The Daily Sketch

[DaveMurphy]

Good evening all,

I have a clipping which is rather badly torn entitled 'Heroes of Manchester Hill', which appears on Page 4 of the 'Daily Sketch' newspaper of April 11 1918.

The picture is of nine soldiers/officers of the 16th Battalion, of which the bottom half is torn off. I am hoping to identify the soldiers by gaining another copy from the paper's archive, if anyone knows where that is since the paper folded in the 70s.

Any tips on how I could gain a copy would be great!

Cheers,

Dave

[Wendi]

Mornin' Dave!

I guess copies would be held at the British Library (Newspapers) Colindale.

Here's a link to their website http://www.bl.uk/services/reading/newsrr.html

Wendi 

[harribobs]

ah ha!

http://mkn.co.uk/remember/archivenewspapers/

[DaveMurphy]

Thanks team,

Emails sent, hopefully I wont have to pay 50 quid for a copy though!

Has anyone in the forum searched the Sketch for other Regiment information? I undertand that it was a Manchester newspaper.

Dave

[harribobs]

hopefully I wont have to pay 50 quid for a copy though!

what? a man with your money?  i expected you'd be buying us one each.....

I thought the Sketch was a national daily?, forerunner of the Mirror (i thought) (merged with daily mail i believe)

[mack]

the daily sketch was a manchester paper,it was created and owned by edward,george hulton,he was born in hulme on 3-3-1869
one of his best photographers.was william gore,he probably took the pictures at manchester hill.
they opened a london office later on.
the paper was sold in 1925 to sir william berry.

mack

[Robert Bonner]

William Berry later became Baron Camrose.  He and his brother built up the group known as Allied Newspapers with its HQ and giant printing presses in Withy Grove, Manchester.  At one time they controlled and printed the Daily & Sunday Telegraph, Daily Sketch, the Graphic, Daily & Sunday Dispatch, Sunday Chronicle, sporting papers and most importantly the Manchester Evening Chronicle.  Post-WWII it became Kemsley Newspapers and eventually disappeared.  The Withy Grove building now houses night clubs, cafes and other miscellaneous outlets.  How are the mighty fallen!

[DaveMurphy]

Here tis'

[DaveMurphy]

I reckon JT is at bottom left based on this photo... any thoughts on the rest?

[harribobs]

Elstob is in the middle, sat down

[DaveMurphy]

C'mon Chris,

That was almost a gimme'!

Are you willing to take a shot at the bald head in the centre?

Dave

[harribobs]

  and i thought i was doing really well

possibly Sotham to wilfriths left ( our right)

[DaveMurphy]

Sotham was gone from the Battalion by this stage, I was just about to suggest it was Capt Sharples (adjutant), who was also killed at the redoubt.

It looks as though it is the same fella who is next to Elstob in the pic on pg 201 of Stedman's Pals.

From the Batt History:

'Captain Sharples, the Adjutant of the Battalion, was prominent for his cheery engagment of the men, both by word and deed, always on the firestep where the enemy pressed ever-closely, firing with a quiet confidence, until he was killed.'

[harribobs]

very possibly/probably, i was looking in 'diary of an unprofessional soldier' are you assuming the date of the photo is march 1918 though?

[DaveMurphy]

Not sure mate,

It certainly wasn't taken after the fact  I though it was composite at first, but the poses don't match others I have seen of the Officers of the 16th.

I wonder if the original is held at the Manchesters Museum? Hopefully the photographers name is on the bottom of the pic so may be able to identify where/when even better.