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42nd (East Lancashire) Division    42nd (East Lancashire) Division was a formation of the Territorial Force formed as a result of the reforms of the army carried out in 1908 under the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane and was one of 14 Divisions of the peacetime TF. All units were mobilised for full time war service on 5th of August 1914. 1914 The East Lancashire was the first Territorial Division to move overseas. The Division was warned on 5th of September 1914 that it would be sent to Egypt and four days later it began to embark at Southampton, the first transports sailing on 10 September. Disembarkation began at Alexandria on 25th of September, and with the exception of the Manchester Brigade concentrated around Cairo, where acclimatisation and further training commenced. The Manchester Brigade remained at Alexandria, sending one battalion to Khartoum and half a battalion to Cyprus, to garrison key military installations. Initially, Britain set out only to defend the Suez Canal from the Turkish troops that were massed in Palestine, and it was for this purpose that the East Lancashire Division was moved to the theatre. Detachments from the Division began to move to the Canal Zone in October 1914. The first clash in the Suez area occurred on 20 November 1914, when a patrol of the Bikanir Camel Corps met 200 Turk-controlled mounted Bedouin east of Kantara. 1915 By mid January 1915 the Turks were ready to advance, having assembled a force of two Divisions with another in reserve, plus assorted camel and horse units. This was not a big force, considering the scale of their ambition was to wrest Egypt from British control and score a strategic success by seizing the canal. The force took the central route across the Sinai desert, taking ten days to reach the canal zone, intending to capture Ismailia and therefore the critical drinking water supplies. British aircraft tracked their progress; on 28 January 1915 observers identified a large column of troops on the centre route. British and French ships entered the canal, and opened fire while infantry manned defensive positions. Patrols clashed on 2 February, but a sandstorm halted any further action until next day. Various units of the East Lancashire Division were engaged in defending against the Turk attack on 3 February 1915. Turkish attack on the Suez Canal Once this first threat had subsided, they remained in the Canal Zone, until ordered to reinforce the beleaguered garrison on Gallipoli. Gallipoli The East Lancashire Division began to embark at Alexandria on 1st of May 1915. The first transports left next day, and the last on 6 May. 14,224 men of the Division landed at Cape Helles. The Division was involved in three notable attempts to break out of the Helles bridgehead to capture the dominating heights around the village of Krithia. These attacks took place on 6-8 May (in which only the Lancashire Fusiliers Brigade of the Division took part), 4 June and 6-13 August. The last of these is known officially as the Battle of Krithia Vineyard, which gives some impression of the relatively small areas being so violently contested. It was undertaken not only to try to capture ground but to divert Turk attention from a large British landing further up the coast at Suvla Bay; an enterprise which failed and ultimately led to the decision to evacuate the hopeless position on Gallipoli. By mid August 1915 the East Lancashire Division, through battle casualties and sickness, was down to little more than one third of its normal establishment. It received reinforcement in the shape of men of the Yeomanry, fighting dismounted. The Division, along with all other units in the Helles bridgehead, made a successful withdrawal from Gallipoli by 8 January 1916. 