Now I am rereading Manchester Pals by
Michael Steadman, which is a detailed account of the formation of the
Manchester Pals battalions.*
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| James Callahan of the 8th City Battalion |
In just a short few months from August into
November 1914, the city raised eight Pals battalions.
The idea was rooted in the belief that men
would more readily join up if they could remain with their work companions or the
friends they had grown up with.
As a recruitment plan it worked, but in the
carnage that followed the great battles of 1916 and 1917 on the Western Front it
proved a disaster for small tight knit communities, which experienced the loss
of so many young men in the space of a few months.
But in the euphoria following the
declaration of war that grim outcome was unforeseen by those who flocked to “join
the colours”.
Men like William Eric Lunt from Chorlton
who enlisted in the September of 1914 aged 19 and was posted to the 8th
Battalion and my friend Joe’s dad who served in the same unit, as well Private
Sidney Bone of Withington who was badly wounded on the first day of the Somme,
and died aged just 24 in 1920.**
Bit by bit their stories are coming out of
the shadows, and Mr. Stedman’s book offers up a context to their service.
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| An embroidered silk postcard, circa 1914-18 |
Along with a detailed description of the
experiences of each of the battalions, he describes the city on the eve of this
great conflict, along with how those who enlisted and survived made their way
in the years of peace that followed the end of the war.
Now a full century and a bit after the outbreak
of the Great War when all the combatants have died, it is easy to treat them as
just a piece of history. And leafing
through the books and photographs they appear as either eager young men in ill
fitting uniforms or frail individuals relying on walking sticks or wheelchairs.
But that is to forget that for most of
those who came back, they had a full life ahead, and those war time experiences
were but a short interruption to a life of gainful employment and raising a
family.
It is sobering to think that when I was
born my grandfather who served on the Western Front was just 53, his brothers
were only a tad older, and my two uncles who were both in the Black Watch, were even
younger.
I remember all of them as vital, energetic, and amusing men, who had long lives ahead of them but never spoke of their war service.
All of which makes Mr. Stedman’s book such
an important contribution to our understanding of what those members of my family and thousands of others went through.
*Manchester Pals, 16th, 17th, 18th,30th,
21st, 22nd & 23rd Battalions of the Manchester Regiment A History of the
Two Manchester Brigades, Michael Stedman, 2004
**James Callaghan, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/James%20Callaghan,
William Eric Lunt, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Private%20William%20Eric%20Lunt Private Sidney Bone of the Great War, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Private%20Sidney%20Bone%20of%20the%20Great%20War
My great uncle was in the 18th. He was from Blanchard St, CoM. Killed at Vaux, Feb 16. Buried at Suzanne. Try to visit his grave every 10th anniversary.
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