John and James Clegg Manchester Regiment casualties at Gallipoli. Their lives and a Memorial.
Battlefield Sleuth Series – 2019
Tim Bell
A Military Biography In June 1916 Ann Clegg commemorated the loss of two her sons, John and James. She donated £1,000 to Oldham Royal Infirmary for the endowment of a bed. The bed was in memory of her sons and their cousin John Hamer Clegg. It is assumed this memorial plaque was fixed to the wall above the bed. It states:THIS COT IS ENDOWED BY THE MOTHER, BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF SERGT. JOHN CLEGG, TH 6 MANCHESTER REGT. KILLED IN ACTION IN GALLIPOLI, JUNE 4TH 1915 ----------- AND OF ---------LIEUT. JAMES CLEGG 10TH MANCHESTER REGT. KILLED IN ACTION IN GALLIPOLI, MAY 27TH 1915
Clegg Family Memorial Plaque.
This journal investigates the lives of the Clegg family and the story of the Memorial Plaque.
Index Background and Education Army Service before 1914 Great War – England & Egypt Gallipoli Commemoration Acknowledgements Battlefield Sleuth Series
Battlefield Sleuth Series – August 2019
BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION The Clegg family were established in the Oldham area in in the 17th Century and credited with the introduction of hat production in the town; for which they were described as the principal hat manufacturers in the kingdom. The extended family also had significant involvement in the burgeoning cotton mills of Oldham. They owned Mumps Mills, to the east Oldham town centre, constructed in 1836. John Clegg (1823-1863) handed the business to his sons John Edward (1848-1912) and Charles (1849-1923). The brothers built affluent lives for their families, running Clegg Brothers Limited. In 1891 the Company had 56,000 spindles in Mills at Roscoe Street and Coronation Street in Oldham; with offices at 6 Brown Street, in Manchester City Centre. John Edward Clegg originally lived at Waterloo Street, Oldham and later moved to Thornlee, Grotton, near Saddleworth. Charles’ family lived in Wilmslow. John Edward Clegg married Alice Mary Whittaker in 1874 and the couple had four sons and three daughters. With the trappings of wealth, all four sons are known to have
attended Rossall School near Fleetwood in Lancashire. The second son, John Clegg was born on 28th January 1880. He joined Pelican Rossall School House of Rossall School in the Second Term of 1889. John matriculated at Trinity Hall College, Cambridge in Michaelmas term of 1899 and commenced a Law Tripos. In his spare time John rowed for his College Boat Trinity Hall College, Club. Trinity Hall Cambridge Clubs and Societies recorded his developing skills; from the 5th VIII in his first term, to a Bow Seat in the December Trials of John’s second year. Following his service in the Boer War (Below) John returned to Cambridge in October 1900. He resumed his academic studies and contribution to Trinity Hall Boat Club. John had clearly recovered his health after his exploits in South Africa. He took the 6th seat in the 2nd VIII for the 1901 Lents campaign, being bumped on all four days. The Lent Bumps of 1902 were slightly more Trinity Hall Boat Club successful. John took nd nd the 2 seat of the 2 VIII and avoided the bumps in the Friday and Saturday races. John completed is BA and LLB Degrees in 1902 and commenced his Articles with Ponsonby & Carlile of 5 Clegg Street, Oldham. He qualified as a solicitor in 1905 and became chief clerk of Jacksons Solicitors of Rochdale. John lived at Lower Top Hill in Delph, Lancs.
Mumps Mill in 1924. © English Heritage
James Clegg was John Edward and Alice Clegg’s fourth son and youngest child. Seven years junior to his brother John, James was born at Waterloo Street, Oldham on 22nd July 1887. James followed his brothers to Pelican House of Rossall School in 1897 and he was also a member of the shooting team. James may have competed against his brother, when John returned to represent Old Rossallians against the school in a shooting match in July 1903 James returned to the Oldham area and lived with his mother in Grotton. He became an Engineer Machine Fitter in the textile industry. James’ Service record indicates that he was a Lithographer in 1914. In 1911, John Edward Clegg was still working at Mumps Mill in Oldham. James may have been working with him, alongside his eldest brother, Herbert. Their cousin, John Hamer Clegg also had a senior position at the Mill. John Edward Clegg died on 8th March 1912, leaving an Estate of almost £38,000. John Hamer Clegg became joint Managing Director of Clegg Brothers Limited, most probably alongside John Edward’s eldest son Herbert.
