5th Battalion, Manchester Regiment
4th Lancashire RVC 1st Volunteer Bn, Manchester Regiment 5th Bn, Manchester Regiment 111th (Manchester) Regiment, RAC 652 (5th Bn Manchester Regiment) HAA Regiment, RA | |
---|---|
Active | 21 January 1860 – 30 June 1955 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Volunteer Force/Territorial Force |
Role | Infantry Armour Air defence |
Size | 1–3 Infantry battalions Armoured regiment Air defence regiment |
Part of | 127th (Manchester) Brigade |
Garrison/HQ | Wigan |
Engagements | |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Nathaniel Eckersley Sir Henry Darlington, KCB, CMG, TD |
The 21st (Wigan) Lancashire Rifle Volunteers, later the 5th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, was a unit of Britain's
Volunteer Force
The enthusiasm for the
- 46th (6th (1st Manchester) Lancashire RVCwhen the 4th Admin Bn was formed
- 55th (Leigh) Lancashire RVC, formed as a sub-division on 3 March 1860, increased to a full company in June; joined the 4th Admin Bn in October 1861
- 60th (Atherton) Lancashire RVC, formed as one company on 6 March 1860; joined the 4th Admin Bn in October 1861
- 67th (Worsley) Lancashire RVC, formed as one company on 7 May 1860
- 76th (Farnworth) Lancashire RVC, formed as one company on 3 July 1860
- 91st (Flixton) Lancashire RVC, formed as one company on 14 August 1872
The headquarters (HQ) of the 4th Admin Bn moved to Manchester in 1862, to Wigan by the beginning of 1877, and back to Manchester in 1879. From 16 March 1865 the battalion was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Mather, a former
After a period attached to the 8th (Bury) Lancashire RVC, the 21st (Wigan) Lancashire RVC also joined the 4th Admin Bn in 1869, and Eckersley became one of the battalion's majors the following year. The 21st expanded to five companies during the 1870s.[8][9] When the Volunteers were consolidated into larger units in 1880, the 4th Admin Bn became the 21st Lancashire RVC on 6 March, taking the number of its senior subunit, but renumbered as the 4th Lancashire RVC on 3 September the same year, with the following organisation:[6][8]
- A to E Companies at Wigan – ex 21st RVC
- F Company at Swinton – ex No 1 Company, 46th RVC
- G Company at Eccles – ex No 2 Company, 46th RVC
- H Company at Leigh – ex 55th RVC
- J Company at Atherton – ex 60th RVC
- K Company at Worsley – ex 67th RVC
- L and M Companies at Farnworth – ex 76th RVC
- N Company at Flixton – ex 91st RVC
By now Lt-Col Chambers had become the battalion's honorary colonel, and with so many companies the unit was entitled to two lieutenant-colonels, of whom James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford, a former Ensign in the Grenadier Guards and MP for Wigan, was the senior, and his brother-in-law Arthur Bootle-Wilbraham (grandson of the 1st Lord Skelmersdale and father of the 5th Lord), a former Ensign in the Coldstream Guards, was the junior.[9][10][11] Throughout this period of time, the battalion, like many other Volunteer Battalions had a shortage of Officers.L & M Companies, located at Farnworth are a typical example. In the 1880s they were led by Captain E.S. Hargreaves and Captain Cuthbert James Taylor. However, both men resigned, the former on 14 September 1889 and the latter on 15 March 1890. To remedy the immediate shortfall, Officers from the Wigan Detachment took over the running of L & M company. Captain John Laidler Hedley, ex 'E' Company, was placed in temporary command of L & M. This was not ideal, Laidler's strengths lay in his organisational abilities and he was utilised in assisting the Quarter Master in his duties at the annual camp. This effectively left L & M leaderless during this time. In 1891, Laidler returned to the Wigan detachment and newly promoted Captain Walter Tomlinson, ex 'B' Company, replaced him.[12] By 1884 the social composition of the Wigan corps had changed, with 43 per cent of the rank and file now employed in building trades, only 25 per cent in engineering and metalwork, and a further 12 per cent were clerical workers.[2]
