23rd (Service) Battalion, Manchester Regiment (8th City)

The 23rd (Service) Battalion, Manchester Regiment (8th City) was a Bantam battalion recruited in 1914 as part of 'Kitchener's Army' from men who were below the normal minimum height required by the British Army. It served in 35th Division, which was entirely composed of bantam battalions, and first saw action at the Battle of the Somme. The Bantam concept did not survive the losses of the Somme, and had to be abandoned when the battalions became filled with reinforcements who were not simply undersized but actually unfit for service. In 1917 the 23rd Manchesters became a conventional infantry battalion and saw further action during the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line and at the Battle of Passchendaele before being broken up early in 1918 to provide reinforcements to other units.

Background On 6 August 1914, less than 48 hours after Britain's declaration of war, Parliament sanctioned an increase of 500,000 men for the Regular British Army, and the newly appointed Secretary of State for War, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum issued his famous call to arms: 'Your King and Country Need You', urging the first 100,000 volunteers to come forward. This group of six divisions with supporting arms became known as Kitchener's First New Army, or 'K1'.War Office Instructions No 32 (6 August) and No 37 (7 August).Becke, Pt 3a, pp. 2 & 8. The flood of volunteers overwhelmed the ability of the army to absorb and organise them, and by the time the Fifth New Army (K5) was authorised on 10 December 1914, many of the units were being organised as 'Pals battalions' under the auspices of mayors and corporations of towns up and down the country.Becke, Pt 3b, pp. 51–9.McGreal, pp. 19–21.Scott, pp. 27–34.

However, a large number of otherwise medically fit volunteers were turned away because they did not meet the minimum height requirement of the prewar Regular Army, of 5 feet 3 inches (160 cm). Alfred Bigland, the Member of Parliament for Birkenhead, persuaded Kitchener that this pool of potential manpower should be tapped, and he was given authority to raise a battalion of 'Bantams' (named after the small but pugnacious fighting cock). Three Bantam battalions were quickly raised at Birkenhead for the Cheshire Regiment, many of them coal miners who had travelled long distances to enlist, and the scheme spread to other areas. The War Office (WO) authorised each military district to recruit a battalion, attached to whichever regimental depot had sufficient capacity.McGreal, pp. 21–48.Davson, pp. 1–2.Scott, pp 37–40.War Office Instruction No 138 of 14 June 1915.

Recruitment The Lord Mayor and City of Manchester had already raised five 'City' battalions of Manchester Pals for K5, but the raisers knew they were turning away a lot of men on grounds of height. D.E. Anderson, chairman of the North Western Branch of the National Service League (NSL) pointed this out to the WO on 24 November, and the same evening the Lord Mayor received a telegram authorising him to raise a Bantam battalion. By then the NSL had collected the names of 1208 would-be bantams and the first recruit was attested next day. There was a race for recruits between the bantams and the 6th and 7th City battalions, which were also being enlisted at Manchester Town Hall. Anderson had proposed naming the battalion 'Bobs' Own' after the popular Field Marshal Earl Roberts, who was short of stature (and president of the NSL), and had died earlier in the month. In the event the Manchester Bantams were formally designated the 23rd (Service) Battalion, Manchester Regiment (8th City).Frederick, p. 134.James, p. 98.War Office Instruction 56 of September 1915, Appendix IX.Manchester Regiment at Long, Long Trail.Scott, pp. 40–7.23rd (S) Battalion at Manchester Regiment 1758–1958.23rd (S) Battalion at Museum of the Manchester Regiment.

Training

The new battalion was completed and paraded for the first time on 4 December at the Manchester Artillery Drill Hall in Hyde Road, Ardwick. On 10 December 1914 the 20th–23rd (S) Battalions of the Manchesters (5th–8th City battalions) were assigned to 126th Brigade of 42nd Division. Huts were being erected in Heaton Park to house the City battalions, but these were inadequate for eight battalions, and the end of December 126th Bde began moving out to Morecambe on the Lancashire coast. The 23rd Manchesters entrained at Manchester Exchange railway station on 2 January 1915, and were comfortably billeted in Morecambe's seaside boarding houses, with battalion headquarters (HQ) at the Alhambra Theatre. The men had still not received their uniforms (temporary blue uniforms with dark grey overcoats were supplied by the Co-operative Wholesale Society), but training could get under way. Since December the 23rd Manchesters had been temporarily commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Walter Cook, a retired officer of the Indian Army. In January he was replaced by Major Sir Henry Blyth Hill, 6th Baronet, a younger Reserve officer (he had served at the Battle of Omdurman) who had been appointed second-in-command of the 10th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (Derry) on the outbreak of war and was promoted to take over 23rd Manchesters. In March 126th Bde returned to Heaton Park for an inspection by Lord Kitchener, though the men were still clothed in a mixture of blue and khaki and many still did not have rifles.Scott, pp. 47–78.

