Museum of the Manchester Regiment

Family History Research

Are you researching an individual's service history with the Manchester Regiment? If you are please be aware no Regimental records are available in the museum.

The Regimental archives are deposited with Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre. The archives include thousands of photographs of men of the Regiment through the ages and documents and diaries that tell their stories along with many other sources of information for you to look at.

You can view the free information booklet below detailing many sources that may hold information about a man's service record and/or his unit's history or download a text only version of the booklet.278.87 KB  

Biographical Research into The Manchester Regiment

Although Museum staff are not able to undertake family history research on behalf of individuals we hope that you will find this information sheet of use to you during the course of your research into the Manchester Regiment.

• Brief History of the Manchester Regiment
• The Museum of the Manchester Regiment
• Official Service Records
• Medal Entitlements
• Soldiers Killed during the First or Second World Wars
• Unit Records
• Manchester Regiment Archive
• Links
• Other Useful Information

Brief History of the Manchester Regiment:

The 63rd Regiment of Foot was raised in 1756 as the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Regiment of Foot (later the King's Liverpool Regiment). In 1758 it was re-designated the 63rd Regiment of Foot, later acquiring the title ( West Suffolk ). The 96th Regiment was raised and disbanded 4 times prior to it being re-raised in 1824 at Manchester.

These two Regiments amalgamated in 1881 to form the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Manchester Regiment.

In 1958 the Manchester Regiment amalgamated with the King's Liverpool Regiment to form The King's Regiment. On July 1st 2006 the King's Regiment amalgamated with the Queen's Lancashire Regiment and the King's Own Royal Border Regiment to form the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border). For more information on the Regiment today please go to: www.army.mod.uk/ 

The Museum of the Manchester Regiment:

The Museum is located in the Town Hall, Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, OL6-6DL. It is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm. Admission is free. For Museum enquiries please contact the curator, Mr Garry Smith on 0161 342 2254, via letter or Send a Message to the Curator.

Official Service Records:

These are held by The National Archives (TNA), or by the Ministry of Defence.

For the service record of a soldier serving in or before 1920 and Officers serving up to and including 30th March 1922, please contact:

National Archives, Ruskin Avenue, Richmond, Kew, Surrey TW9 4DU
 Tel: 0208 392 5200.

The web site of the National Archives, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/  provides access to an on-line catalogue of materials, various research guides and lists of independent researchers. The National Archive also offers a research service for which there is a charge. Please be aware that approximately 2/3rds of First World War army records were destroyed during the Blitz in World War Two.

Copies of all surviving First World War army service records are also in the possession of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormon Church). For a fee of around £2.70 the church will transport the microfilm (filmed in surname order) to your nearest family history centre where you can consult the surviving records and take copies of records therein.

www.familysearch.org. Click on 'Library'. Click on 'Family History Library Catalogue'. Click on 'Keyword Search'. Type in 'British Military Records'. This will bring up numerous pages listing military records including the entries entitled, 'Military Records of the British Army 1914-20', some of which are followed by a surname range; (Surname F).

Once you have found the range you want click on 'View Film Notes'. This gives you detailed listings of records by surname and the film reference number which you can then order through your nearest branch. The homepage of their website will enable you to find your nearest centre. Please call the centre prior to your visit to confirm opening hours.

 Ashton under Lyne Branch: Patterdale Road, Crowhill Estate, Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire, OL7-9JA
0161 330 3453

Opening Hours: Mon, Tue, Fri 10am-1pm & Wed 10am-3pm &7pm-9pm.

All surviving records of are also being digitised by www.ancestry.co.uk.  Please look at their website for the latest update on the progress of this project. This is a pay-per-view website. Access to Ancestry is Free in Tameside Local Studies & Archives Centre.

For the service record of a soldier serving in or after 1921 and Officers serving on or after 31st March 1922 please contact:

Army Personnel Centre, Historical Disclosures, Mail Point 555, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow G2 8EX
0845 600 9663 disc4.civsec@apc.army.mod.uk

Service records are free to the serviceman in question and their widow but there is a charge of £30 for enquires from other family members and you will be required to fill in a Certificate of Kinship.