1916 After a short stay on Mudros while sufficient shipping was made available and the army administration got on top of the flood of units coming to Egypt from Gallipoli, the Division returned to Alexandria. The Battle of Romani (4-5 August 1916) Further work was undertaken on the Suez Canal defences throughout the spring and summer of 1916. In early August 1916, the Lancashire Fusiliers and Manchester Brigades made a very long march under blazing sun, towards Romani where a short engagement took place in which the Turkish units were pushed back with heavy loss. The Brigades (of the by now retitled 42nd (East Lancashire) Division) had to wade and struggle through loose sand, and the physical effort was extreme. Many men collapsed. Romani was an important victory, because from there the British force pushed a railway and water line across the Sinai desert that would enable an assault with the intention of clearing Palestine. The East Lancs were involved as advance guards as the building moved forward as far as El Arish. However, a decision had been taken to restructure the force in Palestine, and in consequence the Division was ordered for the first time to the Western Front. All units embarked at Alexandria by the end of February 1917. 1917 On arrival and after being re-equipped for trench warfare in very different conditions to those the men had become accustomed to, the Division entered the line at Epehy, as part of III Corps in Fourth Army. They remained in this area, soon moving to Havrincourt where they remained until 8 July. These positions faced the formidable German Hindenburg Line in front of Cambrai. Through the rest of July and August, the Division carried out rest and training, in the area of Albert (on the old Somme battlefield of 1916). September 1917 saw a move north, to join the offensive at Ypres that had opened on 31 July. This is officially known as the Third Battle of Ypres, or more popularly, Passchendaele. Although the battle opened well it had soon become literally bogged down as Flanders endured the worst August weather for many years. September, however, was very warm and dry. During this time the British Second and Fifth Armies made a number of costly but successful "bite and hold" advances. The 42nd (East Lancashire) Division relieved 15th (Scottish) Division in XIX Corps of Fifth Army on the overcast day of 28 August. The Lancashire Fusiliers Brigade carried out an unsuccessful attack on 6 September, against strongly held German pillboxes at Iberian, Borry and Beck House Farms. The small amount of ground they captured was in fact given up next day. The 4th East Lancashires made an attack on a strongpoint called Sans Souci on 15 September. Later in the month, the Division moved to the Belgian coast at Nieuport. This was now a relatively quiet sector and it gave an opportunity for the Division to reorganise and assimilate many new drafts. The Division remained in this area until November, when relieved by a French Division, and moved to Givenchy, on the La Bassee Canal near Bethune. Givenchy was a notorious spot. Although the front line here had been static since late 1914, it had been constantly fought over and was in particular a place where underground mine warfare had been undertaken by both sides. The lines were made of the lips of many craters of mines that had been blown in 1915 and 1916. The Division was mostly used in the construction of concrete defence works (which, incidentally, were used to great advantage by the 55th (West Lancashire) Division