2/6th Battalion Manchester Regiment

[cervelo]

I'm researching Robert Taylor s/no 252392, who served in the 2/6th Battalion Manchester Regiment and was KIA on 22 July 1917, aged 40.

 

Can anyone provide me the details of their war diary for that day? Also, I'm guessing by his s/no that Robert joined up between August and September 1916.

 

In the 1911 census he was a compositer in the printing industry, he and his lived at 2 Clyde St, Broughton, Salford.

 

Also, the origin of the 2/6th Battalion? Was it a New Army formation?

 

Thanks for your assistance.

Frank

[DavidOwen]

Hi and welcome to the Forum

If you take a look at the Long Long Trail link above and search for Manchester Regiment it explains the 2/6 Bn movements.

The war diary is available at the National Archives here (should also be available on Ancestry if you have access) http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7355579

Good luck with your research

David

[RussT]

The 2/6th Battalion Manchester Regiment was in 199th Brigade, 66th Division - during this time they were in the Nieuport sector on the Belgium coast.

 

Between July 21st and July 24th 1917 the Battalion was in hutments at Bador Camp (see map). The whole area was under shell fire so he may have been killed whilst at the camp but the Battalion was also supplying 500 men every night for RE fatigues during this period so he could have been KiA whilst with an RE unit somewhere in this sector. It could be worthwhile to look at other war diaries (e.g. Brigade and Divisional) to see if the RE units, to which they were attached, are mentioned - and if so you could then seek out the relevant RE unit's war dairy to explore where he might have been at the time.

 

Men who were killed or died of wounds in this sector are commonly buried in Coxyde Military Cemetery, as is Robert Taylor

 

From the 25th July 1917 the Battalion was in the front line (Lombartzyde Right Sub-Sector). The 2/6th Battalion Manchester Regiment war diary lists by name and number every officer and other rank who became a casualty between 25th and 31st July whilst they were in the line - the list runs to 6 pages. Given that Robert Taylor was KiA just before this date range, he is not listed.

 

 

 

Regards

 

Russ

 

 

Edited 15 August , 2018 by RussT

[cervelo]

Thanks David, I couldn't find the 2/6 Bn WD in Ancestry, so used the National Archives link you provided. And the Long Long Trail gave me an overview.

Thanks again

Frank

 

[cervelo]

Thanks Russ,

                      that's fantastic information, thanks for sharing. 

Kind regards..

Frank

 

[petwes]

Could I recommend John Hartley's book "6th Battalion The Manchester Regiment in the Great War:- " Not a Rotter in the Lot"".  It has a chapter covering the 2/6th.

 

Peter

[RussT]

Thanks Peter - always interested to learn of any accounts of those units that had at some time been deployed to the Nieuport Sector.

 

Just thought I would take a quick look at some of the RE units to which the 2/6th Battalion Manchester Regiment might have been attached when Robert Taylor was killed.

 

Haven't found a definitively named RE unit yet, but the most likely RE unit would have been one of the RE Field Company's that formed the 66th Divisional Troops. These were the 430th, 431st and 432nd (East Lancs) Field Companies, RE.

 

Sure enough, the war diary for the 431st Field Company RE for the day in question (22nd July 1917) records heavy shelling as they were engaged in constructing/repairing front and support line trenches in Nieuport Bains. The diary records that they had 660 infantry working parties employed - unfortunately the infantry unit/units is/are not named but perhaps all or some were from the 2/6th Bn Manchester Regiment. The dairy records that 4 sappers were wounded but there is no mention of infantry casualties. Nevertheless, perhaps Robert Taylor was killed during this heavy barrage - I note one other 2/6th Battalion man was killed on this day - 250680 Serjeant Samuel Brown, who also lies in Coxyde Military Cemetery.

 

Russ

 

 

 

 

 

 

[petwes]

Russ

D Company of 2/6 Manchester Battalion were attached to 2nd Australian Tunneling Company. Their war diary makes no mention of fatalities on the date in question.

