CORPORAL SYDNEY HARTLEY LIPTROT
1/5th Battalion Manchester Regiment
Service Number: 201627
Died: 12th September 1918
Cemetery: Manchester Cemetery, Riencourt- les- Bapaume, France
Sydney was a single man, who lived with his parents James Arthur and Elizabeth Liptrot at 14 Enfield Street Pemberton. His father James worked as a slater. Sometime in the later months of 1917 Sydney enlisted. He joined the 1/5th Battalion Manchester Regiment. As mentioned elsewhere this Battalion was the local territorial unit. The Battalion had suffered badly, mainly in the Gallipoli campaign. From 1916 onwards a large recruitment campaign was launched, trying to attract more local men.
The 1/5th Battalion were part of 126th Brigade, 42nd Division. On completion of all his training Sydney most likely arrived in France sometime during the summer of 1918. In August 1918 the Allies were advancing towards the Hindenburg line. On the 30th August 1918 the Division pushed through Bapaume and Thilloy. It was reported by prisoners that were taken, that the Germans had been told to keep hold of the village of Riencourt at all costs. Riencourt was a small village a couple of kilometres to the south east of Bapaume. Following some costly battles the Division captured the village on the 31st August.
On capturing what was left of the village Divisional headquarters were set up in a captured ammunition dump. In 16 days from the 21st August to September 5th the Division had advanced 15 miles towards the Hindenburg line. On the 12th September the 1/5th Battalion relieved the 18th Kings Royal Rifle Corps in the support trenches, where they were supporting the 16th Australian Infantry Battalion. They were located in the Havrincourt area. According to the war diary for that day " It was a quiet day, 1 other rank died of wounds." Unfortunately that was Sidney, it is most likely his wounds were caused by shell fire. We can assume Sydney was taken to Divisional Headquarters at Riencourt where a casualty clearing centre had been set up. It was here that he died from his wounds. He was 22 years of age. Sydney was laid to rest in the Manchester Cemetery Riencourt-les-Bapaume in France.
PRIVATE WILLIAM LIPTROT
2nd Battalion Royal Marines
Service Number: CH/1443/S
Died: 28th April 1917
Commemorated on : Arras Memorial, France
William was a single man, the son of the late Henry and Ann Liptrot of Fairfield House Warrington Road. His next of kin is listed as his sister Elizabeth Ann of 30 Ormskirk Road Newtown. Before his enlistment William worked as a clerk at John White and co, at Brook Mill. William was well known in the local area, as he was also a teacher at St Matthews Sunday School. On the 31st January 1916 he enlisted into the Royal Marine Light Infantry. The Marines not only had to be first rate Infantrymen but also first rate Mariners also.
He went to Deal in Kent to conduct his basic training. He then moved to the Royal Naval depot at Blandford in Dorset for further training. On the 15th March 1917 William joined the 2nd Royal Marine Battalion as a signaller, finally linking up with them in France on the 9th April. The Battalion were situated around the Arras area of Northern France. On the 23rd April the Royal Naval Division was about to conduct its largest battle to date. The Battalion was to attack the small village of Gavrelle approximately 4 miles to the north east of Arras. This attack on the 23rd April was a success. Most of its objectives were taken, except a strongpoint to the north of the village. The high ground on which a windmill stood was still in German hands, and the advance had to be halted. The Germans regarded this geographical feature more than the village itself. This sets the scene as to what was to happen on the 28th April 1917.
On the 28th the attack commenced at 4.25am, one platoon of the 2nd Battalion was assigned to take the windmill, the three remaining platoons were to take over a group of unfinished trenches. It was reported at 7.25am that the first objectives, the windmill and the first line of trenches had been taken. At 0830 it was reported that all objectives had been met, at a huge cost. The casualty figures were huge, witnesses and prisoners both reported at the brutality of the close quarter fighting that had taken place. The support Battalion had failed to secure the flank of the 2nd Battalion, leaving them dangerousley exposed. The enemy constantly counter attacked all day. By a combination of Artillery and brave fighting they were beaten off time and again. Eventually that night they were relieved by a Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment.