If you are seeking your own service record please amend the address above to: Army Personnel Centre, Disclosures 2 Mail Point 515 followed by the address above.

The APC can also provide access to surviving Home Guard Records from the Second World War. These records contain very little information and the aforementioned charge applies.

The application form(s) can be downloaded from the Veterans Agency website at: www.veterans-uk.info/service_records/army.html 

Medal Entitlements:

Soldiers are awarded medals for military campaigns, long service and for meritorious or gallant conduct.

1. Rolls for awards before 1924 are held by the National Archives.

The most comprehensive list of soldiers who served overseas during the First World War is the Medal Index Cards (MiC). This gives a man's service number(s) and the Regiment(s) in which he served. The card provides the reference to the medal rolls, at Kew, in which his battalion is also recorded. The card may also provide information such as the first theatre he was sent to and when and if he was discharged during the war because of injuries.

Please be aware that there are no surviving Military Medal citations.

The medal index cards can be downloaded from the National Archives website at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/medals.asp. There is a fee of £3.50 to download the medal index card of an individual. MiC’s can also be downloaded from www.ancestry.co.uk. At the latter site both sides of the MiC’s have been filmed and in colour.

2. For medal entitlement after 1924, apply to:

MOD Medals Office, S.P.V.A., Building 250, Innsworth Station, Gloucester GL3 1HW
01452 712612

Please contact the office directly for their latest guidelines on applying for un-issued medals and replacement medals.

Details of awards for gallantry during the twentieth century can be found on line at www.london-gazette.co.uk

Soldiers Killed during the First or Second World Wars:

For grave location and information on unit and date of death please contact:

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 2 Marlow Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 7DX
01628 634221 - ask for Register enquiries

A searchable database is available on the Commission's Internet site at: http://www. cwgc.org

Unit Records:

In wartime Regiments comprise battalions of about a thousand men that would serve in different locations. If you want to find out what a soldier did, you need to know with which battalion(s) he served.

First World War:

The Manchester Regiment raised 42 battalions during the First World War. The chances are that your relative was in one of three basic types: Regular, Territorial or New Army.

Regular:

• 1st (Stationed in India in 1914).
• 2nd (Stationed in Ireland in 1914).
• 3rd (Reserve) and 4th (Extra Reserve) (Both stationed in UK in 1914).
• The Reserve Battalions were made up from recalled Reservists.

Territorial:

Six Territorial Battalions existed before the outbreak of the First World War:

• 5th (Based in Wigan ).
• 6th (Based in Hulme).
• 7th (Based in Burlingtonst, Manchester ).
• 8th (Based in Ardwick).
• 9th (Based in Ashton-under-Lyne ).
• 10th (Based in Oldham ).

In 1914 these Battalions accepted new recruits to expand to war strength. All these Battalions formed new Second Line Battalions which were numbered 2/5th, 2/6th etc and the original first line Battalions became 1/5th etc. Third line battalions, 3/5th etc, were also formed.

New Army:

The New Armies were the result of Lord Kitchener's appeals for mass voluntary recruiting in 1914-15 and were known as 'Kitchener' or 'Service' Battalions. The 11th - 14th (Service) battalions were formed in 1914. No 15th Battalion was raised. The 'Pals' Battalions raised during the autumn of 1914 were also Service Battalions within the New Army.

• New Army 11th Battalion Raised at Ashton August 1914
• 12th Battalion Raised at Ashton September 1914
• 13th Battalion Raised at Ashton September 1914
• 14th Battalion Reserve Bn raised at Ashton November 1914 and remained in UK throughout the war
• Pals 16th Battalion Formed in Manchester 22nd August 1914
• 1st City Brigade 17th Battalion Formed in Manchester 22nd August 1914
• 18th Battalion Formed in Manchester September 1914
• 19th Battalion Formed in Manchester September 1914
• 2nd City Brigade 20th Battalion Formed in Manchester November 1914
• 21st Battalion Formed in Manchester November 1914
• 22nd Battalion Formed in Manchester November 1914
• 23rd Battalion Formed in Manchester November 1914 (Bantam Battalion for men between 5ft and 5ft 3in)
• 24th Battalion Oldham Pals raised from October 1914

Some battalion war diaries are now available on-line via the national archives website at:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/war-diaries.asp.