in stemming a strong enemy attack here in April 1918. The 42nd (East Lancashire) Division then remained on the Western Front and took part in the following engagements: 1918 The Battle of Bapaume - Somme The First Battle of Arras - Somme The Battle of the Ancre - Somme The Battle of Albert - Somme The Second Battle of Bapaume - Somme The Battle of the Canal du Nord - Hindenburg Line The pursuit to the Selle - Hindenburg Line The Battle of the Selle, a phase of the Final Advance in Picardy The forward units of the Division were at Hautmont and across the River Sambre when the Arnistice brought fighting to an end at 1100 on 11 November 1918. Not selected to join the Army of Occupation, the Division was visited by King George V on 1st of December 1918. Units moved to the Charleroi area between 14th and 19th of December and demobilisation began. By midnight 15th/16th of March the units were down to their last cadres. The Division reformed as part of the Territorial Army in April 1920. The Units forming the divisional order of battle of the 42nd (East Lancashire)Division 125th (Lancashire Fusiliers) Brigade 1/5th Btn, Lancashire Fusiliers 1/6th Btn, Lancashire Fusiliers left February 1918 1/7th Btn, Lancashire Fusiliers 1/8th Btn, Lancashire Fusiliers 125th Machine Gun Company joined 4 March 1916, moved to 42nd Battalion MGC 25 February 1918 125th Trench Mortar Battery joined 26 March 1917 126th (East Lancashire) Brigade 1/4th Btn, East Lancashire Regiment left February 1918 1/5th Btn, East Lancashire Regiment 1/9th Btn, Manchester Regiment left February 1918 1/10th Btn, Manchester Regiment 123rd Machine Gun Company joined 14 March 1916, moved to 42nd Battalion MGC 23 Feb 1918 123rd Trench Mortar Battery joined 26 March 1917 1/8th Bn, the Manchester Regiment joined from 127th Brigade February 1918 127th (Manchester) Brigade 1/5th Btn, Manchester Regiment 1/6th Btn, Manchester Regiment 1/7th Btn, Manchester Regiment 1/8th Btn, Manchester Regiment left for 126th Brigade February 1918 127th Machine Gun Company joined 14 March 1916, moved to 42nd Battalion MGC 23 Feb 1918 127th Trench Mortar Battery joined 26 March 1917 Divisional Troops under direct command of Divisional HQ 268th Machine Gun Company joined 20 January 1918, moved to 42nd Battalion MGC 23 Feb 1918 1/7th Btn, Northumberland Fusiliers joined as Divisional Pioneers 12 February 1918 42nd Battalion MGC formed 23 February 1918 42nd Divisional Train ASC retitled from the East Lancashire Divisional Transport and Supply Column on 17 January 1916, and the units also retitled as 447, 448, 449 and 450 Companies ASC. Remained in Egypt when the Division moved to France and was transferred to 53rd (Welsh) Division). replaced in France by 428, 429, 430 and 431 Companies ASC which joined at Pont Remy on 4 March 1917 19th Mobile Veterinary Section AVC 239th Divisional Employment Company joined 1 June 1917 Divisional Mounted Troops under direct command of Divisional HQ A Sqn, Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry embarked with Division but remained in Egypt, did not go to Gallipoli, left 29 January 1917 Divisional Artillery CCX Brigade, RFA CCXI Brigade, RFA CCXII Brigade, RFA broken up 21 February 1917 CXCIII (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA broken up 26 December 1916 2nd Lancashire Heavy Battery, RGA a battery of four 4.7-inch guns which left the Division and moved independently to France, joining XVI HA Brigade RGA on 15 February 1916 42nd Divisional Ammunition Column RFA V.42 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery, RFA joined 23 March 1917; left for I Corps 3 February 1918 X.42, Y.42 and Z.42 Medium Mortar Batteries, RFA