Under the 'Localisation of the Forces' introduced by the Cardwell Reforms, the 4th was linked with other Manchester-based RVCs, Militia regiments and the Regular 63rd and 96th Foot into Sub-district No 16 (Lancashire).[9] When the 63rd and 96th were amalgamated to create the Manchester Regiment as part of the Childers Reforms, the 4th Lancashire RVC was formally attached to it as a volunteer battalion (VB) on 1 July 1881, and was redesignated as its 1st Volunteer Battalion on 1 September 1888.[2][6][8][7]
While the sub-districts were referred to as 'brigades', they were purely administrative organisations and the Volunteers were excluded from the 'mobilisation' part of the Cardwell system. The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 proposed a more comprehensive Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training.[13][14][15] Under this scheme the five (later six) VBs of the Manchester Regiment constituted the Manchester Brigade.[9] By now the 1st VB's HQ was established at 42 Lancaster Avenue, Fennel Street, Manchester, still with the Earl of Crawford as Lt-Col Commandant and Lt-Col Bootle-Wilbraham as second-in-command.[9]
Volunteers from the battalion served for a year in a Service Company alongside the Regulars of the regiment during the
Territorial Force
When the
First World War
Mobilisation
On the outbreak of war, the division was at its annual camp when the order to mobilise was received at 05.30 on 4 August. The units returned to their drill halls to mobilise, the men being billeted close by. The 5th Battalion mobilised at Bank Chambers under the command of Lt-Col W.S. France.[19][20][21][22][23]
On 10 August, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service. The infantry brigades of the East Lancashire Division volunteered by 12 August and on 15 August 1914, the War Office issued instructions to separate those men who had opted for Home Service only, and form these into reserve units. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix and would absorb the flood of volunteers coming forwards. In this way duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas.[23][24][25][26]
1/5th Battalion
On 20 August the East Lancashire Division moved into camps, with the Manchester Bde near Rochdale, and on 5 September it received orders to go to Egypt to complete its training and relieve Regular units from the garrison for service on the Western Front. It embarked on a convoy of troopships from Southampton on 10 September, and landed at Alexandria on 25 September, the first complete TF division to go overseas.[21][22][23][27] Major Henry Darlington, who had seen active service in the Boer War, was promoted to Lt-Col to command 1/5th Manchesters and take it overseas.[28][29][30]
On arrival the 1/5th Bn went into garrison at Mustapha Barracks in Alexandria and underwent intensive training. At first the division's role was simply garrison service, but on 5 November Britain declared war on Turkey and Egypt became a war zone. While the East Lancashire Division went to guard the Suez Canal, the Manchester Bde was detached in January 1915 to garrison Cairo.[19][20][22][31]
Gallipoli
At the end of April the division was ordered to sail to join the
On 25 May, the East Lancashire Division was formally designated
During another spell in front of Krithia beginning on 25 May, the 1/5th and 1/6th Manchesters advanced their line between 50 and 200 yards (180 m). The lines were now within assaulting distance of the nearest Turkish trenches, and a new attack (the Third Battle of Krithia) was launched on 4 June. After a bombardment starting at 08.00, the assault was launched at noon. 127th Brigade led 42nd (EL) Division's attack, with half of 1/5th Bn in the first wave, and in this sector all went well to begin with: despite intense rifle and machine gun fire the brigade took all its first objectives, the second wave passing through and parties advancing up to 1,000 yards (910 m) into the Turkish fourth line. The Official History records that 'The Manchester Territorials, fighting like veterans, were all in high fettle'. There was almost nothing between them and Krithia, and beyond that the ultimate target of Achi Baba. However, things had gone disastrously wrong for 127th Bde's neighbours, and the Turks were counter-attacking both flanks. Although the Manchesters held on to the first Turkish line they had captured, casualties had been severe. The Manchesters consolidated their position on 5 June before being relieved that night and going into reserve.[19][20][23][33][35][36]