Second World War:

The following battalions were raised during World War II:

• 1st Battalion Far East - taken prisoner after the fall of Singapore. The 6th Battalion was re-constituted as the 1st Battalion after the fall of Singapore.
• 2nd Battalion To France in 1939 with the BEF. To the UK after Dunkirk. To India and then Burma.
• 5th Battalion To France in 1939 with the BEF. To the UK after Dunkirk. In 1942 converted to a Royal Armoured Corps Regiment. Later the 5th Bn was reformed ad stayed in the UK o coastal defence duties, etc. At the end of the war the Bn was posted to Malta.
• 6th Battalion In 1942 was re-constituted as the 1st Battalion and went to Europe shortly after D-Day, fighting through France, Holland and Germany finishing the war in Hamburg.
• 7th Battalion To Europe shortly after D-Day, fighting through France, Holland and Germany, finishing the war in Bremen.
• 8th Battalion To France with the BEF. Then to Malta where it served throughout the siege. Then to the Middle East and on to Italy where it fought until the end of the war with 10th Indian Division.
• 9th Battalion To France with the BEF. Then to Iceland. Afterwards to Italy where it took part in the fighting against the Gothic Line and in the Central Appenines. Subsequently the Battalion served in Greece and eventually in Austria.
• 2/9th Battalion In December 1941 it was converted to become 88th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery and was disbanded late in 1944.
• 10th Battalion This old Manchester Territorial Army Battalion had been transferred to the Tank Corps in 1938 and became 41st Royal Tank Regiment

Manchester Regiment Archive:

The Manchester Regiment Archive is located within Tameside Local Studies and Archive Centre and a catalogue of most of the Archive is available to view in the archive during opening hours. All of the catalogue is available to view on-line at www.a2a.org.uk.

The publications listed at the end of this sheet are available without appointment at the Archive Centre during opening hours, Mon, Tue & Thu 9am-8pm, Wed 9am-5pm, Fri 9am-5pm and Sat 9am-4pm. The majority of Tameside libraries book stock can be searched on-line at www.tameside.gov.uk. If you locate a publication you would like to borrow and it is not a reference copy you can do so by approaching your local library wherever you are based in the UK and ordering it through the inter-libraries loan scheme.

Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre, Central Library, Old Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside OL6 7SG (United Kingdom)
+44 (0) 161 342 4242 +44 (0) 161 342 4245 Send a Message to Local Studies and Archives

The 28 categories of material held within the Regimental archive are:

1. Records of Services and Historical Records of the Regiment, 1758-1945 - Digests of services for 1st and 2nd Battalions and some War Diaries.
2. Operational Records, 1883-1962 - Orders, reports and maps.
3. Histories of the Regiment, 1884-1974 - Official histories, diaries and personal accounts
4. Addresses and Messages of Appreciation, 1833-1962
5. Honours and Casualties of War, 1845-1957 - Rolls of honour, casualty lists, lists of P.O.W.s and medal rolls
6. Records of Appointments, Commissions and Promotions, 1760-1967 - Records of Officers' services, Army lists, Commissions and Attestations
7. General Returns, 1771-1847
8. Rolls of Companies and Officers, 1809-1945
9. Miscellaneous Reports, 1814-1950
10. Accounts and Pay Lists, 1782-1915
11. Records of Arrests and Illegal Absences, 1920-1940 (closed for 100 years)
12. Standing Orders, 1804-1958
13. Papers relating to Organisation and Training, 1798-1946
14. Papers relating to Dress, Clothing and Equipment, 1930-1979
15. Papers relating to the Band, 1904-1951
16. Correspondence, 1854-1979
17. Personal Documents, 1798-1990
18. Parades and Ceremonies, 1903-1994
19. Messes, Clubs and Associations, 1864-1988
20. Regimental and Battalion Newspapers and Gazettes, 1883-1993
21. Catalogues and Registers of the Regimental Museum, 1956-1971
22. Maps and Plans, 1903-1953
23. Photograph Albums, 1845-1971
24. Non manuscript items, 1735-1954
25. Biographical and Historical Notes, 1869-1984
26. Illustrations and Printed Material, 1776-1993
27. Ephemera, 1886-1976
28. Newspaper Cuttings, 1887-1990

