Captain H A Hendrie, 19th Manchesters

[Mark Hone]

Has anyone come across this officer, who ended up in command of the 90th Brigade Trench Mortar Battery and was captured at St Quentin in 1918. He was a volunteer officer in our school OTC before the war, although not an old boy or teacher.
 

[mack]

hiya mark.
captain hugh,albert hendrie was with the 18th manchesters attatched to the 90th TMB,he and Lt walter evans also 18th batt and 90th TMB,were captured on 21-3-18,captain hendrie was repatriated on 10th december 1918
son of hugh+isabell hendrie 26 thrush st,southwark
resided at 10 ruskin walk,herne hill after the war
born 1-1-1892

mack

[mack]

8-5-1918 karlsruhe POW camp

2/Lt h.t ringham
some more officers arrived today,and who should be amongst them but hayes and bentley,they were captured at manchester hill on the 21st,they told me that col elstob was killed and also capt ash,mcquinn is badly wounded[later died]they have no news of hendrie,i hope hes ok,an officer of the wiltshires says he may have been with him at the camp at st.quentin

27-5-1918
had some good news today,captain woodward of the 17th manchesters said that he was with hendrie at rastadt,i,me glad hes safe,wish he was here with us

ringham had previously been attatched to the 90th TMB,he was captured at the spoil bank on 26th april 1918

thats all i know about him mark,sorry

mack

[Mark Hone]

Thanks, Mack. The source I have, a list of OTC officers' war service , says 19th Manchesters but it looks like it was 18th. I have a photograph which may show him together with two other BGS OTC officers in 1914. He was the only one who saw active service. The Bury OTC had close links with 19th Battalion, as the 1915 school magazine records shooting competitions against them and that, at Christmas 1914, the CO, Captain Spivey and Lt. Hendrie assisted in training them at Heaton Park. Hendrie features heavily in a humorous article in the school magazine about joint exercises held with Manchester Grammar School OTC in the Spring of 1915 on the moors above Ramsbottom, near the present Scout Moor wind farm. This all has an added poignancy given the knowledge that many of the boys involved (and Hendrie himself) would soon be involved in more serious and deadly military manoeveurs.

[Tim Bell]

The Brigade War Diary says there were three officers and 38 OR in 90th TMB on 21st March 1918. Captain Hendrie and Lt Evans were captured. Lt T F Goldsmith held command of the 4 Battle Zone guns and was awarded the MC - and later Bar for action at the Spoil Bank.  Lt Hilton had also been present with 90th TMB, but not included on the roll of three.  I wonder if he had returned to duty after the roll was taken.
Hendrie was Goldsmith's Best Man when he married in 1923.  Hendrie took Goldsmith and his daughters on board his ship when he was in the RN.  Goldsmith's daughter was given a HMS Hood spoon, which is still cherished today.
The POW card for Hendrie says he was 17th Bttn, but Mack says he was 18th and I can see no other reference to him being 17th (or 19th) Bttn.
I think he gained an MA at Selwyn College Cambridge in 1918, before joining the RN in 1920.  Need to confirm though.

[mack]

I thought Lt Herbert Andrew Hilton was 2nd in command of the TM batteries at etrelliers

not all the men in the 90th TMB were manchesters,there were royal scots fusiliers and RFA personell manning these TMs


these were all 90th men,all captured on 21st march

42157 fred wilkinson
cpl 8334 william whitehead
43074 wilfred thomas green
203197 henry southgate
cpl 11124 herbert riley

capt hendries men
8893 harry smith
28874 john sniderman
20494 george cowan,royal scots fusiliers

Cpl 7393 john howells was awarded a MM for actions at st quentin and also MIDs,he managed to get away

capt vivian neser and his RFA trench mortar gunners also got away

mack

[mack]

sgt 8060 Herbert brown was in command of two trench mortars in the rear of the redoubt on the right,two more guns under a Cpl were on the left,this could be Cpl 7393 john howells,who was awarded a MM and MIDs[haigh]for actions at st.quentin,he was well trained on TMs and was later att to 66th division as a instructor,sgt brown and the 3 men on one of his mortars were all killed by a shell.[these were goldsmiths mortar teams]

the senior NCO at the time,was staff/sgt 6757 john,edwin Hollingsworth[16th manchesters]

captain Hendrie and Lt evans batteries were both captured

no info on sgt browns other gun or the two under the corporals command

[mack]

sgt 8060 Herbert,elliott browns gun crew were.

pte 24685 Thomas grier,21 Glasgow st,ardrossan.2nd royal scots fusiliers
pte 50994 fred bean 16th manchesters
pte 17843 Thomas,rennie swindale,ladyburn cottage,dippleby,ayrshire 2nd royal scots fusiliers

all of them were found in the same place by men from the 172 coy RE

mack

[Tim Bell]

sgt 8060 Herbert,elliott browns gun crew were.

pte 24685 Thomas grier,21 Glasgow st,ardrossan.2nd royal scots fusiliers
pte 50994 fred bean 16th manchesters
pte 17843 Thomas,rennie swindale,ladyburn cottage,dippleby,ayrshire 2nd royal scots fusiliers

all of them were found in the same place by men from the 172 coy RE

mack

Thanks Mack,
Did you find this in the RE War Diary?
Does this make it safe to assume the RE men buried The four men?

[Tim Bell]

sgt 8060 Herbert brown was in command of two trench mortars in the rear of the redoubt on the right,two more guns under a Cpl were on the left,this could be Cpl 7393 john howells,who was awarded a MM and MIDs[haigh]for actions at st.quentin,he was well trained on TMs and was later att to 66th division as a instructor,sgt brown and the 3 men on one of his mortars were all killed by a shell.[these were goldsmiths mortar teams]

the senior NCO at the time,was staff/sgt 6757 john,edwin Hollingsworth[16th manchesters]

captain Hendrie and Lt evans batteries were both captured

no info on sgt browns other gun or the two under the corporals command

Very useful.
As Goldsmith became 2nd in command on the the next day it makes sense Hendrie was 2IC before 21st March and OC on 22nd.

[Tim Bell]

Can someone please find the link on Ancestry of NA for 90th Bgd TMB War Diary?
I have the 30th Div and can see 89 & 21 Bgd on NA - but 90th eludes me.

[mack]

hiya tim
I haven't checked the 172nd diary,no idea which division they were in,my info comes from CWGC burial report which says all four men were found in the same spot,service records confirm the two RSF lads were both in the 90th TMB and the casualty report in their records confirms they were found on 26th march 1918 by 172nd coy RE

mack

[Tim Bell]

Thanks Mack,
Great research.  I can't quite work out how the RE were still in this location on 26th March, but this probably means they were the burial party.

[charlie]

Can someone please find the link on Ancestry of NA for 90th Bgd TMB War Diary?
I have the 30th Div and can see 89 & 21 Bgd on NA - but 90th eludes me.

WO95/2321/7
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/interactive/60779/43112_2321_7-00000?backurl=&ssrc=&backlabel=Return

Or is this the one you already have?

[mack]

Thanks Mack,
Great research.  I can't quite work out how the RE were still in this location on 26th March, but this probably means they were the burial party.

they were being used as emergency infantry around bray,what I find puzzling is how they were able to be in the area at that time,the germans were all over the place

mack