To Fight Alongside Friends

by Gerry Harrison

  xi ‘Whare’ in Maori means some sort of ‘hut’ or ‘building’. In rural New Zealand at that time films were screened publicly in temporary or portable huts or shelters.

  xii Capt. Paul Victor Davidson, 2nd Royal Warwickshires, was appointed three days later.

  xiii Lt Col. Charles Bonham-Carter; Maj. Webster (unidentified).

  xiv Capt. Reginald Frank Parker.

  xv On the Eastern Front, the Allied Russian Army had begun an offensive. Commanded by General Brusilov, a considerable advance was made in 6.1916 against the Austro-Hungarian line on its south-western front, which succeeded in capturing several hundred thousand of the enemy. However the success was short-lived when German reinforcements were pulled back from the west, and by September any further Russian advance was stopped. These enemy reinforcements, the defeat of Russia’s Romanian allies and the lack of forward progress on the Western Front had halted the Russian advance. A year later, under Bolshevik control, Russia withdrew from the war.

  xvi Maj. Francis Willoughby Woodward.

  xvii ‘In the long run, an advance – should it take place – might be more economical of life than trench warfare, with its constant dribble of casualties’ (Tawney, 20.6.15).

  xviii At the time of his death, May’s estate was valued at a healthy £852.

  xix For the assault, troops wore either coloured patches sewn into the back of their battledress or bright paint was daubed onto the back of their uniforms to distinguish them from the enemy. Sometimes shiny metal tags were worn at the back of their necks so that, when the sun shone, gunners could see them glinting and avoid aiming towards their positions.

  xx 2nd Lts H. F. Jones and William Edward Brunt.

  xxi A Coy, Lt Eric Oldham; B Coy, Capt. Donald Murray; C Coy, Capt. Tom Worthington; D Coy, Lt William Gomersall.

  xxii The RMS Lusitania, torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat in May the previous year, was clearly still a topic of discussion.

  xxiii ‘The country behind the line here is crammed with troops, English and French, and vast guns pass through, dragged by caterpillars. The men say the Staff send us the same guns round & round here like a circus to keep up our spirits by the illusion of overwhelming artillery support!’ (Tawney, undated).

  xxiv Just seven days later, four out of these seven men – who had trained together at Morecambe, Grantham and Lark Hill – were dead and two seriously wounded.

  xxv ‘Cecil’ gun: possibly named after the battalion’s former and elderly CO, Lt Col. Cecil de C. Etheridge.

  xxvi High explosives.

  xxvii ‘Don’t be anxious if you get no letters for a week or a fortnight or even more, as it is rumoured that the post is to be suspended for 14 days. On a long view, the present situation is not encouraging. The “Gers” seem to be reaching the point where they are uncertain how to use their reserves … I do hope France may be delivered of the Bosches this year. When I was in the last village a woman told me that she had not seen her husband for 4 years. It is heart-breaking for them’ (Tawney, 25.6.16).

  xxviii ‘The whole of the German line has been named by us – every blessed trench – and is as familiar to us, each in our own sector, on the map, as is our own system … Our Manchester lads are in good form today, burnt brown, eager and keen. I love ’em’ (Bland, 26.6.16).

  Chapter 12: ‘We are all agog with expectancy’

  i The 22nd Manchesters had been allocated a position on the right of the line, next to the Sixth Army of France. B and D Coys were to be in the first wave, followed by A and C Coys. Their first objective was Dantzig Alley on the right flank of the village of Mametz. Fearing the worst, May asked a fellow officer, Capt. Frank Earles, OC of D Coy, that if anything should happen to him, he hoped that Earles would visit his wife, Maude.

  ii Because of a forecast of inclement weather, a delay was announced at 11 a.m. This meant that the battalion remained in the Bois, ‘tucked up in old tents and shelters’. The original day for the assault had been named Z Day, with its preceding days named U, V, W, X and Y – as codes for a progressive artillery bombardment. After this announcement, 28.6.1916 was renamed Y1 Day, with Z Day scheduled two days later.