Tameside Local Studies & Archives Centre hold a good collection of military history reference material that your local library may not hold including many publications detailing various aspects of the Manchester Regiment's history, its postings, people and events. In addition it holds publications that would help you to identify photographs that you may have depicting people in uniform as well as research guides.

What follows is a non-exhaustive list of some of the material held for public reference.

Regular Books:

Manchester Regiment Histories:

• The King's Regiment (Men-at-Arms Series) by A Shepperd and M Roffe, 1981. ISBN: 0-85045-120-5.
• The New Army List and Militia List for the 96th Foot 1839-1881.
• Amateur Soldiers: A History of Oldham's Volunteers & Territorials, 1859-1939 by K W Mitchinson, 1999. ISBN: 0-9518098-9-X.
• The King's Regiment VC Winners by Robert Bonner. ISBN: 1-873907-03-6.
• The 7th Manchester 's July 1916 - March 1919 by Capt. S J Wilson MC, 1920.
• Standing Orders of the Manchester Regiment, 1907.
• 7th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers Bazaar, 1886.
• A Short History of the Regular Battalions of the King's Regiment (Manchester & Liverpool) by Lt.Col. R P MacDonald, 1962.
• The Manchester Regiment 16th, 17th, 18th & 19th Bns: First City Brigade 1914-1918, 1923.
• Regimental Life in the British Army in India 1921-1922 by F H Broomhall & Ed. By Robert Bonner, 1997. ISBN: 1-873907-07-9.
• The 24th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment by Capt. G L Campbell, 1915.
• The Manchester 's: A History…1914-1918 by Capt. G L Campbell, 1916.
• Cotton Town Comrades: The Story of the Oldham Pals Battalion 1914-1919 by K W Mitchinson & I McInnes, 1993. ISBN: 1-873996-01-2.
• History of the Manchester Regiment (63rd & 96th Regiments) by Col H C Wylly, Vol I 1758-1883, 1923.
• History of the Manchester Regiment (63rd & 96th Regiments) by Col H C Wylly, Vol II 1883-1922, 1925.
• History of the Manchester Regiment: 1st & 2nd Battalions 1922-1948 by A C Bell, 1954
• Manchester City Battalions: Book of Honour (16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd & 23rd (service) Battalions The Manchester Regiment).
• The 21st Battalion The Manchester Regiment by Robert Bonner, 1994. ISBN: 1-873907-01-4-4.
• The 12th Battalion 1914-1919 The Manchester Regiment by Robert Bonner, 1994. ISBN: 1-873907-02-8.

Biographical Accounts:

• Andrew Moynihan VC by H L Kirby & R R Walsh, 1993. ISBN: 0-948494-19-0.
• Manchester 's in the Great War: Mike Lally of the Old Contemptibles, Joe Horgan of the Territorials and John Hallows of the Pals by F Heaton and S Richardson, 1985. ISBN: 0-907511-90-2.
• Orders and Orders: A Manchester Pal on the Somme: From the Account of Albert William Andrews of the 19th Manchester 's, written in 1917 by S Richardson, 1987. ISBN: 1-85216-006-3.
• The Diary of an Unprofessional Soldier by Capt. T A H Nash 16th Bn Manchester Regiment 1914-1918, edited by T A M Nash, 1991. ISBN: 0-948251-48-4.
• I Remain your son Jack: Letters from the First World War by J C Morten, ed by Sheila Morten, 1993. ISBN: 1-85058-346-3.
• Such Men as These by Charles Frisby, 1997. ISBN: 1-85756-365-4.
• Jack Churchill: Unlimited Boldness by Rex King-Clark, 1997. ISBN: 1-873907-06-0.
• The Battle for Kohima 1944: The Narrative of the 2nd Battalion The Manchester Regiment - The Machine Gun Battalion of the British 2nd Division, 1995. ISBN: 1-873907-01X.
• The Ardwick Boys went to Malta : A British Territorial Army Battalion during the siege 1940-1943 by Robert Bonner, 1992. ISBN: 0-1873-907052.