At what stage of this brutal battle William died is not known. He was originally posted as missing, but in October 1917 he was confirmed as being killed. The Royal Marines suffered a total of 846 casualties of which 335 were killed. This still, to this day, is the largest amount of casualties suffered in one day by the Royal Marines. He was 24 years of age when he died. William is commemorated on the Arras Memorial France. His body was never recovered.
PRIVATE THOMAS LOWE
2nd Canadian Field Ambulance
Service Number: 33105
Died: 14th November 1917
Cemetery: Pemberton St John's Wigan
Thomas was a married man, who lived with his wife Mary and their two children at 40 Tunstall Lane. Before his marriage he lived with his parents James and Lydia Lowe at 312 Warrington Road Goose Green. His father James worked at Pemberton collieries as a Railway Engine Driver. Like his father Thomas also worked at Pemberton collieries where he worked as a labourer. At some point around 1910 Thomas and his family emigrated to Canada. We do not know exactly where but it is most likely around the Toronto area.
Shortly after war broke out Thomas enlisted into the Canadian Army Medical Corps. I suspect Thomas lied about his age on his attestation papers. He claimed to be 29 years of age, when in actual fact he was 34 years of age. At this time there was an age limit in the Canadian Army, it would appear Thomas thought he would have been too old. Quite why Thomas was so eager to enlist is not known. His family also returned to England at around this time.
Thomas was sent to Valcartier, a brand new training base in Quebec, where the first contingent of Canadian soldiers were concentrated. A total of 32000 soldiers went through Valcartier in the first few weeks of Canada entering the war. Thomas joined the 2nd Canadian Field Ambulance. They were attatched to the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion. On the 17th October 1915 the Field Ambulance arrived in Plymouth, the following day they left for Salisbury Plain to begin extensive training.
On the 16th February they left Avonmouth bound for Dunkirk, following a particulary rough Channel crossing, where it was reported a great many of the men were violently sea sick. Following a few weeks of further familiarization training, they moved up to the Ypres area. At the end of April 1915 they had set up a casualty clearing centre at Vlamertinghe, where as the war diary states "casualties where coming in fast". In the coming months they had long spells in France. Then in April 1916 they found themselves back in familiar territory at Vlamertinghe. The war diary around this time states "Not a day passes without being under shell fire". Some days as many as 300 shells rained down upon them.
On the 24th June 1916 it was reported that Thomas had been evacuated to a casualty clearing centre at Remy. He was reported as suffering from shell shock. Not a lot was known about this condition in the First World War, symptoms ranged from loss of appetite, depression, nightmares, insomnia, muscle contractions, paralysis. Nobody really knew how to treat cases of shell shock, apart from removing them from the front line. Thomas was eventually returned to England in October 1916. It was reported that there was great hope for him, but in the final couple of months of his life his condition had worsened and he was becoming really weak. On the 14th November 1917 Thomas died, he was 36 years of age. He was laid to rest at Pemberton St John's.
LANCE CORPORAL HENRY MONKS
D Battalion Tank Corps
Service Number: 200759
Died: 20th November 1917
Cemetery: Flesquires Hill British Cemetery, France
Henry was a single man who lived with his parents George and Annie Monks at 91 Billinge Road Pemberton. His father George worked as an assistant in an Insurance society. Originally Henry was a member of the territorial force, serving with the Royal Field Artillery. He may have served overseas with the Royal Field Artillery but unfortunately we do not know. However at some point he transfered to the newly formed Tank Corps. It would appear he transfered around December 1916.
Tanks were heralded as the new wonder weapon that were going to change the war. In reality it did not happen. However as technical advances were made, the tanks performances were improved. The tank crews themselves had to endure atrocious conditions inside the tank, heat, noise and exhaust fumes plus extreme violent movements as the tank moved over the uneven ground, men were frequently were incapacitated even over short journeys. Also with a top speed of only 4mph, the Infantry advanced quicker. Tanks were manned by a crew of eight men, an Officer, 4 machine gunners, and 3 drivers. Following the disastrous time tanks had endured, during the Passchendaele campaign, mainly owing to the mud. It was vitally important that the Tank Corps proved itself.
