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Be proud, you've done your bit

Martin Purdy
17/ 7/2008

IT’S taken two years of fundraising, the work of master craftsmen from around the UK, and the help of the Army, but a memorial to commemorate the sacrifices of local soldiers in the First World War has finally been unveiled.

And the people of Middleton need to give themselves a pat on the back for the part they have played in the appeal for a monument to remember the dead of the 12th Manchester Battalion.

For it was a fundraising night at the Woodside Working Men’s Club, in Durnford, that really got the Greater-Manchester-wide appeal up and running last year.

This event was organised by local man Tom Willis, of Towncroft, Middleton, who was among the proudest people present last week when the national anthem echoed across foreign fields once more and the Union Jack was removed from the completed memorial on the Somme in northern France.

Tom, a pensioner who is a veteran himself of the Lancashire Fusiliers, said: "It was an emotional moment and the unveiling of the monument marked the culmination of more than three years of work – work that I have been very proud to be a part of. The event at the Woodside and other local donations came to around £2,000, which was nearly a third of the overall target."

The new landmark provides a focal point for the sacrifices of the battalion to be remembered by future generations.

It was on the morning of July 7, 1916, that the lads of the 12th Manchesters went ‘over the top’ for the first time at a small village called Contalmaison.

They would have to dash across 700 yards of open ground in broad daylight, and with no covering artillery fire, to attack a German stronghold.

Before the morning was out 16 officers and 539 men were killed, missing or wounded. This from an initial fighting strength of 1,000 men.

Among the wounded were men from Middleton and Blackley.

The carnage of the day resulted in an oak cross being unveiled by survivors of the battalion in 1927, which was replaced two years later with a granite monument in the village cemetery in Contalmaison.

However, battlefield tour guides had pointed out that few people were aware of its existence.

The Lancashire and Cheshire branch of the international charity The Western Front Association, of which Tom Willis is a member, decided that something should be done and launched an appeal.

The result is a new stone memorial, quarried in Scotland, which was unveiled with a bronze plaque explaining what happened on the fateful morning. Road signs have also been put up to direct people to it.

Tom explained: "The new memorial was important. It not only marks the events of July 7, 1916, but pays tribute to all of the men from the battalion who went on to give their lives – more than 1,000 of them.

"While the 12th Manchesters were formed in Ashton, the men came from all over Greater Manchester and it was excellent that people from Middleton have helped us with the fundraising."

The unveiling ceremony featured The Somme Pipe Band, along with soldiers in period dress, who led a parade to the memorial which will be unveiled at a short ceremony attended by the villagers of Contalmaison and the town Mayor.

Tom added: "It was a very emotional, but uplifting, day."

He also paid tribute to the modern army for helping make the event possible – especially men of the 75th Royal Engineers, who are based at Failsworth.

In Tom’s words, they "saved the day" after taking over the component parts of the monument to France and then erecting it with heavy lifting gear.

Sergeant Jason Shawcross, of the Territorial unit, said: "It was an honour to help out. We are very aware of the history of the local regiments and the great sacrifices made by an army made up principally of civilian volunteers."