Rolls/Lists:

• Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919: The Manchester Regiment, Part 59, 1989. ISBN: 1-871505-59-3.
• The Distinguished Service Medal 1914-1920 by W H Fevyer, 1982. ISBN: 0-903754-97-5.
• British Battalions on the Somme 1916 by Ray Westlake, 1994. ISBN: 0-85052-374-5.
• The National Roll of the Great War 1914-1918 - Salford.
• The National Roll of the Great War 1914-1918 - Manchester.

CD-ROMS:

• Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919 (Ver.2.0).
• Soldiers Died in the Second World War 1939-1945.
• Manchester City Battalions: Book of Honour.
• Manchester City Battalions 2: Rolls of Honour of Some Manchester Firms & Institutions, 2 copies.
• The IWM Trench Map Archive of CD-ROM (Ver. 2.0).

Higher Unit Histories:

• The 7th Division 1914 - 1918 by C T Atkinson, 1927
• The 17th (Northern) Division 1914 - 1918 by A Hilliard Atteridge, 1929.
• The 42nd ( East Lancashire ) Division 1914-1918 by Frederick P Gibson, 1920.
• The 46th Division 1939 -1945 by Lt.Gen. Sir Richard L McCreery, n.d.

Guides:

• The Standard Catalogue of British Orders, Decorations & Medals by E C Joslin, 2nd Edition, 1972.
• War Medals & Decorations Issued to the British Military and Naval Forces from 1588 to 1898 by D Hastings Irwin, 1899.
• Identifying your World War I Soldier from Badges & Photographs by Iain Swinnerton, 2001. ISBN: 1-86006 128-1.
• Badges of the British Army 1820 to the Present by F Wilkinson, 1997. ISBN: 1-85409-426-2.
• Military Badge Collecting by John Gaynor, 6th Edition, 1997. ISBN: 0-85052-524-1.
• Records of the Militia from 1757 by Garth Thomas, 1993. ISBN: 1-873162-06-5.
• Records of the Militia & Volunteer Forces 1757-1945 by William Spencer, 1997. ISBN: 1-873162-44-8.
• Army Service Records of the First World War by William Spencer, 3rd Ed. 2001. ISBN: 1-903365-23-6.

General Publications:

• The Devil's Hill: Local Men at the Battle of Spion Kop by Fred Holcroft, 1992. ISBN: 1-874496-01-3.
• Locations of British Cavalry, Infantry & Machine Gun Units 1914-1924 by Robert W Gould, 1977.

Oversized Section:

Manchester Regiment Histories:

• A Short History of the Manchester Regiment (Regular Battalions) by Col. H C Wylly, 4th Revised Ed, 1950.
• Difficulties be Damned: The King's Regiment 8th, 63rd, 96th Ft: A History of the City Regiment of Manchester & Liverpool by Patrick Mileham, 2000. ISBN: 0-1873907-10-9.
• 11th (Service) Battalion in Gallipoli, France & Flanders. Typescript Photocopy.
• 13th (Service) Battalion in France & Salonika. Typescript Photocopy.
• 20th (Service) Battalion in France, Flanders & Italy. Typescript Photocopy.
• 22nd (Service) Battalion in France, Belgium, Italy & Egypt. Typescript Photocopy.
• 23rd (Service) Battalion in France & Flanders. Typescript Photocopy.
• The Manchester Pals 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd & 23rd Battalions of the Manchester Regiment: A History of the Two Manchester Brigades by Michael Stedman, 1994. ISBN: 0-85052-393-1.
• Jungle Bashers: A British Infantry Battalion in the Malayan Emergency 1951-1954 by Robert Bonner, 2002. ISBN: 1873907-12-5.
• The Chapel of the Manchester Regiment and The King's Regiment - Manchester Cathedral by Robert Bonner, 1998. ISBN: 0-1-873-907-09-5.
• Great Gable to Gallipoli: The diary of Lt. Col. Claude S Worthington DSO 5.10.1914 - 25.9.1916 (6th Battalion The Manchester Regiment), Robert Bonner, 2004. ISBN: 1-873907-206.
• Volunteer Infantry of Ashton-under-Lyne 1859-1971 (including the biography of William Thomas Forshaw VC) by Robert Boner, 2005. ISBN: 1-873907-141.