On 12 June the Manchester Brigade was withdrawn from the Gallipoli Peninsula and went to the island of Imbros for rest. It returned to Cape Helles on 21 June and 1/5th Bn went up to the forward sector on 23 June. They relieved the 1/6th Bn in the firing line in the Krithia Nullah sector on 29 June. The battalion then spent the next six weeks alternating in the line with 1/6th and 1/7th Bns, taking casualties steadily.[33][37]
A new attack at Helles (the
After a short rest and receiving a few drafts and returning casualties, the division was put back into the line on 19 August, still badly under strength and suffering from sickness. Lieutenant-Col Darlington was one of those who were evacuated sick, and the 1/5th and 1/6th Manchesters were temporarily combined under the commanding officer of 1/6th Bn. For the rest of the month the combined battalion alternated in the front line with 1/8th Manchesters.[33][40]
Both sides resorted to mine warfare, and ex-coal miners in 42nd (EL) Division were active in this. The Turks regularly exploded mines in front of the British trench known as the 'Gridiron'. On 29/30 October one such explosion blew in 15 yards (14 m) of trench, killing two men and burying six, of whom three were quickly dug out, but the other three, all miners, were given up for dead. Three days later, led by Private Grimes, 1/5th Manchesters, the three missing men emerged from their mine shaft, having dug through 12 feet (3.7 m) with a pocket knife.[41] Between 6 May and 4 November 1/5th Manchesters lost 10 officers and 144 other ranks (ORs) killed, 23 officers and 463 ORs wounded, and 6 officers and 57 ORs missing. Nevertheless, the division continued to hold its position, suffering further casualties from mining and bad weather until its infantry were evacuated to Mudros on 29 December.[21][22][23][33][42]
Romani
The Gallipoli Campaign was shut down at the beginning of January, but 42nd (EL) Division remained on Mudros for some time before returning to the
For the next few months the division was part of the
Western Front
By 2 March 1/5th Manchesters had landed at
From 9 July to 22 August the division was in reserve, with 127th Bde stationed at Achiet-le-Petit. It then moved to the Ypres Salient where the Third Ypres Offensive was continuing, passing through the Menin Gate to Frezenberg on 7 September. The battalion was now regularly shelled and bombed, suffering a trickle of casualties. It was not involved in the division's failed attack on Borry Farm but practised for a renewed attack that was cancelled on 12 September.[20][48][49] After a short spell in the Salient, the division was relieved and moved to the Nieuport sector on the Belgian coast, where it relieved 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division on 23 September (1/5th Manchesters relieved 2/5th Manchesters, see below). It went into the line on 26/27 September and remained here until November. In the front line it engaged in active patrolling; when not in the front line trenches it had to supply working parties to build underground passages. It then marched to the Givenchy sector, arriving on 27 November, and spent the winter building concrete defences to replace the existing poor breastworks.[20][50] The BEF was now suffering a manpower crisis, and in early 1918 around a quarter of its battalions were disbanded to reinforce others; the 1/5th Manchesters absorbed a draft of 6 officers and 174 ORs from the disbanded 1/9th Manchesters on 16 February. Lieutenant-Col Darlington left the battalion on medical grounds on 18 February and Maj T. Blatherwick was promoted to take over. On 1 March the battalion was at virtually full strength, with 43 officers and 975 ORs.[19][20][22][30][48][51][52]
Spring Offensive
When the
The battalion went back to
The battalion had gone back into the line on 16/17 April, by which time the Third Army front was relatively quiet, the Germans having switched their offensive to the north. The policy was now to advance the line by means of small raids and aggressive patrolling (so-called 'peaceful penetration'). A small party of 1/5th Manchesters raided a German post in 'Watling Street', west of
Hundred Days Offensive
The Allied counter-offensive began with the