A plan was drawn up to break the Hindenburg line, allowing the Infantry to consolidate the gains, that would be made. The area around the Cambrai sector was chosen because it was considered to be good ground, not too disturbed by previous battles, and slightly undulating to give enough cover. A quite remarkable feat of logistics had to be achieved, to try to keep it quiet from the enemy. A total of 36 train loads of tanks were brought up to the sector, also the huge amount of fuel and ammunition required were also brought forward. The tanks themselves were hidden in woods and camouflaged. A grand total of 378 machines were to be used.
Henry and his fellow tankies from D Battalion were to attack Flesquires Ridge, they were attatched to the 51st Highland Division. At 4.30 on the morning of the 20th November 1917 the enemy's artillery started up. Panic set in amongst the British leadership at the final hour they thought their plans had been discovered. Thankfully after 30 minutes the shelling stopped. At 6am along a six mile front, all the tanks were in position. a thick mist that had descended also helped. At 6.10am the tanks moved forward.
Unfortunately for D Battalion they encountered the fiercest resistance from the German Artillery, out of a total of 35 tanks from D Battalion, 22 of them became casualties, 8 of them were direct hits and destroyed totally. However elsewhere the overall result was good. The Hindenburg line was broken. The advance was approximately 7 kilometres deep and 12 kilometres wide. The battle of Cambrai had been a success, and probably changed the face of warfare forever. At what point of the battle Henry was killed we do not know. He was 26 years of age. Henry was laid to rest in Flesquires Hill British Cemetery.
LANCE CORPORAL HERBERT PARKES
16th Battalion Manchester Regiment
Service Number: 35503
Died: 18th June 1917
Cemetery: Perth Cemetery (China Wall), Belgium
Herbert was a single man, who lived with his parents John and Eliza Parkes at 276 Billinge Road Pemberton. Prior to his enlistment in April 1916 Herbert worked as a collier at Pemberton Collieries. A very popular local man he was well known as a keen crown green bowler. Herbert enlisted into the Manchester Regiment. Following his training he joined the 16th Battalion, who were also known as the 1st Manchester Pals Battalion. It is estimated he joined them towards the end of 1916. He would have been a replacement for the huge losses the Battalion suffered during the Battle of the Somme. The 16th Manchester Battalion were part of 90th Brigade, 30th Division.
In April 1917 the Battalion were heavily involved in the Battle of Arras. After three weeks constant fighting with the enemy, the Battalion were down to about 100 men. Following this battle there was no let up for them, they were sent to the dreaded Ypres salient. Every Regiment in the British Army at some point had to endure the hell of the Ypres salient. On the 14th June 1917 they took over trenches from the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, in the Hooge sector, a notorious sector a couple of miles to the east of Ypres. The relief being completed by 6am on the 15th June
It was a particulary nasty time for the Battalion, constant Artillery and the German Air Force where very active in the area. On the 18th June the war diary states "An enemy shell landed on part of a trench were the 16th Manchesters were, killing one man and wounding two others" That man was Herbert. He was 27 years of age. Herbert was laid to rest in Perth Cemetery (China Wall).
PRIVATE THOMAS PARKINSON
7th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders
Service Number: S/24978
Died: 17th April 1918
Cemetery: Haringhe(Bandagaghem) Military Cemetery Belgium
WORK IN PROGRESS
PRIVATE PETER PEET
11th Battalion Manchester Regiment
Service Number: 24847
Died: 16th August 1917
Commemorated: Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium
Peter was a married man. He married Alice Daniels at Pemberton St Johns in 1909. They had one child and lived at 170 Enfield Street Pemberton. He was the son of Robert and Harriet Peet of 28 Queen Street Pemberton. According to the 1901 census Peter, aged 12, was working at Pemberton collieries a below ground pony driver. Peter continued working at the colliery until he enlisted into the Army in June 1915, joining the Manchester Regiment.