Rolls/Lists:

• Casualty list for the Siege of Ladysmith (The Manchester Regiment).
• Men of Dukinfield: A History of Dukinfield During the Great War by Mike Pavasovic, 1997. ISBN: 1-852161167
• The Boer War Casualty Roll 1899-1902 by Alexander M Palmer, 1999. ISBN: 0-9577097-0-6
• The South African War Casualty Roll: The 'Natal Field Force' 20.Oct 1899 - 26th Oct 1900, 1980.
• Stalybridge Herald - Christmas Souvenir 1915 - Roll of honour of local men with photographs.
• List of British Officers taken prisoner in the various theatres of war between August 1914 and November 1918. First published 1919.
• British Regiments 1914 -1918 by Brig. E A James, 5th Ed. 1998. ISBN: 0-906304-03-2.
• British Army Mutineers 1914-1922 by Julian Putkowski 1998. ISBN: 0-9532388-2-2.
• Death Sentences passed by military courts of the British Army 1914-1924 by Julian Putkowski, 1998. ISBN: 0-9532388-0-6.
• Order of Battle of the British Armies in France (Nov. 11 1918).
• Roll of Honour Land Forces WWII (Pts I & II) by Devereux & Sacker, 2000.
• De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour: A biographical record of members of his majesty's naval, military and aerial forces who fell in the Great War (Pt's I & II).
• Gallantry Medal Roll for The Manchester Regiment 1914-20 (Excluding VC's) compiled by Lt. Col. James. Includes, No., Surname, Initial(s), Rank, Bn and date gazetted.
  • Pt I: DCM & MM.
  • Pt II: MM, MC, MSM, Foreign Decorations, DSO, and Orders.

Indexes to material at The National Archive:

• Pensioners Index to WO 120/29 & 30 documents held at the PRO.1793-1851, 1987.
• Pensioners Index to WO 120/27 59th -66th Ft. 1806-1838 documents held at the PRO, 1987.
• 96th Ft Index to discharge papers 1813-1853 (WO97 1038-1043) 1995. (Discharge papers available on Microfilm).

Biographical Accounts:

• Wilfrith Elstob VC DSO MC The Manchester Regiment by Robert Bonner, 1998. ISBN: 1-873907-08.7.
• Story of Private Thomas Nash (202463) 1/5 and 2/5 Manchester Regiment.
• Forward from Kohima: A Burma Diary Nov. 1944 - May 1945 by Rex King-Clark, 2003. ISBN: 1-873907-117.
• I Shall not Find his Equal: The life of Brigadier-General Noel Lee (Manchester Regiment) by Niall Cherry, 2001. ISBN: 0-1873907-13-3.

General Publications:

• The Boer War 1899-1902: A military handbook - the organisation, experiences and methods of the Boer Army by Anthony David Jones, 2000. ISBN: 0-85420-240-4 (paperback edition).
• English and Welsh Infantry Regiment: An Illustrated record of service 1662-1994 by Ray Westlake, 1995. ISBN: 1-873376-24-3.
• The Territorial Battalions: A Pictorial History 1859-1985 by Ray Westlake, 1986. ISBN: 0-946771-68-5.
• The Way to Glory: Men of the North West who rode in the Charge of the Light Brigade by James W Bancroft, 1988. ISBN: 1-85216-024-1.
• Dangerous Energy: The archaeology of gunpowder and military explosives manufacture by Wayne D Cocroft, 2000. ISBN: 1-85074-718-0.
• Devotion to Duty: Tribute to a Region's VC's by James W Bancroft, 1990. ISBN: 1-872619-00-2.