ARMY SERVICE BEFORE 1914 In his Sixth Form, John Clegg was a Corporal in the Rossall School Officer Training Corps, until he left school in 1898. He had represented Rossall for two years at the Public Schools Shooting Match at Bisley, gaining a top 15 individual score in 1897. During his time at Cambridge, John joined the 4th Volunteer Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment –known as the Light Blue Volunteer Corps.
Volunteer Battalion Suffolk Regiment Badge
John returned to Bisley to represent Rossall in the Public Schools Veterans Shooting Competition in July 1899. He also represented Cambridge in a shooting competition, losing to Oxford at Bisley in July 1899. John was appointed Lance Corporal in December 1899. He subsequently transferred to the 1st Bucks Volunteer Rifle Corps, probably on 26th January 1900.
1st Bucks Rifle Volunteer Corps Badge
John interrupted his studies in his second year at Cambridge. He joined many of the Bucks Rifle Volunteers and enlisted as Private 7309 in the Volunteer Company of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry. He attested on 2nd February 1900. John was 20 years old, almost 5’ 8” in height and weighed 130 lbs. He had Brown hair and Hazel eyes. Alfred Thompson, “Campus Photograph 1878,” Rossall School Archives
John served with the 1st Battalion Oxfordshire Light Infantry in the Boer War from March to September 1900. Oxfordshire Light Infantry He received the Badge Queens South Africa Medal, with clasps for the action at Cape Colony and Orange Free State.
Clegg, although it is known he became Secretary of Diggle Shooting Club.
John had been invalided home in September 1900 and received a £5 War Gratuity, when he was discharged on 13th December 1900. Cambridge Council recognised the returning Boer War soldiers, by granting John and his local comrades, the Honorary Queen’s South Africa Medal Freedom of the Borough of Cambridge.
John was appointed Lance Corporal by May 1909 and Lance Sergeant in April 1911, when he was also granted his Territorial Force Efficiency Medal. This was awarded for 12 years’ service, with war service counting double. John regained his rank of Territorial Force Sergeant by the summer Efficiency Medal of 1912. The 6th Manchesters were based at 3 Stretford Road in Hulme and attracted many middle class men from the City.
John later rejoined the Army with the University Rifle Volunteers, with whom he was promoted to Corporal by 1901 and Sergeant in 1902. He also continued his marksmanship, winning three cups in Cambridge in May 1901. John also won £5 and a badge at Bisley in July 1901. In 1902, he returned to Bisley on two occasions and won prizes in the King’s Competition. Following Graduation John returned to the Military, joining the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the Manchester Regiment. Results of numerous Manchester Regiment Cap shooting competitions Badge report a J Clegg in the local press. It is not certain if this is John
The Volunteers were reorganised in 1908 and subsequently became the 6th (Territorial) Battalion Manchester Regiment. 6th Battalion Shoulder Tabs © Alamy.com John joined E Company th of 6 Battalion allocated the regimental number 93.
Sgt John Clegg is stood in the centre of the 2nd row from the back. Sergeants Mess, 6th Battalion, Frith Hill, Surrey in 1912 © MR03696
James Clegg was a Corporal in the Rossall School Contingent, Junior Division, Officers Training Corps, discharged when he left school in July 1905. James and his cousin John Hamer Clegg were Commissioned 2nd Lieutenants in the 10th (Territorial} Battalion Manchester Regiment on 9th March 1914. This was reported in the London Gazette of 15th May 1914. James’ service file indicates his commission was junior in the Battalion to his 10th Battalion Shoulder Tabs © cousin. th
Oldham Historical Research Group
The 10 (Oldham) Battalion was based at the Drill Hall on Rifle Street in Oldham and had previously been the 6th Volunteer Battalion.