joined 23 March 1917; on 3 February 1918, Z broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each Royal Engineers 427th (1st East Lancashire) Field Company 428th (2nd East Lancashire) Field Company 420th (2nd West Lancashire) Company joined August 1915, left June 1916 429th (3rd East Lancashire) Field Company joined July 1916 42nd (East Lancashire) Divisional Signals Company Royal Army Medical Corps 1st East Lancashire Field Ambulance 2nd East Lancashire Field Ambulance 3rd East Lancashire Field Ambulance 22nd Sanitary Section joined 9 February 1916, left for XIX Corps 19 April 1917 1st May 1915 Preparations 2nd May 1915 Orders 4th May 1915 On the Move 5th May 1915 On the Move 6th May 1915 Rations 7th May 1915 Orders 8th May 1915 Attack Made 9th May 1915 Shelling 10th May 1915 Bivouac 18th May 1915 New Bivouac 21st May 1915 Move 22nd May 1915 In the Trenches 23rd May 1915 Rescue 24th May 1915 Advance 25th May 1915 Reliefs 26th May 1915 Orders Recieved 27th May 1915 Attachments 29th May 1915 On the Move 1st Jun 1915 Coys Rejoin 1st June 1915 Orders 2nd June 1915 Medical Evacuation Arrangements 3rd Jun 1915 In Reserve 3rd June 1915 Orders 4th Jun 1915 Heavy Shelling 4th June 1915 Hard Fighting 5th Jun 1915 Fightin Ongoing 5th June 1915 Clearing Casualties 7th Jun 1915 Attack Made 9th Jun 1915 Into the Line 12th Jun 1915 Reliefs 13th of June 1915 Troop movements 13th Jun 1915 In Reserve 15th Jun 1915 Reliefs 18th Jun 1915 Attack Made 22nd Jun 1915 Reliefs 29th Jun 1915 Heavy Shelling 2nd Jul 1915 Into Trenches 7th Jul 1915 Reliefs 9th Jul 1915 Into the Line 12th Jul 1915 Recconaissance 13th Jul 1915 In the Line 14th Jul 1915 Reliefs 16th Jul 1915 Change of Command 18th Jul 1915 Reliefs 23rd Jul 1915 Reinforcements 6th Aug 1915 Preparations for Attack 7th Aug 1915 Attachment 7th Aug 1915 Attack Made 7th Aug 1915 Machine Guns 8th Aug 1915 In the Trenches 8th Aug 1915 Into Positions 8th Aug 1915 Orders 9th Aug 1915 Heavy Fire 9th Aug 1915 Messages of Congratulation 9th Aug 1915 Casualties 10th Aug 1915 Reorganisation 12th Aug 1915 Shelling 13th Aug 1915 Bombing Party 18th Aug 1915 Award 19th Aug 1915 Bivouac 26th Aug 1915 Award 30th Aug 1915 Gallant Work 9th Sep 1915 Training 10th Sep 1915 Award 11th Sep 1915 Congratulations 12th Sep 1915 Training Camp 18th Sep 1915 Move 19th Sep 1915 Sickness 30th Sep 1915 Change of Command 1st Oct 1915 In Reserve 6th Oct 1915 In Reserve 7th Oct 1915 Postings 8th Oct 1915 Rain 9th Oct 1915 Bivouac 10th Oct 1915 Bivouac 14th Oct 1915 Reorganisation 16th Oct 1915 Party Returns 18th Oct 1915 Poor Weather 19th Oct 1915 CO Killed 22nd Oct 1915 Bad Weather 23rd Oct 1915 Enemy Active 26th Oct 1915 Reinforcements 29th Oct 1915 Relief Complete 31st Oct 1915 Reliefs 12th Nov 1915 Reliefs 13th Nov 1915 Bombing 15th Nov 1915 Storm 16th Nov 1915 Counter Attack 17th Nov 1915 Storm 18th Nov 1915 Enemy Aircraft 19th Nov 1915 Enemy Active 23rd Nov 1915 Enemy Active 24th Nov 1915 Shelling 25th Nov 1915 Shelling 26th Nov 1915 Reliefs 27th Nov 1915 Terrible Weather 27th Nov 1915 Working Parties 28th Nov 1915 Working Parties 29th Nov 1915 Hard Frost 30th Nov 1915 Working Parties 1st Dec 1915 Working Parties 2nd Dec 1915 Working Parties 3rd Dec 1915 Working Parties 4th Dec 1915 Working Parties 5th Dec 1915 Working Parties 6th Dec 1915 Working Parties 7th Dec 1915 Working Parties 8th Dec 1915 Working Parties 9th Dec 1915 Working Parties 10th Dec 1915 Shelling 11th Dec 1915 Holding the Line 12th Dec 1915 Quiet 13th Dec 1915 Patrols 15th Dec 1915 Trench Work 17th Dec 1915 Trench Work 18th Dec 1915 Trench Work 19th Dec 1915 Mines Exploded 21st Dec 1915 Heavy Rain 24th Dec 1915 Reliefs 27th Dec 1915 Orders 28th Dec 