After a period of rest and training, the division returned to the line for the set-piece assault on the Hindenburg Line (the Battle of the Canal du Nord). Zero hour was 05.30 on 27 September; the bombardment on 42nd (EL) Division's opened at 08.20 and A Company of 5th Manchesters left their trenches three minutes later, leading 127th Bde's advance over the Trescault Ridge 'in fine stye'. They were in the opposing trenches by 08.26. B Company was briefly held up by machine gun fire but 'dashed in' and captured the Black Line objective, after which 6th and 7th Bns passed through to the second and third objectives. The situation on the right flank was confused, so C and D Companies of 5th Manchesters were sent to form a defensive flank. 6th and 7th Battalions were too weak to attempt the final objective, Welsh Ridge, but it was taken that night by the rest of the division, which continued to advance the following morning.[19][48][61][62]
After 10 days' rest and training 42nd (EL) Division next participated in the
By the end of the day 42nd (EL) Division had secured all its objectives. Major W.M. Tickler took command of the battalion. When the advance was resumed on 23 October 127th Bde was in support. During the subsequent pursuit (3–11 November), it remained in support, marching through the
42nd (EL) Division remained at Hautmont on the Sambre during November, then moved to Fleurus where demobilisation began. As the men went home the division's units were reduced to cadres by 16 March 1919.[19][20] On 27 February Lt-Col Darlington returned to the battalion to take command of the cadre and take it home. It moved to Charleroi in March, then sailed to Immingham on 28 March. 5th Manchesters was disembodied on 6 April.[6][48]
On 31 October 1918 the battalion calculated that its total casualties since 4 May 1915 had been 399 killed, 1308 wounded and 137 missing.[48] The later divisional history lists 34 officers and 468 ORs killed, died of wounds or sickness, or missing.[68]
2/5th Battalion
The 2nd Line battalion was formed at Wigan on 31 August 1914, and by November it was training at Southport in 2nd Manchester Brigade of 2nd East Lancashire Division. It remained in Lancashire until about May 1915, when moved to the Crowborough area in Sussex where the division was concentrating. Training was hindered by the lack of instructors and weapons: the infantry battalions eventually received .256-in Japanese Ariska rifles. Unit training was also delayed because of the need to provide reinforcements drafts to the 1st Line serving at Gallipoli. At the end of August the remaining Home Service men were transferred to the provisional battalion (see below) and all the personnel of 2/5th Manchesters were eligible for overseas service. The division was numbered 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division and the brigade became 199th (Manchester) Brigade.[6][21][22][23][51][69]
At the end of 1915 the battalions were issued with
On 19 March the battalion took over part of the Cambrin sector near Béthune, and began alternating with 1/6th Manchesters in the front line trenches. The trenches were in poor condition, but the sector was generally quiet. There were a few casualties from shellfire, and to working parties or patrols. 2/5th Manchesters carried out the battalion's first offensive operation when C and D Companies raided the trenches opposite on the evening of 8 June behind an artillery barrage and smoke screen, taking prisoners while accompanying Royal Engineers blew in tunnel entrances.[57][72]
199th Brigade was pulled out of the line on 19 June for training and then on 28 June the battalion entrained for St-Pol, behind the lines on the Flanders coast. Fourth Army was concentrating here in the Nieuport sector for a thrust up the coast (Operation Hush) in conjunction with the planned Third Ypres Offensive. The battalion continued training, and supplied large working parties to dig gun pits for the corps heavy artillery. When 66th (EL) Division took over the westernmost section of the line in July, 199th Bde was posted to watch the coast against flanking attacks from the sea. From August it moved round to face the German trenches across the River Yser, with the men accommodated in tunnels and dugouts beneath Nieuport when they were in the line. The whole sector was regularly shelled and bombed, and the battalion suffered numerous casualties. The division remained at Nieuport until 23 September when it was relieved by 42nd (EL) Division (2/5th Manchesters was relieved by 1/5th Manchesters, see above).[48][51][69][57][73]