GREAT WAR - ENGLAND & EGYPT The Nation entered Great War hostilities on 4th August 1914. The Territorial Army were mobilised, but not obliged to serve abroad. Plans for the Manchester Battalions were originally coastal defence duties in Ireland. Lord Kitchener soon encouraged the Territorials to volunteer for overseas duty in mid-August and most men enthusiastically embodied. The Manchester Regiment’s 5th – 8th Battalions formed the Manchester Brigade and 9th (Ashton) and 10th (Oldham) Battalions joined the 4th (Blackburn) and 5th (Burnley) Battalions of the East Lancashire Regiment to form the East Lancashire Brigade. Both Brigades formed part of the East Lancashire Division. As part of 6th Manchesters, John Clegg joined the Manchester Brigade at a camp at Hollingworth Lake, near Rochdale. With John’s military experience and education, he was an ideal candidate for officer training. Rossall School records indicate he was offered a commission, but preferred to remain in the ranks.
Lieut James Clegg © IWM (HU 120049) Manchester Regiment Camp-Hollingworth Lake 1914
The East Lancashire Division embarked for Egypt in September 1914; with John and 6th
Manchesters on board SS Caledonia. They arrived at Alexandria on 25th September and the Division took responsibility for Garrison duties and the defence of the Suez Canal. The Territorials also heightened their training in preparation for further hostilities. John Hartley’s History of the Battalion (see Sources) reports John involved with a training exercise.
embarked to join 1/10th Battalion in Egypt. His rank of Captain was reinstated soon after arrival in Egypt.
“Sergeant John Clegg tended the Section’s fire and told the men of his time in South Africa during the Boer War. Later, they advanced through the night to undertake a practice attack. As they neared the defenders, they were ordered to crawl forward for a considerable distance…They were back in barracks and ready for some sleep by the middle of the next morning” James Clegg and John Hamer were relatively inexperienced officers and remained in Lancashire when 10th Battalion departed for Egypt. Both cousins had been promoted to Lieutenant on 31st August 1914.
Men of 1/10th Battalion, Manchester Regiment manning a newly dug practice trench in Egypt, 1914-1915. © IWM Q 102960
James Clegg was posted to the Reserve Battalion at Bury. The 2/10th Reserve Battalion was charged with training further recruits to be drafted overseas as replacements for losses in the 1/10th Battalion. James later embarked for Alexandria. He wrote his Will on 10th January 1915, which may have been a similar date to his departure overseas. John Hamer was also posted to training recruits in Territorial Reserve Battalions. He was promoted to the rank of Temporary Captain on 28th November 1914, probably following posting as a Company Commander. He reverted to Lieutenant on 13th April 1915, on alteration to his posting. This may have been close to the date John Hamer Clegg
Interior of the billet room in Egypt the Lieutenant Frederick Hardman of the 1/10th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, shared with Lieutenant Jim Clegg, 1914-1915. © IWM Q102963
Remaining in England, other members of the Clegg family played their part in the war effort. John and James’ mother volunteered to use her home at Grotton as a War Office Supply Depot.
Eldest daughter, Mary, engaged in the Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) Nurse in October 1914. She worked as a nurse and cook at Richmond and Albert House Hospitals in Ashton under Lyne. Mary’s youngest sister Amy also joined the VAD. Amy worked at Woodfield Auxiliary Hospital at Werneth, Oldham and Englefield Green Military Hospital, Surrey (14/01/1916February 1917). Amy then became a cook at Didsbury College Hospital (April 1917 – August 1917 and The Knoll, Dormy House, Werneth (October 1917-February 1919). She served 800 hours, terminating in February 1919.