1915 Orders 29th Dec 1915 On the Move 30th Dec 1915 In Camp 31st Dec 1915 In Camp 1st March 1916 Reliefs 20th Apr 1916 Training 21st Apr 1916 Reinforcements 25th Apr 1916 Training 1st May 1916 Training 9th May 1916 Training 19th May 1916 Training 22nd May 1916 Training 31st May 1916 Training 3rd Jun 1916 Training 4th Jun 1916 Training 7th Jun 1916 Training 17th Jun 1916 Training 18th Jun 1916 Training 20th Jun 1916 On the Move 21st Jun 1916 On the Move 22nd Jun 1916 Reliefs 23rd Jun 1916 Outposts 21st July 1916 B.G.C. returned from Alexandria 23rd Jul 1916 Defence Work 25th Jul 1916 Reliefs 26th Jul 1916 On the March 27th Jul 1916 On the March 28th Jul 1916 Equipment 4th Aug 1916 On the March 7th Aug 1916 Prisoners 8th Aug 1916 On the Move 9th Aug 1916 Salvage 10th Aug 1916 Outposts 11th Aug 1916 Training 12th Aug 1916 Training 13th Aug 1916 Training 14th Aug 1916 Training 18th Aug 1916 Outposts 20th Aug 1916 Outposts 29th Aug 1916 Innoculations 31st Aug 1916 Training 1st Sep 1916 Training 8th Sep 1916 Training 9th Sep 1916 On the March 10th Sep 1916 On the March 11th Sep 1916 In the Line 12th Sep 1916 Outposts 13th Sep 1916 Outposts 14th Sep 1916 Outposts 15th of September 1916    15th Sep 1916 Outposts 16th Sep 1916 Outposts 17th Sep 1916 Outposts 21st Sep 1916 Reliefs 22nd Sep 1916 In Reserve 24th Sep 1916 In Reserve 30th Sep 1916 In Reserve 1st Oct 1916 Duties 2nd Oct 1916 Reliefs 3rd Oct 1916 Holding the Line 4th Oct 1916 Holding the Line 5th Oct 1916 Holding the Line 9th Oct 1916 Defences 10th Oct 1916 Holding the Line 12th Oct 1916 Orders 13th Oct 1916 On the Move 15th Oct 1916 Musketry 16th Oct 1916 Route March 17th Oct 1916 Training 18th Oct 1916 Training 19th Oct 1916 Training 22nd Oct 1916 Reliefs 23rd Oct 1916 Musketry 24th Oct 1916 Reliefs 25th Oct 1916 On the March 26th Oct 1916 Orders Recieved 27th Oct 1916 Reliefs 28th Oct 1916 Holding the Line 30th Oct 1916 Holding the Line 31st Oct 1916 Air Raid 9th Nov 1916 On the March 10th Nov 1916 On the March 11th Nov 1916 Outposts 12th Nov 1916 Outposts 13th Nov 1916 Visit 28th Nov 1916 Cleanliness 14th Dec 1916 Exercise 16th Dec 1916 Orders 17th Dec 1916 Orders 20th Dec 1916 On the March 21st Dec 1916 On the March 1st Mar 1917 On the Move 2nd Mar 1917 On the Move 3rd Mar 1917 Quayside 4th Mar 1917 On the Move 5th Mar 1917 Inspection 6th Mar 1917 Inspections 7th Mar 1917 Escort 8th Mar 1917 Rough Weather 9th Mar 1917 Rough Weather 10th Mar 1917 Threat 11th Mar 1917 Arrival 12th Mar 1917 On the Move 13th Mar 1917 On the Move 14th Mar 1917 On the Move 15th of March 1917  4th Apr 1917 Orders 7th Apr 1917 On the Move   8th Apr 1917 Transport   9th Apr 1917 Demonstration   10th Apr 1917 Training   11th Apr 1917 On the March   12th Apr 1917 Snow   13th Apr 1917 Training   14th Apr 1917 Training   15th Apr 1917 Training   16th Apr 1917 Preparations   17th Apr 1917 On the March   18th Apr 1917 Dangers   19th Apr 1917 Working Parties   20th Apr 1917 Orders   21st Apr 1917 Working Parties   23rd Apr 1917 Reliefs   24th Apr 1917 Attack Made   25th Apr 1917 Attack Made   27th Apr 1917 Reliefs   28th Apr 1917 Reliefs   29th Apr 1917 Change of Billets 30th Apr 1917 Shelling 5th May 1917 Reliefs   6th May 1917 Reliefs   7th May 1917 Trench Work   8th May 1917 Attack Made   9th May 1917 Reliefs   10th May 1917 Working Parties   11th May 1917 Working Parties   12th May 1917 Orders   13th May 1917 Reliefs   14th May 1917 Trench Work   15th May 1917 Identification   16th May 1917 Working Parties   17th May 1917 Reliefs   18th May 1917 Inspection 19th May 1917 On the March   20th May 1917 On the March   21st May 1917 In Billets   22nd May 1917 Reliefs   26th May 1917 Reliefs   27th May 