Poelcapelle
The division then travelled to the Ypres salient to join the Third Ypres Offensive. The battalion practised the new attack formations and then moved up to Zonnebeke, where 199th Bde took over the front line from the Australians, with 2/5th Manchesters in the support line. 66th (EL) Division made its first attack on 9 October at the Battle of Poelcappelle, where it role was to advance up a ridge to the outskirts of the village of Passchendaele. 197th and 198th Brigades attacked through the shellholes and mud, which seriously hindered movement, clogged weapons and deadened artillery fire. Although patrols from 66th Division did reach Passchendaele, by the end of the day all temporary gains had been wiped out, and the division did note even hold a consolidated line. During the night 2/5th Manchesters moved up to hold the old British front line, now the support line, which was under shellfire. The battalion was pulled out to camp near the Menin Gate on 11 September, having suffered 141 casualties even though it had not participated in the attack. 2/5th Manchesters received 140 reinforcements, but they were from a number of units, many untrained men from the Labour Corps. Lieutenant-Col Hewlett was sent to a rest camp (later evacuated to England) and the battalion moved to Arques where Maj K.G. Maxwell arrived from 2/6th Manchesters on 14 October to take over command. The battalion resumed training, moving back to Ypres in November, where it did some short spells in the line along the Ypres–Comines Canal and provided working parties. In January 1918 it returned to Zonnebeke to garrison and improve the line at Broodseinde and 'Daring Crossing' during the winter. 199th Brigade was relieved on 9/10 February and on 13 February 2/5th Manchesters received a draft from 2/8th Manchesters, which was being disbanded as part of the BEF's reorganisation.[51][69][57][74]
Operation Michael
66th (EL) Division moved by rail to join Fifth Armythe Somme sector, where 2/5th Manchesters went into the line at Villeret, near Hargicourt on 27 February. The line ran through the undulating valleys of the Somme's tributaries. Reconnaissance had revealed strange new holes in No man's land, which turned out to be forming-up points for the German Stormtroopers. When the German spring offensive opened on 21 March the divisional front was held by three battalions in the Forward Zone (or Outpost Line), including 2/5th Manchesters. A heavy bombardment came down at 04.30, including a large amount of gas shells, and telephone lines back to brigade HQ were cut. The defences in the Hargicourt sector were close to the enemy's jumping-off trenches, and aided by early morning fog, the German attackers quickly penetrated the outposts at Villaret. Although the companies of 2/5th Manchesters in front reported 'all OK' at 10.00, Battalion HQ at 'the Egg' soon found itself attacked from the rear, and Lt-Col Maxwell and about 30 men broke out to join 2/6th Manchesters in the Red Line (the Battle Zone). The front line companies had effectively disappeared. 2/7th Manchesters marching up to occupy their positions in the Battle Zone met a few survivors of 2/5th Bn, who joined them, a story repeated all along the line as 66th (EL) Division fought to hold the enemy advance. The rear details of 2/5th Manchesters at the transport lines were sent forward under the second-in-command to reinforce 2/6th Manchesters.[51][69][57][75][76][77][78]
2/6th Manchesters with the remnants of 2/5th Bn held on doggedly next day until 14.00 before falling back under cover of fog to the 'Green Line' at Hébécourt, where 50th (Northumbrian) Division was hurriedly digging in. On 23 March Lt-Col Maxwell and the remnant of 2/5th Manchesters helped 2/6th Bn to hold Bristol Bridge at Péronne, while British forces retreated over it. On 24 March the Germans carried out a heavy bombardment and at 18.00 the engineers destroyed the bridge, the last one standing over the Somme in this sector. Next day the German fire drove 66th (EL) Division back from the banks of the Somme, and Lt-Col Maxwell was posted as missing. From 26 March 199th Bde was so depleted that it operated as a single composite battalion. 66th (EL) Division was finally relieved on 31 March as Fifth Army's retreat ended in front of Amiens.[51][69][57][79][80][81][82][83]