GALLIPOLI With the principal strategic objecting of gaining secure access to the Black Sea, French and Commonwealth Forces landed on the Gallipoli peninsular in northern Turkey on 25th April 1915. The 42nd East Lancashire Division was charged with providing further support in the campaign. Setting sail from Egypt, the men of 6th Manchesters landed on 6th May 1915, with 10th Battalion disembarking on 9th & 13th May. Commonwealth leaders had totally underestimated the skills and strength of the defending Ottomans. The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force was doomed to failure, with extensive losses on both sides. The Manchester Battalions suffered continuing casualties in their efforts to hold the hastily dug trench line to the south of the Gallipoli. Lieutenant John Clegg of 10th (Oldham) Battalion was fatally wounded on the 25th May 1915. KW Mitchinson's "Amateur Soldiers" (see Credit) describes the circumstance of James’ death.
Lieut James Clegg at Heliopolis, Egypt ©MR02470
"When dawn [25 May] came it was realised that the new trench could be enfiladed by the Turks on the opposite side of the Gully. The Turks too soon appreciated the advantage and began picking off the Oldhamers. It was here that Lt Jim Clegg was sniped [shot in the head] and killed. It is perhaps not surprising that the Oldham papers were confused as to which of the cousins had been hit, but to the men of his platoon, Clegg's death came as a numbing shock. It was common for papers and men to describe their fallen officers as "the best of men" and other soothing platitudes, but the
genuine respect in which "Gentleman Jim" was held is clear from several reminiscences. Clegg did not die immediately but later succumbed to his wounds. He was buried "beneath a nice tree" with representatives of his platoon in attendance."
going into the trench and was killed shortly afterwards.”
Sergeant Maurice Bradbury MM recounted further details of James Clegg’s death in his in a Oldham Chronicle article in 1919. “Early in the evening the heavens opened, or in other words a cloud burst, and in less than half-an-hour the new trench was up to the waist in water and the stream running down the middle of the centre Krithia Nullah was swelled into a torrent. Blankets and greatcoats came down and rolling helplessly from side to side were the dead bodies of Turks washed down from the slopes of Achi Baba, and to add to the misery of it all the Turks, suspecting a relief to be in progress, poured shrapnel and bullets on the newly acquired ground. It was during this relief that Lieut. J. Clegg was killed, an officer whose memory old members of the battalion will always treasure. He was fearless, and a gentleman always.” Sergeant Bradbury’s account also confirmed that John Clegg had been able to pay respects to his dead brother. “The stretcher bearers carried his body out for burial behind the line and on the way down one of the many sad coincidences of this war occurred. A sergeant of the relieving 1/6th Battalion [John] asked to see his body, and knew it was that of his brother[James], and he himself was
© IWM Q 69515 Troops of the 6th Battalion, Manchester Regiment gathered at Krithia Nullah, Gallipoli
Alice Clegg received news of the loss of her youngest son, James on 2nd June. The report must have indicated James died of wounds in Alexandria on 27th, rather than the 25th May 1915 and the correct date was still not known a year later. Probate was granted in October 1916, with the wrong place and date, even though the Death Certificate of 24th October states that James died in the Dardanelles on 25th May. The grieving family would soon receive more terrible news after James’Telegram. On 6th June 1915 British forces attempted an advance on the heavily defended Turkish village of Krithia. Sergeant John Clegg of 6th Battalion was killed in the assault. John Hartley’s History (See Sources) recounts the opening of the attack. “The fellows in the trenches leaped over the parapet and away they went…The enemy’s fire was terrific in the extreme and most deadly in its effect and our men went down before it like chaff in the wind”
COMMEMORATION
Men of the 6th Battalion, Manchester Regiment charging on 4 June 1915 during the Third Battle of Krithia. © IWM (HU 129369)
John Clegg’s cousin, Captain John Hamer Clegg also died of wounds at Krithia. The War Diary for Captain Clegg’s 10th Battalion recounts:“The Oldhamers went over the top with dash and courage advancing to the Turkish trenches but after terrible fighting they were forced back to almost their original positions."The blazing gorse, the groans of the wounded, the artillery and the rifle fire, the bombs and the weird cheers of our troops as they made assault after assault...made the place a veritable hell on earth" Lt Bleakley. In D Company 60 men from 188, made it to the turkish trenches, after being relieved two days later, only four made it back, somedays later the company strength was only 27 men. The casualties to the battalion are estimated at 82 killed, 320 wounded.” The Manchester Courier report of 7th June was a little more positive. “The Territorial Division in our centre did brilliantly, advancing 600 yards and capturing three lines of trenches. But trough the advanced captured trench was held all day and half the ensuing night they had to be ordered back to the second captured line, as both their flanks were exposed.”