1917 Observation Post   28th May 1917 Patrols   29th May 1917 Patrols   30th May 1917 Trench Work   30th May 1917 Trench Work   31st May 1917 Patrols   1st Jun 1917 Patrols   2nd Jun 1917 Position Occupied   3rd Jun 1917 Trench Work   5th Jun 1917 Reliefs   7th Jun 1917 Working Parties   8th Jun 1917 Working Parties   11th Jun 1917 Working Parties   12th Jun 1917 Moves   13th Jun 1917 Working Parties   14th Jun 1917 Working Parties   15th Jun 1917 Working Parties   16th Jun 1917 Reliefs   17th Jun 1917 Award   18th Jun 1917 In Billets   21st Jun 1917 Reliefs   23rd Jun 1917 Trench Work   24th Jun 1917 Working Parties   25th Jun 1917 Reliefs   26th Jun 1917 In the Trenches   27th Jun 1917 Patrols   28th Jun 1917 Patrols   29th Jun 1917 Trench Work   30th Jun 1917 Trench Raid   1st Jul 1917 Patrols   2nd Jul 1917 Gas Shells   3rd Jul 1917 Shelling   30th Jul 1917 42nd Divisional Sports   31st Jul 1917 Training   3rd Aug 1917 Church Parade 9th Aug 1917 Training 10th Aug 1917 Very Wet Day 16th Aug 1917 Training 18th Aug 1917 Orders Issued 19th Aug 1917 Training 21st Aug 1917 On the Move 29th Aug 1917 Orders 30th Aug 1917 Training 1st September 1917 Back to Ypres 22nd Sep 1917 On the Move 24th Dec 1917 Reorganisation 21st Jan 1918 Course 5th Feb 1918 Course Ends 10th of February 1918 Orders 11th of February 1918 Canadian Raid Postponed   12th of February 1918  13th Feb 1918 Personnel 21st Feb 1918 Reorganisation 28th of February 1918 Divisional Defence Scheme   1918-03-01 Sectors Defined   25th March 1918 Enemy Attack 29th Mar 1918 Orders 29th March 1918 Outpost positions 30th Mar 1918 Relief Completed 31st of March 1918 Relief Completed   1st April 1918 In Front Line 6th Apr 1918 Reliefs   17th Apr 1918 Reliefs 19th of August 1918 Advanced Brigades to Move   21st of August 1918  Division Advances   22nd of August 1918 A New Objective   24th of August 1918  5th Division Co-operates   29th of August 1918 Enemy Evacuate Town   3rd Sep 1918 On the March   6th Sep 1918 On the March   8th Sep 1918 Heavy Rain 18th Sep 1918 Stand To 27th Sep 1918 Attack Made 27th Sep 1918 In Action   30th of September 1918  Divisional Relief   2nd Oct 1918 Bravery Recognised 8th of October 1918 New Area   12th Oct 1918 On the March 18th Oct 1918 Reliefs 18th of October 1918  Gas Shelling    19th Oct 1918 Preparations   20th Oct 1918 Attack Made   20th Oct 1918 In Action 20th of October 1918    21st Oct 1918 Heavy Shelling   22nd of October 1918 Advance to Resume   23rd of October 1918 Heavy Bombardment 2nd of November 1918   Warning of Advance   6th Nov 1918 Heavy Fighting 11th of November 1918 Armistice and a Report   31st December 1918 Chapter 6. The Final Battles. If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Want to know more about 42nd (East Lancashire) Division? There are:360 items tagged 42nd (East Lancashire) Division available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War. Those known to have served with 42nd (East Lancashire) Division during the Great War 1914-1918. Clough Fletcher. Dmr. 1/5th Btn. (d.9th Jun 1915) Hargreaves Thomas. 2nd Lt. 8th Btn. Kay George. Pte. 2nd East Lancashire Field Ambulance McGurk Bernard. Pte. 125th Coy. (d.6th Sep 1917) Pinder Rennie M.. Pte, 5th Btn. All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website. 1st of September 2023 marks 24 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time. Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the Great War? Our Library contains many many diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. Looking for help with Family History Research?    