When the casualty list was drawn up on 13 April, 2/5th Manchesters reported losses since 21 March of 2 officers and 3 ORs killed, 8 officers and 22 ORs wounded, and 23 officers and 670 ORs posted as missing – killed or captured.[84] (On 1 February 1918 the battalion had had a total strength of 43 officers and 775 ORs, and two weeks later received 10 officers and 184 ORs from 2/8th Manchesters). 66th Division had suffered some of the heaviest casualties during the battle, and in April its battered battalions were reduced to training cadres; one group of 80 ORs from 2/5th Manchesters was posted to 1/5th Bn with 42nd (EL) Division on 7 May (see above). On 1 June 2/5th Manchesters consisted of 14 officers and 77 ORs under the command of Lt-Col Hancock. The division was used to train newly arrived US troops: in June 2/5th Manchesters was attached to 106th Regiment of 27th US Division in a succession of training camps behind the lines.[51][69][48][57][85][86]
2/5th Manchesters was disbanded on 31 July, the remaining personnel being transferred to the 1/5th Bn in 42nd (EL) Division (see above).[6][21][22][23][51][69][48][57] The American troops they had trained went on to give distinguished service under British command during the Hundred Days Offensive.[87]
3/5th Battalion
This battalion was formed at Wigan on 25 May 1915, with the role of training drafts for the 1/5th and 2/5th Bns. Early in 1916 it moved to
28th Battalion
After the 3rd Line TF battalions were formed in May 1915 the remaining Home Service and unfit men were separated to form brigades of Coast Defence Battalions (termed Provisional Battalions from June 1915). The men from the 5th Manchesters, together with those of several other TF battalions of the Manchesters (
The Military Service Act 1916 swept away the Home/Foreign service distinction, and all TF soldiers became liable for overseas service, if medically fit. The Provisional Brigades thus became anomalous, and on 1 January 1917 the remaining battalions became numbered battalions of their parent units: 45th Provisional Bn became 28th Bn Manchester Regiment. It served in 219th Brigade of 73rd Division and was disbanded on 29 March 1918 at Southend-on-Sea.[6][21][22][90][91]
Interwar
When the TF was reconstituted on 7 February 1920 (becoming the
After the
Second World War
5th Manchesters
On the outbreak of the
Battle of France
42nd (EL) Division joined the
On 26 May the decision was made to evacuate the BEF through Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo). During the night of 27/28 May 42nd (EL) Division fell back to the River Lys, and the then to the River Yser. By the evening of 29 May the division was under heavy pressure from German tanks and infantry, but got away during the night. 127 Brigade was evacuated from Dunkirk on 30 May.[98][104][105][106]
Home Defence
On return to the UK 42nd (EL) Division was sent to
111th (Manchester) Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps
In October 1941 42nd (EL) Infantry Division returned to Northern Command and on 1 November was reorganised as 42nd Armoured Division, when its infantry battalions converted into tank regiments. 5th Battalion, Manchester Regiment became 111st Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps (Manchester Regiment).[6][94][98][108][109][110]
5th Manchesters (MG)
42nd Armoured Division was disbanded at the end of 1943, and several of its units reverted to their original designation and role, including 5th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, on 1 December 1943 when it was at Greatham, County Durham.[6][94][109]
In 1937 the Regular battalions of the Manchesters had been reorganised as divisional machine gun (MG) battalions, equipped with Vickers machine guns and other heavy weapons. The reformed 5th Bn was organised as the MG battalion for
After the war ended, 5th Manchesters was sent to Malta on 15 November 1945, remaining there until the battalion was demobilised in November 1946. The remaining 157 men of the battalion transferred to 1st Battalion in British Army of the Rhine.[94]
6th Manchesters