  iii ‘What does it feel like to be on the edge of what might prove to be the mightiest battle waged in the history of the world? … Like all romance, it is most unromantic to the participation at the time of participation. The spirit cannot grasp either the facts or the issues, the imagination is at work with the practical difficulties, and the brain is busy with the overload of detail, immediate or prospective. We are all like ants, as they appear to a disturber of their nests, terrifically busy in an apparently purposeless orgy of chaos’ (Bland, 28.6.16).

  iv ‘If letters don’t arrive for a day or two be brave & don’t worry, I shall be alright & remember I am now very very happy and have a very light heart. I am also very proud to be able to take a hand in dealing a smashing blow to the hated Hun,’ wrote Gomersall (29.6.16). ‘Give my lads such a lot of hugs and thank them for their dear letters which are beautifully written and spelt. God bless you,’ Bland wrote home (29.6.16), and to his wife he sent a pressed Forget-Me-Not and a note with the words: ‘My darling … All my love for ever … Alfred.’

  v The Alexandra Rose was the symbol of a charity founded in 1912 by Queen Alexandra, the consort of King Edward VII, and marked the fiftieth anniversary of her arrival from Denmark onto British soil. The sale of these roses raised funds for charitable institutions.

  Epilogue: ‘My dear one could not have died more honourably or gloriously …’

  i The watch had been borrowed by Tawney’s friend, Capt. Bill Bland. Tawney’s description, entitled ‘The Attack’, was published in the Westminster Gazette, 8.8.16.

  ii The fellow soldiers Bunting mentions would have been known to Effie. As was common in the Pals battalions, it is likely that young men from the same neighbourhoods or workplaces had enlisted together. Undated letter, with permission from Adrian Bunting.

  iii Maude received at least two packages: the second of which was registered and would have contained Charlie’s wedding ring.

  iv The ‘Manchester business quarters’ may be a coded reference to the fact that May was a Freemason, having joined the King’s Colonials’ Lodge (No. 3386) attached to the King Edward’s Horse in London.

  v Frederick John Worledge, Lily’s husband.

  vi 2nd Lt George Ryall, who had joined the battalion 6.1916.

  vii Lt Marcus Loftus Woodhouse was also wounded 1.7.16.

  viii Plot 2, B 3. May is also commemorated on the war memorial outside the former St Luke’s Church, on the corner of Northern Grove and Burton Road, West Didsbury, South Manchester.

  ix A number of oak chairs were presented to the chapel, one of which, in memory of Captain Charles Campbell May, was given by Maude and his comrade from the trenches, Frank Earles.

  Notes

  Foreword

  1Cyclopaedia of New Zealand (Otago and Southland Provincial Districts), 1902.

  2Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand. Otago Witness, 12 June 1901.

  3Ibid.

  4Daily Mail, 1911, MR4/ 17/295/3/1, Manchester Regiment Archive at Tameside Local Studies and Archives, Central Library, Old Street, Ashton-under-Lyne (hereafter MRA).

  5CM entry for 7 December 1915.

  6Fireman’s Jealousy: A Real Life Romance, Glasgow Weekly Herald, 7 December 1912; MR4/17/295/3/1, MRA.

  7CM entry for 19 November 1915.

  8Letter to Jeanette, 17 December 1914, Tawney Papers, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London.

  9Private correspondence with Adrian Bunting, 25 June 2013.

  10Michael Stedman, Manchester Pals, Leo Cooper, 1994, p. 62.

  Epilogue

  11Lt Col. Paul W. Whetham, Manchester Guardian, 13 July 1916.

  12Alastair Cowan, The 22nd Battalion Manchester Regiment, Fleur de Lys, 2011, p. 17.

  13Malcolm Brown, The Imperial War Museum Book of the
Somme, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1996, p. 92.

  14Andrew Robertshaw, Somme 1 July 1916, Osprey 2006, p. 78.

  15Wilfred Miles, Official History of the Great War, Macmillan, 1938.