On completion of his training Peter joined up with his Battalion, the 11th Battalion Manchester Regiment part of 34th Brigade, 11th Northern Division in Egypt on the 23rd December 1915. Following a torrid time in Gallipoli the survivors joined up with their replacements in Egypt to train together to get back to being an effective fighting force. They had a reasonably quiet time in Egypt, however it was reported that on Christmas day enemy aircraft dropped bombs on the base, causing minimal damage. In the ensuing months in Egypt with a few skirmishes with the Turks training continued. In early June 1916 the Battalion left Egypt bound for France via Malta. On the 9th July they landed in Marseille. Then after various forms of transportation and route marches, they arrived in the Arras sector for their first stint in the trenches of the Western Front. Here they were to remain until September 1916 when they moved to the Somme sector. They were involved in a lot of heavy action in the seven months they had spent in this area.
In May 1917 they entered the dreaded Ypres salient for the first time. In August 1917 Peter was granted leave. He arrived back with his Battalion on August 15th, just as they were preparing to take part in the Battle of Langemarck. On the 16th August, one day after returning from leave, the Battalion crossed the Steenbeek near Langemarck, a small town to the north east of Ypres. Crossing the Steenbeek had proved hazardous with the enemy sweeping the ground with Artillery fire, also the dreadful condition of the ground. It was reported that it resembled a morass.
At 12am. The Battalion having carried out its orders, were lying in wait for a Battalion of Northumberland Fusiliers to capture a position known as the green line. At 6.30 the Battalion moved forward to catch up with the creeping barrage being laid by the Artillery, unfortunately the Fusiliers with whom the 11th Manchesters were to leapfrog had still not taken their objective. Also the 48th Division on its right hand side had not caught up. The 11th Manchesters were by now coming under heavy machine gun and rifle fire. They managed to advance slowly, but owing to the weakness of the position, a defensive line was formed. The enemy mounted a fierce counter attack, which was beaten off. During this battle over 70 prisoners were taken, but their own losses were heavy. The casualty total was 52 killed, 170 wounded, and 20 reported missing.
One of those men killed was Peter. It was reported he was killed by a sniper. He was 27 years of age. Peters body was never recovered. He is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial.
PRIVATE EDWARD HARRIS POWELL
8th Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment
Service Number: 40651
Died: 4th June 1917
Cemetery:Boulogne East Cemetery, France
Edward was a single man, who was living mother Catherine Powell at 472 Ormskirk Road Pemberton. His deceased father Joseph was originally from Mold in North Wales. They came to settle in the area due to Joseph being a collier. Edward was known as Teddie by all his family and friends. Following the death of his father, the family converted the family home into a grocery store. Teddie was a joiner being employed by Messrs Bickerstaffe and Waterworth of Wigan.
He enlisted into the Royal Field Artillery in September 1916, but shortly afterwards transferred into the York and Lancaster Regiment. Teddie joined the 8th Battalion part of 70th Brigade, 23rd Division. He joined the Battalion on the western front, on the 16th January 1917. He would have had a few months to settle within the Battalion, before his first major action. The Allies had drawn up a plan to take over the high ground to the south east of Ypres
The Battle of Messines Ridge was to be most notable for the use of mines. A total of 19 mines were to be planted and detonated under the German positions on the Messines Ridge. Sometime in May, the 23rd Division took up positions in the northernmost part of the battlefield in the area of the notorious Hill 60. The battle was due to start on the 7th June, but in the weeks leading up to the battle the allies launched a huge Artillery bombardment. In turn the enemy replied with their own bombardment.
During one of these bombardments, on the 28th May 1917, Teddie was fatally wounded suffering wounds to his lung and face. He was passed down the line. Finally he reached one of the large hospitals in Bolougne. Unfortunately one week after recieving his wounds, on the 4th June 1917 Teddie died. He was 29 years of age. Teddie was laid to rest in Bolougne East Cemetery.