The graves for all three of the cousins could not be identified after hostilities ended. Markers may have been misplaced or the burials could have been disturbed in subsequent fighting. In common with 20,906 British casualties James, John and John Hamer Clegg are commemorated on the Helles Memorial. This is located at southern point of the Gallipoli peninsular, overlooking ships passing through the Dardanelles.
Helles Memorial (CWGC)
The eldest son Herbert Clegg dealt with James’ Estate. John left his Effects to Mrs Madeleine Gertrude Hadley. Madeleine was married with three children. Her husband received the Meritous Service Medal serving in the 2/7th King’s Liverpool Regiment. The couple married in 1903 and had lived in Salford. The connection with John has not been identified. Madeleine received John’s British War Medal and Victory Medals. His 1914-15 Star was returned to the War Office. Records indicate that the family did not apply for James’ medals. The Clegg brothers are also commemorated on local War Memorials, including inscriptions at St Anne’s Church, Lydgate, where James was a church officer and St Mary’s Church, Oldham. They are also commemorated at Rossall School and John is included on the
Memorial Roll for Trinity Hall College, albeit inaccurately as a Somme casualty of the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Captain John Hamer Clegg is commemorated in Oldham and Wilmslow .
ACKNOWLEGMENTS Manchester Regiment Image Archives http://www.manchesterregiment.org.uk/index.php Imperial War Museum Thanks to Alexandra Brown, College Archivist and Records Manager at Trinity Hall College, Cambridge. Alex provided copies of various copies of Trinity Hall Academic and Tutorial Records as well as extracts of Trinity Hall Clubs and Societies Magazines Also Julie Barkhuizen of Rossall School
Lt J H Clegg Manchester Evening News 21 June 1915
Also credit to members of http://themanchesters.org/forum/index.php and https://www.greatwarforum.org/ for their invaluable assistance. Particular thanks to Ian Gawthorpe, for passing custody of the Memorial Plaque to me. The plaque had come into his possession from a man who worked for a demolition contractors in Hull. Great sources and further reading:6TH BATTALION THE MANCHESTER REGIMENT IN THE GREAT WAR “Not a Rotter in the Lot�. John Hartley 2013. Amateur Soldiers: A History of Oldham's Volunteers and Territorials, 1859-1938. Kevin William Mitchinson 1999
http://www.pixnet.co.uk/Oldham-hrg/WorldWar1/territorials/part-1.html
Oldham War Memorial
Military Records primarily held in the National Archives, including Medal Rolls and Cards, Pension Records, Service Files and records, Soldiers Effects and Soldiers Died in the Great War.
BATTLEFIELD SLEUTH SERIES 17th Battalion Manchester Regiment on the Somme A website about my grandad’s service in the Battle of the Somme with the 2nd Manchester Pals. The Steel Helmet Film - Montauban 1st July 1916 A film with contemporary drone footage, archive photos and original interviews recounting the Manchester Pals on First Day of the Battle of the Somme. Manchester Co-op's Battle of the Somme Recruitment and Losses in the Battle of the Somme, using the Case Study of Co-Operative Wholesale Society Head Office in Manchester. Machine Gun Corps at Montauban supporting 17th Manchesters Two Men in the 2nd Battle of Ypres. King's Own Lancasters and Hampshire Regiment A search for lost relatives commemorated on the Menin Gate Military Biography of Captain R Mansergh MC - 2nd Manchester Pals Military Biography of Captain John Edward Brown Served in Victorian Rifle Volunteers, East Yorkshire Regiment and Army Cyclist Corps. Military Biography of the Marillier-Miller Family Three brothers who served in the Great War with the Manchester Regiment, Seaforth Highlanders, Machine Gun Corps and Royal Welsh Fusiliers
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