On 27 April 1915 126th Bde was renumbered 91st Bde and it was moved to a new 30th Division entirely composed of Liverpool and Manchester Pals battalions. However, in May the 23rd Manchester was transferred to the 35th Division which was going to be composed of Bantam battalions. The battalion was assigned to 104th Bde, in which it was brigaded with the 17th (1st South-East Lancashire), 18th (2nd South-East Lancashire) and later the 20th (4th Salford) service battalions of the Lancashire Fusiliers (LF), all bantams.Davson, p. 2 .Scott, p. 80.35th Division at Long, Long Trail.

While the rest of the Manchester City battalions left to join 30th Division in April, the 23rd Manchesters remained at Morecambe until June 1915 when it went to Masham in North Yorkshire to join 104th Bde camped at Roomer Common. Here training in musketry, entrenching, and larger-scale exercises were undertaken.Davson, p. 4.Scott, pp. 81–6. In August 35 Division moved by rail to Salisbury Plain for final intensive training, with the infantry at Tidworth where 23rd Manchesters went into No 1 Parkhouse Camp. In June Lt-Col Hill had been transferred to the 19th Manchesters and in September Lt-Col R.P. Smith of the Devonshire Regiment took over command. In December the division received orders to prepare for service in Egypt, and all ranks were issued with tropical uniforms. It was unkindly said that the 'Bantams' on Salisbury Plain in their oversized pith helmets resembled overgrown mushrooms. However, the division's destination was shortly afterwards changed to the Western Front and the pith helmets were exchanged for caps and gas masks. Embarkation for France began on 28 January 1916; most of 104th Bde sailed from Southampton and landed at Le Havre on 29 January, but 23rd Manchesters crossed from Folkestone to Boulogne on 30 January. By 6 February the division had completed its concentration east of Saint-Omer.Davson, pp. 4–5, 8.Scott, pp. 87–101.Stedman, pp. 73–4.

Service Once in France the brigade continued training, with particular emphasis on 'bombing' and machine guns. In late February the units went in to the line in the Neuve-Chapelle sector alongside the more experienced 38th (Welsh) Division for instruction in Trench warfare. The Bantams were each provided with two sandbags to place on the firestep so that they could stand on them to see over the parapet of the trench. The units began to suffer their first few casualties. On 7 March 35 Division took responsibility for its own section of the line and the battalions began a routine of alternating periods between the front line, reserve and rest, with continual work details. While in the front line they carried out frequent trench raids. On 14 May the second-in-command, Maj J.F. Bannatyne, who had been in temporary command, was mortally wounded by shellfire. On 28 May Lt-Col Smith was removed from command on grounds of ill-health and replaced by Maj Eustace Lockhart Maxwell, an officer of the Indian Army (11th King Edward's Own Lancers (Probyn's Horse)) and brother of the Victoria Cross winner Francis Aylmer Maxwell. Maxwell had been serving with the bantams of 19th Durham Light Infantry in 106th Bde.Davson, pp. 9–20.Scott, pp. 101–40.

Somme The BEF had been preparing for that summer's 'Big Push' (the Battle of the Somme), which was launched on 1 July. 35th Division had been in rest billets at Béthune since 19 June, and it entrained on the night of 2/3 July to join Fourth Army in the Somme sector, with 104th Bde billeted at Bouquemaison, then at Hem-Hardinval. On 6 July it began moving up close to the line in motor buses, with 104th Bde in Aveluy Wood, Morlancourt and 'Happy Valley'. 35th Division was in reserve for the Battle of Bazentin Ridge on 15 July, but although its 105th and 106th Bdes were sent forward, 104th Brigade was not called upon. However, during the night of 19/20 July W and X Companies of 23rd Manchesters struggled forward through darkness and shelling in the Trônes Wood sector, arriving at 04.55 to hold the trench just as 15th Sherwood Foresters (105th Bde), attempted to capture Maltz Horn Farm in front. One company of the Foresters reached the German trench but were driven out and the whole battalion suffered severe casualties; the remnants dribbled back through the Manchesters. The French 153rd Division to the right had made some progress, so a new attempt had to be made to protect their flank. 23rd Manchesters were ordered to renew the attack at 11.35. At 10.45 the two companies already in the line were pulled back from the front trench before the artillery bombardment began at 11.05. At this point Y and Z Companies had still not arrived after their forced march. At 11.35 W and X Companies went 'over the top' in eight waves with no clear idea of their direction or objective. As the other two companies arrived, one was sent to support the attack, the other to hold the trench. The British line was already under intense enemy shellfire. The Manchesters reached the opposing trench, but there was no cover from the German artillery and machine guns, and they were driven out again with serious casualties. Those who could retired to their trenches, which were subjected to intense enemy bombardment. The attack was over by 12.00. In this hastily planned attack the 23rd Manchesters had lost 9 officers and 192 other ranks (ORs); Lt-Col Maxwell was among the casualties, having been the first man over the parapet carrying a rifle and bayonet. He was reported as missing, believed killed. Afterwards, the commander of 153rd French Division told Maj-Gen Reginald Pinney of 35th Division that several of his observation posts had watched the attack of the 23rd Manchesters with admiration; 'It was splendid, as on parade, but they had no chance on the front face of the hill'. Pinney himself wrote 'The best type of Bantams done in'.Davson, pp. 27–31, 34–6.Miles, 1916, Vol II, pp. 106, 111–2.Scott, pp. 145, 156–65.