  Index of Names

  Abbreviations used

  2iC Second-in-Command

  CB Companion of the Bath

  CIGS Chief of the Imperial General Staff

  CO Commanding Officer

  Comm. Commissioned

  CQMS Company Quarter Master Sergeant

  DSO Distinguished Service Order

  HQ Headquarters

  KC King’s Counsel

  KCB Knight Commander of the Bath

  KCMG Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George

  MC Military Cross

  MiD Mentioned in Dispatches

  MM Military Medal

  MSM Meritorious Service Medal

  OC Officer Commanding

  OTC Officers’ Training Corps

  POW Prisoner of War

  RAMC Royal Army Medical Corps

  RFA Royal Field Artillery

  RFC Royal Flying Corps

  RMC Royal Military College

  NB: Ranks are dated, as far as possible, as those on 1 January 1916. The dates in the second column indicate the date in 1915 and 1916 when a name first appears in Charlie May’s diaries.

  General Officer Commanding, 7th Division of XIII Corps

  Sir Herbert Edward WATTS 5.1 (1858–1934). Lt General. Took command of division, 9.1915. Comm. 1880. Previously with 2nd Prince of Wales Own or West Yorkshires. KCB, CMG, KCMG, MiD.

  Commanding Officers of the 91st Infantry Brigade (formerly 30th Div but transferred to the 7th Div on 20.12.1915)

  Until 3.2.1916

  Francis James KEMPSTER (1855–?). Brig. General. Comm. 3.1875. Had served in 2nd Afghan War, 1880; in Bechuanaland, 1884; in Sudan, 1887. Col. in 1896. In northern India, 1897. From 1902 on retirement list, until recall in 1914. DSO.

  Until 20.11.1916

  Sir John Randle MINSHULL-FORD (1881–1948). Maj. General. From Windlesham, Surrey. Comm. 1900, Royal Welch Fusiliers; became CO of 1st Bn. Wounded at Neuve Chapelle, 1915. Appointed Brig. Gen. with Home Forces and then again in France. Retired 1938. CB, DSO, MC.

  Cyril John DEVERELL 8.4 (1874–1947). Brig. General. Born Guernsey. Educated at Bedford School. Comm. 1895, Prince of Wales West Yorkshires. Served in Anglo-Ashanti War, 1896. Lt, 1898. Maj. 1915. CO of 4th Bn, East Yorkshires. CO of 20th Infantry Bde, 1915. CIGS, 1936. Retired, 1937. KCGB, KC, OBE.

  (in alphabetical order)

  Sir Charles BONHAM-CARTER 13.6 (1876–1955). Lt Col. Educated at Clifton and RMC Sandhurst. Had served in 2nd Boer War. Queen’s Own Royal West Kents. Staff Officer. KCBG, CMG, DSO, Légion d’honneur. MiD.

  DILLON 18.1 Maj. Royal Field Artillery. General Staff Officer 1.

  Jesse Pevensey (‘Jake’) 23.3. Bde Capt. until 3.6.16. 2nd

  DUKE Royal Warwicks. Also served in Second World War. DSO, MC, MiD.

  Arthur Kenneth GRANT 17.1 (1881–1964). From Colchester. Comm. 1900. Bde Maj. 2nd Queen’s Royal West Surreys.

  Reginald John KENTISH 17.1 (1876–1956). Bde Capt. until 12.2.16. Previously with Royal Irish Fusiliers and then CO of 1st East Lancs. Head of 3rd Army School of Instruction, Fléxicourt. Later, Brig. General. CMG, DSO.

  Francis Cecil 16.5. (1888–1963). Brevet Maj.

  LONGBOURNE From Guildford. Served with Mounted Infantry in South Africa, 1900. Joined Queen’s Royal West Surreys, 1902. CO of 2nd Queen’s. CMG, DSO, Légion d’honneur, MiD.

  Robert John MORRIS 16.5 Maj. From Horsham, West Sussex. CO, 1st South Staffordshires from 31.6.1916. Previously, Maj. with Notts and Derbys. Later, temporary CO of bn with Devonshires.

  William Wilding NORMAN 16.5. (1860–?). Educated at Oxford Military College. Had served in Tirah Campaign. Lt Col. 21.12.1905. CO of 21st Manchesters, 21.12.1908. Had retired from British Army in India, 23.10.1912. DSO, MiD.