Please see Family History FAQ's Please note: We are unable to provide individual research. Can you help? The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation. Announcements 22nd April 2024     Please note we currently have a massive backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 263973 your submission is still in the queue, please do not resubmit. Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to the Great War. If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted. We are now on Facebook. Like this page to receive our updates, add a comment or ask a question. If you have a general question please post it on our Facebook page. World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great battalion regiment artillery Did you know? We also have a section on World War Two. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations. 262430 2nd Lt. Thomas Hargreaves 8th Btn. Manchester Regiment Thomas Hargreaves enlisted with his brother Harold Hargreaves in the 1/9th (Ashton Pals) Battalion, Manchester Regiment and sailed to Egypt in September 1914 as part of the 42nd Division. On 10th of May 1915, the battalion landed at Seddul Bahr during the Dardanelles campaign. Thomas was a sergeant in H Company of the battalion and on 24th of June 1915 was wounded by shrapnel from Turkish shelling whilst digging a communications trench. Several of Thomas's friends were killed or wounded, and he received wounds to the left hand. Thomas saw action at the Helles Bridgehead and the battle of Krithia Vineyard in Gallipoli in 1915. He was evacuated with the rest of the 42nd Division in December 1915 and, due to casualties reducing the division to a third of its strength, was tasked with defending the Suez Canal. In March 1917, the 1/9th Battalion landed at Marseilles and proceeded to the Western Front. Thomas saw action at the battles of Passchendaele, Nieuport, and Cambrai. In January 1918, Thomas was transferred to the 8th Battalion, Manchester Regiment and commissioned to the rank of second lieutenant as part of the 126th (East Lancashire) Brigade. He was demobilised in March 1919. He was awarded the Victory Medal, the British War Medal, and the 1915 Star. Dave Dimelow Add to this record. 258508 Pte, Rennie M. Pinder 5th Btn. East Lancashire Regiment I found a 1914-15 Star in my family's possessions. Rennie Pinder not a known relative. He is listed on the Burnley Roll of Honour. Thomas J Speers Add to this record. 218383 Dmr. Fletcher Clough 1/5th Btn. East Lancashire Regiment (d.9th Jun 1915) Fletcher Clough served with the 1/5th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment during WW1 and died of wounds on the 9th June 1915, age 16. He is buried in the East Mudros Military Cemetery on the island of Lemnos in Greece. He was the son of Henry and Annie Clough, of 85, Keswick Rd., Blackpool. S Flynn Add to this record. 216536 Pte. Bernard McGurk 125th Coy. Machine Gun Corps (d.6th Sep 1917) Bernard McGurk, Private 68572, served with 125th Company, Machine Gun Corps and died on the 6th September 1917. He is remembered at St. Paul's Church and is buried at Aeroplane Cemetery. His medal card shows the award of the War and Victory Medals. Bernard was born in Jarrow 1893, son of the late Patrick and Maria McGurk nee Timney of 45 Caledonian Road, Jarrow. In the 1911 census the family is living at that address with Maria(52) widow who had been married for 25 years, had 9 childen of whom 7 survived. Four are still single and living at home. Bernard(20) a shipbuilding clerk, Joseph(16) a boilermaker in shipping, Florence is 15, at home and Edmund(10) is at school. Maria's sister Eliza (56) is recorded as a visitor. Vin Mullen Add to this record.

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