On the outbreak of war 6th Battalion formed part of 199 Bde, which was administered by 42nd (EL) Division until the 66th Division was reformed on 27 September 1939. From April 1940 6th Manchesters trained in the Thirsk area of Yorkshire, moving to Driffield in June. In the reorganisation after Dunkirk 66th Division was disbanded and 199 Bde transferred to 55th (WL) Division. The division was serving in the East Coast defences under XI Corps, where 6th Manchesters joined it at Beccles in Suffolk on 23 June. In November the division moved to IV Corps with 6th Manchesters at Henley-on-Thames, from January 1941 at Huntercombe., then from July at Aldershot. In December 1941 55th (WL) Division moved to Northern Command, with 6th Manchesters stationed at Hull and then at Withernsea from May 1942.[94][95][107][112][113]
On 5 May 1942 6th Manchesters was used to reform the Regular 1st Battalion of the regiment, which had been captured in Malaya.[6][94][114] At first it remained in 199 Bde but later it was converted to the machine gun role. In February 1944 it became the MG battalion of 53rd (Welsh) Division and served with it in Normandy and the campaign in North West Europe.[113][115]
Postwar
When the TA was reconstituted on 1 January 1947, 5th Bn Manchester Regiment reformed at Wigan as 652 (Manchester) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery. It formed part of 94 (AA) Army Group Royal Artillery, but when that was disbanded on 9 September 1948 the regiment was probably taken over by Anti-Aircraft Command. By about 1950/51 its title was changed to 652 (5th Bn The Manchester Regiment) HAA Rgt[6][94][116][117][118][119]
After AA Command was abolished on 10 March 1955 the regiment was also disbanded by 30 June, though some of its personnel transferred to
Uniform and insignia
The unit's uniform was
Honorary colonels
The following served as Honorary Colonel of the battalion:[9]
- J.H. Chambers, former CO, appointed 17 March 1875
- VD, former CO, appointed 10 October 1900, died 31 January 1913[10]
- N.F. Eckersley, appointed 22 November 1913
- David Lindsay, 27th Earl of Crawford, son of 26th Earl and former captain in 1st VB[10]
- Sir Henry Darlington, KCB, CMG, TD, former CO, appointed 26 November 1927
Notes
- ^ Beckett.
- ^ a b c d e Bonner.
- ^ Spiers, pp. 163–8.
- ^ Westlake, Rifle Volunteers.
- ^ Beckett, Appendix VII.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Frederick, pp. 131–3.
- ^ a b c Lancashire Record Office, Handlist 72.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Westlake, Rifle Volunteers, pp. 139–54.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Army List, various dates.
- ^ a b c Burke's: 'Crawford'.
- ^ Burke's: 'Skelmersdale'.
- ^ 1st V.B.M.R. Orders printed in Wigan Observer Newspapers - 1880-1913
- ^ Beckett, pp. 135, 185–6.
- ^ Dunlop, pp. 60–1; Appendix A.
- ^ Spiers, pp. 228–9.
- ^ Leslie.
- ^ Dunlop, Chapter 14.
- ^ Spiers, Chapter 10.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Becke, Pt 2a, pp. 35–41.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 42nd (EL) Division at Long, Long Trail.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l James, pp. 96–8.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Manchesters at Long, Long Trail.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 'Territorial Force 1914–1919' at Manchester Regiment Museum.
- ^ Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.
- ^ WO Instructions Nos 108 & 310 of August 1914.
- ^ Gibbon, p. 5.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 6–8.
- ^ a b Burke's: Knightage: 'Darlington'.
- ^ Gibbon, p. 18.
- ^ a b c Gibbon, p. 245.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 8–13.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 16–28.
- ^ a b c d e f Westlake, Gallipoli, pp. 183–4.
- ^ Gibbon, p. 33.
- ^ Aspinall-Oglander, pp. 41–54.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 35–9.
- ^ Gibbon, p. 41.
- ^ Aspinall-Oglander, pp. 168–75.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 43–7.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 47–8.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 53–4.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 49–59.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 63–78.
- ^ MacMunn & Falls, Vol I, pp. 156, 179–201.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 79–85.
