John Harley - 6th Battalion. The Manchester Regiment in the Great War

of men known or believed to have
been serving with the battalions
at date of death

T his Roll of Honour has been compiled from the records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the CD-ROM Soldiers Died in the Great War. It does not purport to be a complete listing nor can the accuracy be absolutely guaranteed. A number of men recorded by the Commission as serving with the battalions have been excluded as their date of death and/or place of burial suggests that they were attached to other units at the time. Similarly a number of men are included even though the Commission records them serving with a different unit.

1 KIA - Killed in action. DOW - Died of wounds. Died - usually indicating a death from natural causes unconnected with combat. Note that the original information is known to contain errors and the details here cannot be relied on with certainty.

A NNUAL CAMP was always the high spot of the year for the part-time Territorial soldiers of the Manchester Regiment. For many men, it would be their only holiday. For others, it was a time to renew old friendships. For all, it was a time of comradeship. When the trains took the men off to Caemarfon on Sunday, 31 May 1914, they cannot have known that, within a few weeks, their world would be in turmoil and that, for many, they would not meet again in such convivial surroundings.

There was a bond of friendship amongst the 6th Battalions men. Many of them lived in the same fashionable areas of the city - the fairly new suburbs of Longsight, Gorton and Blackley - or in the small towns and villages of the surrounding area, commuting into work by train or tram. Others lived in the Hulme area, close to the battalion headquarters. They had good jobs with many working as bank clerks, or were employed in one of the many accountancy, stockbroking or legal firms which had offices around the citys King Street, Spring Gardens and St Annes Square areas. Others worked in the offices of cotton merchants and traders in the buildings around Princess Street. Cottonopolis, as the area was popularly known, was where much of the citys wealth continued to be generated. Keen sportsmen and, almost solidly middle class, their game of choice was not football or rugby league. Instead, they played lacrosse or hockey in the winter and, of course, cricket in summer. Moving easily in the same social circles, as well as regularly drilling together at Stretford Road, the Saturday Afternoon Soldiers were true pals as well as comrades.

Market Street, Manchester.

Oxford Street and Palace Theatre.

Sergeant Thomas Worthington.

Britain had a long tradition of part-time military service dating back to the Militias and, more recently, the Volunteer Battalions. Their role was one of home defence at times of national crisis. Some units had, however, fought in South Africa during the Boer War but individual men could not be obliged to serve overseas. In 1908, reforms to the army structure created the Territorial Force with a streamlined command structure and the continued primary role on British shores.