised his platoon to capture another position, though after advancing some distance was forced back due to bombardment from the British artillery, suffering nine casualties in the advance.
After serving on the Western Front from July 1915 with 17th Division, including the Ypres Salient and the battles of the Somme and Arras, 12th Battalion amalgamated with Regimental HQ and two squadrons of the Manchester-based Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry, who had been dismounted and retrained as infantry. From 24 September 1917 the battalion was redesignated 12th Battalion, Manchester Regiment. It continued serving with 17th Division until the Armistice, including the Battle of Passchendaele, the German Spring Offensive and the Allied Hundred Days Offensive.
In March 1918, the German Army launched an all-out offensive in the Somme sector. Faced with the prospect of continued American reinforcement of the Allied armies, the Germans urgently sought a decisive victory on the Western Front. On the morning of 21 March, the 16th Manchesters occupied positions in an area known as Manchester Hill, near to St. Quentin. A large German force attacked along the 16th's front, being repulsed in parts, but completely overwhelming the battalion elsewhere. Some positions lost were recaptured in counter-attacks by the 16th. Though encircled, the 16th continued to resist the assault, encouraged by its commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Wilfrith Elstob. During the course of the battle, Elstob single-handedly repulsed a grenadier attack and made a number of journeys to replenish dwindling ammunition supplies. At one point, he sent a message to 42nd Brigade HQ that "The Manchester Regiment will defend Manchester Hill to the last", to his men he had told them "Here we fight, and here we die". The 16th Manchesters effectively ceased to exist as a coherent body. Lieutenant-Colonel Elstob was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. An attempt to retake the hill was later made by the 17th Manchesters, now part of 21st Brigade, with heavy losses. Two more Victoria Crosses were awarded to the regiment in the final months of the war. Also involved in the Spring Offensive were the 2/5th, 2/6th and 2/7th battalions, serving as part of 199th Brigade, part of 66th Division, all battalions of the Territorial Force.
The later-prominent war poet, Wilfred Owen served with the 2nd Battalion, Manchesters in the later stages of the war. On 1 October 1918, Owen led units of it to storm a number of enemy strong points near the village of Joncourt. For his courage and leadership in the Joncourt action, he was awarded the Military Cross, an award he had always sought in order to justify himself. On 4 November 1918, Wilfred Owen was killed in action during the crossing of the Sambre–Oise Canal, exactly one week before the signing of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant the day after his death.