1/7th Manchester Regiment in Sudan and then Gallipoli 1914/1915

[embees]

Hi, I am new to this forum and would appreciate any help which you can offer in my search.

I have a Gt. Uncle who was in this regiment and K.I.A. Gallipoli 29/05/15, his C.W.G.C. Certificate states he was 'D' Coy.
Navigating the War Diaries I'm confident that he was part of an operation in the Krithia Nullah area to move the line forward on the day he was killed.

I believe after the training at Hollingworth Lake, and being part of 42nd (East Lancashire) Division, they were mobilised 9th September and sailed to Egypt, disembarking at Alexandria on the 25th. They then sailed down the canal to Port Sudan where half a company remained to garrison the port. The remainder moved to Khartoum and garrison duties there. Can you confirm that I am correct in this and where I can find extra information on the regiment during the months they spent here in the middle east. I don't see the War Diaries covering this, unless I simply haven't found them.

Grateful for any assistance on where to look,
Margaret

[Keith Brannen]

What you have posted sounds correct.

The War Diary for that time has not been digitised yet at the National Archives site.

You can download a history of the battalion from a post on our site:
http://themanchesters.org/forum/index.php?topic=2632.0

The history of the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division can be found here:
https://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100002230933.0x000002#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-2151%2C-159%2C6142%2C3162

[embees]

Thank you so much for this information Keith,

The books you added the links to were more than I could have hoped for, and having had a quick browse through, no War Diary necessary to tell me any more than they do for my purpose, re my Gt. Uncle's period in Egypt/Sudan, it's covered!

Thanks again, much appreciated,
Margaret

[Keith Brannen]

You're welcome. Glad I could help.

[charlie]

Welcome to the Forum Margaret

There is also the book ,,With Manchesters in the East" which deals with the 7th Bn during the period you are interested in. It can be read or downloaded online.

https://archive.org/details/withmanchestersi00hurs/page/n7/mode/2up

Charlie

[Tim Bell]

Hi Margaret,
Is your Gt Uncle Pte 2014 J R H Heseltine or L/Cpl 1347 Thomas Barnett?
Welcome to the Forum
Tim

[embees]

Thank you Charlie, I didn't know of these books or that they were available to download to read. I can now learn more about the regiment's (and therefore Thomas's) service during their time in Egypt. Much appreciated.

Margaret

[embees]

Thank you Tim, sorry for delay in replying,

My Gt. Uncle was L/Cpl. 1347 Thomas Barnett.  I have attached a photograph of Thomas which was obviously taken during his time in Middle East.  Also attached, copy of his last letter home to his brother, written on 22nd May 1915, a matter of days before he was killed in action. The letter fragile now, from being opened and refolded in the past, but the main body is easily read. A newspaper cutting from the time, is not too bad, I am in the process of searching Newspaper Archives for a better quality copy.

I here give some background to the content in Thomas's letter.

He was one of five brothers, enlisted into differing regiments, who went off to war shortly after burying their mother. Of Thomas's three elder brothers, one was seriously injured and subsequently returned though no longer fit for active service, to carry out garrison duties, one was captured and became a PoW in Germany. The third was my Grandfather, whose attempts to enlist were not accepted. I now know the reason why; he worked as an engineer for a Company of importance during the war, i.e. producing marine boilers for Naval destroyers and emergency fleets. The youngest brother, referred to by Thomas, did not go to France as anticipated, but to Gallipoli and was himself killed in action just three months after Thomas's death.

I do not have Thomas's medals, but I do have brother Henry's Memorial Plaque (Death Penny), Memorial Scroll and King's message, along with the original card tube, sent to the family.

Regards,
Margaret

Edit: I hope the attachments have come through, am not used to your forum system.
Edit: Letter and newspaper article apparently too large to attach, sorry




 

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[embees]

Hi all,

Just wanted to say that I've been reading, online, the books 'With Manchesters in the East' and ' The 42nd East Lancashire Division', which Keith Brannen and charlie kindly directed me to via the links. Amazing to learn about the Manchesters time in Egypt/Sudan. Following their landings at Cape Helles to the trenches at Krithia Nullah where my gt. uncle was killed, makes such a difference to the uninformed like me, in giving context to the information in the War Diaries, thank you!!

Regards,
Margaret













 

[charlie]

Hi Margaret
Glad to hear the books were helpful.
Charlie