Vicky Hurwood visited the museum recently, amongst her stories was one about her grandfather Henry (Harry) Manning.
165485 Gunner Henry Manning enlisted on 6 September 1916. From his Service Record, he served with the Royal Army Service Corps for a year and 160 days and with the Royal Field Artillery for two years and 335 days. His service was undertaken in Salonica, but his record also indicates 75 days in South Russia, as part of the British force involved in the Russian Civil War (Britain aimed to thwart the Bolshevik revolution and was keen to control the oil reserves at Baku). Harry left Russia due to suffering from malaria.
Vicky recounts that her grandfather was once wounded in the leg, recovered and was sent back to the front, here he found that his goat (which he kept for milk) had been eaten by his mates! He told stories of the wet and mud and fungi growing on his clothing. Also of great sacrifice. By luck his unit were camped on the top af a ravine, when the rains came hard. By morning the ravine had filled up and men, horses, gun carriages were all being swept away by the torrent. This all just seemed just like a story to Vicky at the time he told her this.
For his service Harry was awarded the British War medal and Victory medal.
Henry Manning astride the lead horse
Henry Manning’s medal card
Explore more memories from the ribbon
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Gertrude Bell
Fiona Hall, Communications and Retail Manager at the Green Howards Museum submitted this story about one of the most important women of the First World War (in fact of any) era. I’m intrigued by this local hero – a complex character. There’s not enough space here to describe the many achievements of Gertrude Bell, and that’s not the point of this entry. Although I do recommend you take some time to acquaint yourself with her if you are not already familiar with this fascinating woman – archaeologist, mountaineer, one of the first women to gain a degree at Oxford (a First in History) but an anti-suffrage campaigner, the first to work for British military intelligence, colleague of TE Lawrence, and also the first to write a government white paper. She was born in 1868 into the sixth richest family in England, the granddaughter of the industrialist Sir Isaac Lowthian Bell, and lived in Redcar. When war broke out her request for a government posting to the Middle East was denied. Instead she volunteered with the Red Cross, taking charge of the missing and wounded office in Boulogne. Meanwhile her brother, Maurice, a career soldier and Boer War veteran was commanding the 4th Bn The Yorkshire Regiment on the western front. Imagine working in the environment Gertrude was working in- with the very possible chance she may have to ‘process’ information about the fate of her own brother. Maurice was in fact invalided home in 1916 and died in 1944. In…
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Clement Rose
Clement Rose was the son of John and Mary Rose of Monkwearmouth, Sunderland. His father was a mast-maker. He enlisted in the East Yorkshire Regiment in October 1914 at the age of 17. His elder brother was serving with the Yorkshire Regiment and claimed Clement for them. The 8th Battalion left for France in late August 1915 and on October 11th they relieved the 11th Sherwood Foresters Regiment in trenches at Rue Marles. 15734 Private Clement Rose was killed in action on the 13th, one of the 8th Battalions first casualties. He was buried at Desplanque Farm Cemetery, La Chapelle-D’Armentieres and left his effects to his mother, £2-10s and a gratuity of £3.
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2nd Lt. Hadow
Gerald Francis Hadow was born in Scarborough in 1895, the son of Colonel A de S Hadow of the XIX Regiment of Foot (the Green Howards). He was commisioned as a Second Lieutenant on 15th August 1914 and promoted to Lieutenant in March 1915. His first actions were at the battles of neuve Chapelle and Festubert. His death at Givenchy on 15th June 1915 was recorded at the time: “He had reached the German barbed wire and finding he was practically alone, returned to his own trenches, which he reached untouched. Here he found his captain killed and all the other officers dead or wounded. His company went into action 180 strong and had 142 casualties. he returned to report to the C.O. and on the way, was struck on the head by a piece of shell. A captain under whom he served wrote; ‘I feel I have lost a young friend whom I had got to know and tested in perhaps the most severe time – war time – and he never failed. He was such a gallant little fellow and quite ready to die for the good cause.’”