Guides:

• Information relating to regular army officers records held at the PRO.
• Tracing army ancestors: A basic guide to the armies of the British Empire (The Victorian Military Society), 1994.
• Collecting and Researching the campaign medals of the Great War by H J Williamson, 3rd Ed. 1992.

Other Units:

• Manchester Scottish: The Story of the Manchester Contingent of the 15th Battalion, Royal Scots 1914-1918 with a record of Manchester & Salford men who served in the Regiment by Roger J Dowson, 2000. ISBN: 1-85216-140-X.
• Salford Pals 15,16,19 & 20th Bns The Lancashire Fusilier: A History of the Salford Brigade by Michael Stedman, 1993. ISBN: 0-85052-356-7.
• Ever Glorious: The Story of the 22nd ( Cheshire ) Regiment Vol. I. By Bernard Rigby, 1982. ISBN: 0-9508145-0-4.

Links (The following are useful World Wide Web addresses):

www.1914-1 9 18.net/ The Story of the British Army of 1914 - 1918, also known as the Long Long Trail. This is a very useful site to gain a greater understanding of the ordinary experiences of a Tommy. For example the Casualty Evacuation Chain is explained and there is a searchable database of WWI PoW's.

www.armymuseums.org.uk Army Museums Ogilby Trust. This site provides contact details for each Regimental and Corps Museum in the UK along with a searchable database of Regimental publications relating to each of those units as well as the facilities that each museum offers.

http://www.regiments.org/ This site attempts to provide the user with a greater understanding of the historical developments affecting the evolution of the British Army as well as a year-by-year chronology for each Regiments movements over its history, by Battalion. This site also lists detailed information regarding the succession of Commanding Officers and Colonels of the Regiment as well as containing articles on Regimental matters.

www.army.mod.uk/ The British Army site. This is useful to discover the activities of the British army today and planned amalgamations for the future.

www.icrc.org International Committee of the Red Cross. (Info resources = ICRC information services = The ICRC Archives = Form for requesting information on a Prisoner of War). The ICRC provides an on-line search facility to discover if records pertaining to a PoW are held by the organisation for which there may be a charge.

www.cofepow.org.uk Children of Far East Prisoners of War is a group dedicated to the perpetuation of the memory of the men who experienced captivity in the hands of the Japanese during WWII.

www.iwm.org.uk Imperial War Museum - hold no service records but have a large reference library. Also offer training to the public seeking information on ancestors in the Army.

www.national-army-museum.ac.uk National Army Museum - holds no records but has an extensive Library including Army Lists and London Gazettes. The Army Lists can contain detailed information about the service of British Army Officer from the 1660's to the present. A large collection of Army Lists is held by The Museum of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, Preston (01772 260362).

www.a2a.org.uk This website contains a searchable database of archive catalogues created by various museums, libraries and archives in the UK including Regimental and Corps Archives. All of the Manchester Regiment archive collection can be reviewed using this website.

www.oldoppos.co.uk This site is useful for anyone attempting to trace a member of the armed forces whom they have lost contact with since World War Two.

www.lancashirehistory.org Lancashire Local History Society.

www.medalfinder.com This site is useful if you are attempting to trace the location of a relatives medal.

www.omrs.org.uk Orders and medal research site. This site is useful for general information regarding orders and medals.

www.victoriacross.org.uk This is a very useful site for information regarding the evolution of the Victoria Cross Medal, worldwide.

www.britishwargraves.org.uk This is a useful site if you would like a photograph of a mans headstone

www.themanchesters.org  This is a very useful website for those researching the history of the Regiment. It provides access to many useful resources; medal rolls and battalion war diaries, through the sites chat-room.

https://www.military-genealogy.com This website gives access to the National Rolls of Honour, including Salford and Manchester. Soldiers Died in the Great War and the Army Roll of Honour 1939-45, for a fee.

www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_C01.html This website gives some excellent detail regarding individual army officers that served during the Second World War.

www.forrestdale.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/index.html This is the website of an independent researcher however the site contains some excellent information particularly a list of official reasons why men were discharged under Kings Regulations during WWI, references which appear a lot on the MiC's

www.billnkaz.demon.co.uk This is a family website which includes a list of men remembered on the Droylsden War Memorial for WWI and WWII.

