WWI Manchester Regt. and the Devonshires

[Tony Walker]

After  a few years I have now transferred a fascinating correspondence onto a spreadsheet, and would welcome some direction for further study.

Four brothers fought in WWI, all survived.  Their parents lived on the High Street in Combe Martin, Devon

Alf Passmore 5352 was in H Coy., 4 Battn. Manchester Regt on 2 Nov 1914 at Riby Park Camp, Stallingborough, Lincs., then on 12 Oct 1915 in the iith Div, 34th Brigade, MEF and so on.  He appears to have been invalided out in November 1916 as he was in Knightshays Hosp, Tiverton, Devon 'having got done on 28 Sept up on the Somme'.

Two brothers Ern 1465 and Stan were in at the School of Musketry, Cambridge Barracks, Rawal Pindi, Punjab on 17 April 1915 and appear to be in the No 413A double Coy, 1/6 Devons, Lahore.  They served in this region most of the war.

The fourth brother, Harry, was in the navy before the war and served during and after the war.  He was on board HMS Canopus at the Battles of Coronel and Falklands in 1914, and I have a personal diary written by him during the first years of the war, so I am fairly conversant with his WWI career.

I would be grateful for information on how I might find more details of the other three brothers so I can put meat on the very descriptive letters Stan and Ern wrote to their mother and brothers, and about Alf's shorter spell in the army.  The censor did not appear to interfere with their letters.

The Army in WWI is not my area of expertise, so apologies if the above information is lacking.  I may have other details culled from the letters which could help, please ask.

Tony

[Graham Mark]

Hello Tony
Looks like the start will require a bit of reading of inter-library loans:
Atkinson CT  (1926) "The Devonshire Regiment 1914-1918" 742pp, published by Eland Bros, Exeter.  But there is only one chapter on the Territorial Battalions.
Campbell GL (1916) "The Manchesters ...." 179pp, pub Picture Advertising Co, London.  This has a very long sub-title but covers 1914-16.
Wylly HC (1923-25) "History of The Manchester Regiment", 2 volumes published by Foster Groom & Co, London.
My source is White AS (1965) "A Bibliography of Regimental Histories of the British Army".
Good hunting.
Graham

[Tony Walker]

Thanks Graham - that seems to tie up my winter evenings for a while !

Tony