  Reginald Frank PARKER 13.6 Bde Capt. From Woldingham, Surrey. On General List, but previously 2iC of 21st Manchesters. MC, MiD, OBE.

  WEBSTER 13.6 Maj. General. Staff Officer.

  Paul W. WHETHAM 1.1 Lt Col. Had served with 21st and 23rd Manchesters; appointed temporary Lt Col., 22nd Manchesters in 1915, after taking over command from Lt Col. Cecil de C. Etheridge while training at Grantham. Later commanded bn of Royal West Kents. Retired, 2.1919. DSO.

  Clifford WOOD 13.4 (1884–1961). Padre. Born Bridgwater, Somerset. Worked on Great Western Railway. Later ordained as Baptist Minister. Attached as temporary Chaplain to Manchester Regiment 4.6.1915. Served as padre on Home Front during Second World War. Last ministry at Winchmore Hill, north London, in 1934. Retired, 1950.

  22nd BATTALION, MANCHESTER REGIMENT

  Charles Moubray ALLFREY 25.1 (1874–1943). Maj. From Boughton Monchelsea, Kent. Previously Capt. in 3rd Royal West Kents. Court-martialled, 7.6.1916.

  21308 James Herbert BECK 16.1 (c.1877–?). Pte (Colonel’s messenger), 6 Platoon, B Coy. From Harpurhey, central Manchester. Previously a mill warper. Severely injured 21.9.1918 and invalided home.

  20902 George J. BENSON 6.4 Sgt. Admitted to hospital with severe shell-shock.

  M.M. BETHMANN 14.11 Interpreter in November 1915.

  Albert Edward (‘Bill’) BLAND 21.11 (1881–1916). Capt., OC of B Coy. From Kidderminster. Educated at Queen’s, Oxford, to which he had gained a classical scholarship. In 1904 became historian in Public Record Office. Lecturer with Workers’ Education Association in London. Co-editor, English Economic History: Select Documents with Richard Tawney (see below) and Philip Brown, in 1914. Refused to accept professorship at Melbourne University to enlist in Inns of Court OTC; in 1.1915 transferred to 22nd Manchesters. Later 2iC of bn. Killed in Action 1.7.1916. Buried in Dantzig Alley British Cemetery.

  Reginald Walter (‘Bubbles’) BOWLY 11.11 (c.1875–1918). Capt., 2iC of A Coy. After court martial on 8.4.1916, then transferred to 20th Manchesters, from which attached to 1st Cheshires. While attached to 20th Cheshires, Killed in Action, 29.5.1918. Buried in Tannay British Cemetery, Thiennes.

  20413 J. BRADLEY 2.6 (1886–?). From Rusholme, Manchester. Sgt, 7 Platoon, B Coy.

  William Edward BRUNT 20.6 (1893–1916). 2nd Lt, B Coy. From Buxton, Derbyshire, reporter for Buxton Herald. Promoted from Sgt in Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry to a comm. in B Coy, 22nd Manchesters, 20.6.1916. Killed in Action, 1.7.1916. Buried in Dantzig Alley British Cemetery.

  20277 William BULL 22.2 Pte (runner), 5 Platoon, B Coy. From Stockport. Put on report by Tawney (see below), then punished for his conduct by Bland and May (see below). Wounded, 1.7.1916. In hospital in Rouen, then sent home. Discharged, 3.7.1917.

  21090 Arthur BUNTING 28.11 (1885–1918). Pte, 1 Platoon, A Coy. From Ardwick. Previously coach-builder. Took on ‘extra duties’ as orderly, first with A Coy and then as his batman with B Coy when May took command. After May’s death, Bunting transferred as batman to Capt. H. F. Jones (see below). In 3.1917, captured at Vimy Ridge; POW to Dulmen Camp in Germany and then to Melmes in East Prussia. Died 12.1918 of Spanish Influenza. Buried at Vittener Cemetery. Commemorated on Russian War Memorial at Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey.

  Vivian BURCHILL 9.1 (?–1916). 2nd Lt, B Coy. From West Kirby, Liverpool; son of Managing Editor, Liverpool Courier. A sportsman, attended Liverpool Institute. Comm. 1.2.1915. Died of Wounds, 2.6.1916. Buried in Bronfay Farm Military Cemetery.