www.stockport1914-1918.co.uk This website remembers men from the Stockport area that died during WWI.

www.roll-of-honour.com This website contains a vast amount of information regarding war memorials throughout the UK and abroad. It also includes a roll of honour to all those men of the Regiment that died while serving in Malaya in the 1950’s.

www.britishmedalforum.com This is an excellent website for any queries regarding medals of any type or period. It also has links to sites where you can try and search for missing medals from your group(s), search for Silver War Badges and Next-of-Kin Memorial Plaques (WWI)

www.spinningtheweb.org.uk This website provides free access to both the Manchester and Salford editions of the National Roll of the Great War which lists a lot of men from both areas that served in WWI regardless of whether they died or survived.

www.tamesidehistoryforum.org.uk This is the website of Tameside Local History Forum and is useful for any queries regarding the broader history of Tameside and the towns it comprises.

www.mlfhs.org.uk.  This site provides a searchable database of those names on Greater Manchester War Memorials.

www.bacsa.org.uk.  The BACSA Archive contains folders on the majority of the European cemeteries in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and some information on European cemeteries in places ranging from the Middle East to Afghanistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and China.

www.forcesmemorial.org.uk/roll-of-honour.asp.  The Roll of Honour provides information relating to members of the Armed Forces who have died in service since the end of the Second World War.

www.irishwarmemorials.ie/html/place-details.php?show=12.  This website presents an inventory of war memorials in Ireland. It includes photographs of each memorial, the text of all inscriptions, and details of the site of the memorial. A database of all of those named allows a search for individual persons, with links to the photographs of the memorials.

www.casus-belli.co.uk/abwmp.  The Project is dedicated to the recording of memorials to the Anglo-Boer War across the world.

www.indian-cemeteries.org.  This site is attempting to preserve the images of graves and monuments before they disappear. It covers the area which used to be British India and includes present-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Entries are not limited to British citizens, monuments cover many nationalities.

 www.archhistory.co.uk.  Chronicling British Army Childrens History.

Other Useful Information:

The Family History Centre:

The Centre based in the Town Hall, Ashton-under-Lyne is open Monday to Friday 10am - 4pm and Saturday 10am - 1pm. Staff are available to provide guidance to people researching their family tree, without an appointment, and can be contacted as follows:

The Family History Centre, Setantii, Town Hall, Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside OL6 6DL
0161 342 2813 Send a Message to the Family History Centre

Advice sessions run by the Cheshire Family History Society are held 2pm - 4pm on the first Tuesday of every month at Tameside Archive Centre.

Manchester Central Library:

St Peter's Square, Manchester M2-5PD

The Library holds citations for some DSO's and MC's and all DCM's for WWI.

Battlefield Tours:

The Museum does not endorse the company nor have any connection to it.

• Holts Tours = www.battletours.co.uk ( 01293 455 300)

Shop:

• A range of Regimental publications can be purchased on-line at: www.tameside.gov.uk/museumsgalleries/mom/publications
• The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment: City Headquarters Manchester shop sells a wide range of material, ideal for gifts.
  
  The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, City Headquarters Manchester, TA Centre, Ardwick Green, Manchester M12 6HD
  0161 273 6191 rhqi@rhq k ings.fsnet.co.uk
• A variety of material relating to the History of Ashton and Tameside can be purchased through: www.tameside.gov.uk/museumsgalleries/portland/gifts
• For Cap Badges and Replacement medals/mounting services please try the local business directory or the Internet. One company that supplies reproduction Manchester Regiment cap badges is:
  
  E C Snaith and Sons Ltd, 20 Valest, Denby, Denbighshire LL16 3BE
  01745 812218
  
  This is a suggestion only. The Museum does not endorse the company or have any connection to it.
• An alternative source for replica medals, ribbons, miniatures, mounting service and other items is:
  
  Combined Services, 46 Lowerhill Gate, STOCKPORT, SK1-1JE
  0161 477 2749 www.militaryitems.co.uk