- ^ MacMunn & Falls, Vol I, pp. 246–52.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 83–95.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 1/5th Manchesters War Diary March 1917–March 1919, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 95/2660/1.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 96–102.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 102–22.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 67–74.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 122–7.
- ^ Edmonds, 1918, Vol I, pp. 392, 437–8, 444–5, 481–91, 521–2.
- ^ Edmonds, 1918, Vol II, pp. 36, 56, 134–5.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 128–40.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 142–54.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i 2/5th Manchesters War Diary March 1917–July 1918, TNA file WO 95/2660/1.
- ^ Martin. pp. 19–20, 24–6.
- ^ Edmonds, 1918, Vol IV, pp. 188–9, 250–1, 344–5, 410, 420.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 155–67.
- ^ Edmonds & Maxwell-Hyslop, pp. 43–4.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 173–7.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 181–7.
- ^ "No. 31108". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 January 1919. p. 309.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 186, 237.
- ^ Edmonds & Maxwell-Hyslop, pp. 339, 364–5, 552–3.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 187–97.
- ^ Gibbon, pp. 221–3.
- ^ a b c d e f g h 66th (2nd EL) Division at Long, Long Trail.
- ^ London Gazette, 25 August 1915.
- ^ London Gazette, 25 September 1915.
- ^ Martin, pp. 29-36.
- ^ Martin, pp. 39–43.
- ^ Martin, pp. 44–56.
- ^ Edmonds, 1918, Vol I, pp. 179, 203.
- ^ Martin, pp. 59–64, 70–83, 92–7.
- ^ Middlebrook, pp. 112, 332–3.
- ^ Murland, pp. 74, 84–5.
- ^ Blaxland, pp. 56–7, 65–6.
- ^ Edmonds, 1918, Vol I, pp. 281, 284, 345, 359–60, 411–2, 463, 466–8, 504.
- ^ Edmonds 1918, Vol II, pp. 22, 47–9, 94–5.
- ^ Martin, pp. 139–53, 175.
- ^ Murland, pp. 156–7, 162–5, .
- ^ Martin, Appendix IV.
- ^ Edmonds, 1918, Vol II, p. 365.
- ^ Yockelson, pp. 57–8.
- ^ Yockelson, pp. 115–23.
- ^ Army Council Instructions, January 1916, Appendix 18.
- ^ 9th Provisional Brigade War Diary, TNA file WO 95/5458.
- ^ Army Council Instruction 2364 of 17 December 1916 (Appendix 204).
- ^ Becke, Pt 2b, pp. 111–6.
- ^ War Office, Titles & Designations 1927.
- ^ Litchfield, p. 131.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 'Territorial Army 1920-1945' at Manchester Regiment Museum.
- ^ a b Western Command 3 September 1939 at Patriot Files.
- ^ Ellis, Chapter II.
- ^ Ellis, Appendix I.
- ^ a b c d e Joslen, pp. 68, 312.
- ^ Ellis, Chapter III.
- ^ Ellis, Chapter IV.
- ^ Ellis, Chapter VI.
- ^ Ellis, Chapter VIII.
- ^ Ellis, Chapter IX.
- ^ Ellis, Chapter XII.
- ^ Ellis, Chapter XIII.
- ^ Ellis, Chapter XIV.
- ^ a b Collier, Maps 17, 20.
- ^ a b Forty, pp. 50–1.
- ^ a b Joslen, p. 29.
- ^ 111 RAC War Diary, November 1941, TNA file WO 166/1428.
- ^ 'The Vickers Machine Gun and The Manchester Regiment' at Manchester Regiment Museum.
- ^ a b Joslen, pp. 90–1.
- ^ a b Joslen, pp. 97, 363.
- ^ Joslen, p. 450.
- ^ Joslen, pp. 87–8.
- ^ a b Frederick, p. 1028.
- ^ a b Litchfield, p. 137; Appendix 5.
- ^ a b 638–677 Rgts RA at British Army 1945 on.
- ^ Watson TA 1947.
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