However John Hartley's book contains an excerpt from Private P R Hall's diary (held by IWM) which contains the description of the death of one man.

Peter

Edited 17 August , 2018 by petwes

[petwes]

In addition to the 200 men and 3 officers of D company who are noted as permanently attached the diary notes 180 Temporarily attached during the period in question.  It is only conjecture but these could have been drawn from the other companies of 2/6 Manchester Battalion as mentioned in their war diary. 

I also noted that CWGC records the death of a tunneler on 20 July 1917 so the death described by Hall could be that man rather than one of the attached infantry.

 

 

Peter

[RussT]

Thanks Peter - I did look at the diary for the 2nd Australian Tunnelling Company but I didn't spot anywhere an explicit mention of the 2/6th Manchester Bn.

 

The weekly progress report sheets (as above) for the week commencing 18th July (so from 18th to the 24th) implies (given the "Strength of Company" fields have been left empty) they had no infantry attached. Where did you locate that D Company 2/6th Manchester Bn were attached? From John's book?

 

Regards

 

Russ

[petwes]

Russ

2/6th Manchester Bn War Diary provides details. Around August 19th D company returned to Bn.  Note that in previous weeks report 2 Australian Tunneling "moans" about lack of infantry support which was not provided until 18th which matches 2/6 diary.

Peter

[RussT]

OK, thanks.

 

Can't find the complete August 1917 war diary for the 2/6th Manchester Bn on Ancestry - there seems to be just a single page covering the dates from 1st August to 7th August.

 

You don't by any chance have a link to it?

 

Thanks

 

Russ

[petwes]

Russ

Here is the link to the Diary.  It took a bit of searching as it is not in date order in places.  I am fortunate in having downloaded the diary some time ago from TNA. 

 

2/6 Manchester WD July 1917

 

I'm glad I looked at Ancestry though as I first found 2/5 Manchester Battalion Diary.  It's a very good diary with a decent collection of appendices including a defence map of the coast by Nieuport Bains.  They relieved 2/6 a couple of times in July and the diary helps to flesh out the information I have on 2/6th.  For example when 2/6 D company were attached to the Australian Tunnelers 2/5 D company took their place in the line for a couple of days until 2/6 went back to camp being relieved by the rest of 2/5th.

 

Peter

[RussT]

Yes, the 2/6th WD on Ancestry is a bag of spanners.

 

I had found already the 2/6th WD for the month of July. Your post #11 indicates that the WD for the 19th August mentions the return of the 2/6th from the 2nd Australian Tunnelling Company, and it was that part of the August diary that I can't find on Ancestry - perhaps it's missing and only to be had on TNA downloaded version - any ideas?

 

Russ

 

 

 

[petwes]

Russ

Link below.

 

2/6 August

Mea culpa: I should have typed 29th not 19th for date of return of D company.

 

(If you think 2/6 on Ancestry is bad you should have seen the state of the 199th Brigade diary when I first downloaded it from TNA several years ago!  I ended up printing the entire thing and spending hours sorting it page by page.  When I sent TNA a list of which page should go where they were kind enough to refund my £3.50).

 

Peter

[RussT]

Wow, that was well hidden - I'm sure I had gone through all 928 pages of that piece on Ancestry hunting for it - but you just go blind after a while.

 

Thanks for locating it - it fill in the gaps.

 

Regards

 

Russ

[cervelo]

Peter/Russ,

                   that's an interesting link to Australia, as Robert's younger son emigrated to Australia in 1925 (Robert's two older sons were also KIA - Henry, 1/5th The King's (Liverpool Regiment) on 28/4/1918 and Thomas 2nd Bn South Lancashire Regiment on 19/7/1917. I wonder  if Robert had been attached to the Tunnelling Coy whether an Australian might have written to his wife about his death, sowing the seeds for the younger son's later emigration (he joined the AIF as a machine gunner in WW2, his battalion being posted to England for several months in 1940, doubtless he would have travelled to Manchetser on leave). 

 

Thanks for your research efforts, gentlemen, most informative.

Frank