  Joshua Hain CANSINO 10.5 (1890–1916). 2nd Lt. Born in Casablanca, Morocco. From Broughton Park, near Salford. Educated at Cheetham Higher Grade School and Manchester School of Technology. Gained an MSc. Later studied in Berlin and Paris. Enlisted as Pte with 4th Royal Sussex in 9.1914. Comm. with 22nd Manchesters in 9.1915. Killed in Action, 2.6.1916. Commemorated at Thiepval and on Manchester University Memorial.

  20743 George CARR 25.3 Pte, 12 Platoon, C Coy. Right-half with bn football team. Discharged 16.11.1917.

  20748 John Albert CLARKE 25.3 (c.1890�
�1918). Pte, 6 Platoon, B Coy. From Altrincham, Manchester. Invalided home to hospital in Sheffield. Later transferred to 10th East Yorks. Killed in Action, 28.10.1918.

  Henry Rodham COOK 2.5 (c.1883–1917). 2nd Lt, C Coy. From Altrincham. Educated at Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh. Comm. 18.6.1915. Joined 22nd Manchesters 1.5.1916. Killed in Action, 7.9.1917. Buried in Sunken Road Cemetery, Fampoux. Commemorated on Altrincham War Memorial.

  Hugh Stapleton (‘John’) COTTON 11.11 (1886–?). 2nd Lt. From Audlem, near Nantwich, Cheshire. Previously foreman for London & North West Railway. Comm. 25.1.1915. Transferred to Railway Operating Section, Royal Engineers. Wounded, 1.7.1916.

  William James (‘Pat’) COWAN 18.2 (1886–1969). 2nd Lt, 2iC of D Coy. Born in Liverpool. In 1914 went to Belgium with Legion of Frontiersmen, and fought at Battle of Yser. Comm. with 22nd Manchesters 1915. Wounded 1916, but returned to bn in 1917. Appointed Adjutant at Catterick. Later Advertisement Director for Illustrated London News.

  William Boston CUSHION 8.1 (1891–?). Lt, CO of 9 Platoon, C Coy. Previously an electrical engineer. Transferred to RFC as temporary Maj. Later worked with 5th Distribution Stores in Edgbaston.

  20980 Charles(?) DALEY 1.3 Pte. Althouth there were many Daleys in the bn, this is possibly Charles Daley of D Coy, who replaced Smith (see below) as cook.

  Paul Victor DAVIDSON 12.6. (1886–1946). Maj. Born in Appleby, Westmoreland. Educated at Haileybury. Had served in 1910 with Southern Nigerian Regt. Later with 2nd Royal Warwicks to which he afterwards returned as Lt Col. In 1923 posted to Baghdad, HQ Mesopotamia, as CO, Iraq Levies. After military service obtained a job with the Rover Car Company. DSO, MiD.

  21477 Henry DOOLEY 5.5 Pte, B Coy.

  Albert Victor DOWLING 15.3 (?–1923). 2nd Lt, 19 Platoon, D Coy. From Dalkey, Dublin. Previously at Ministry of Labour.

  20487 Allen DRANSFIELD 2.6 Pte, 8 Platoon, B Coy. Later, a Cpl with Labour Corps. MM.

  Francis John (‘Frank’) EARLES 25.11 (1887–1972). Capt., OC of D Coy. Born in Macclesfield. Educated at Modern School, and from 1905 at Grammar School (with Harrison and Mellor below) as a pupil-teacher. After Borough Road College, London, attended Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and joined OTC. By 1914 teaching in Liverpool. Comm. 12.1914. Adjutant. Temporary Capt., 2.1915. Severely wounded, 10.1916, and on ‘light duties’ until end of war. Married Charlie May’s widow, Bessie Maude on 19.5.1919. Moved, with stepdaughter Pauline, to Paris where he was general manager of Lipton’s Tea; returned to London and then to Birmingham where he obtained employment with Alfred Bird & Sons (Bird’s Eye). Died in Shorncliffe, Kent, and buried in Macclesfield. Commemorated on War Memorial now in King’s School, Macclesfield.