John Henry Cooper of the Manchester Pals
(1) Transcript of interview with Chris Cooper (2) John Henry Cooper in uniform (3) John Henry Cooper's portrait with medals
In the attached transcript, Chris Cooper chronicles the life of his grandfather John Henry Cooper, from joining the Manchester Pal's regiment aged 19, fighting at the Somme, and reuniting with comrades on Hill 60, Ypres, in 1966. Contributed via Age Exchange (http://www.age-exchange.org.uk) as part of the Children of the Great War project (http://www.childrenofthegreatwar.org.uk) at a collection day at Age Exchange, UK. To see all material contributed by Age Exchange, or to see more contributions from this collection day, follow the links at http://www.childrenofthegreatwar.org.uk/archive.html - For further information email: greatwar@age-exchange.org.uk
John Henry Cooper
Photograph
John Henry Cooper in uniform
John Henry Cooper with restored medals
Interview
Interview with Chris Cooper
CONTRIBUTOR
Chris Cooper
DATE
1914 - 1966
LANGUAGE
eng
ITEMS
6
INSTITUTION
Europeana 1914-1918
PROGRESS
METADATA
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The Cardiff Pals
1 Item
Photograph; Weblink to http://memoriesofworldwarone.blogspot.co.uk/ site containing Soundcloud files of interview between father and son in 1981. || My grandfather, Herbie Smith was one of the Cardiff pals who went to Salonika in 1915. He could have been the last soldier to suffer the punishment known as crucifixion when serving in Salonika from 1915. Hansard (para 1742) archives the discussion in Parliament which led to the practice becoming illegal http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1916/dec/31/field-punishment. These are just some of his memories of his life as a soldier with the 11th (Cardiff Pals) Battalion, Welsh Regiment in the First World War. Here (http://memoriesofworldwarone.blogspot.co.uk/) he is in conversation with his son, Major Bob Smith in 1981. He died in 1983, aged 89. It was digitised and uploaded on to this, his own blog, on what would have been his 116th birthday, Jan 5 2010. The first soundcloud gives some background to his life in Cardiff docks and lays the scene for his time with the Cardiff pals. The second gives details of the daily life of soldiers in Salonika and includes details of his 'crucifixion'.
Barbara | the mascot of the 5th City Manchester Regiment
1 Item
A photograph of a pony, with a young girl in riding helmet || A photograph of a pony, with a young girl in riding helmet, onlookers include a little boy in a hat, two more boys, an officer, and three men in overcoats. The photograph was taken on a promenade of a seaside town. On benches behind the pony are piles of clothes, possibly greatcoats. The legend reads Barbara - the mascot of the 5th City Manchester Regiment. This is part of a collection that relates to William Hunt. Hunt signed on in 1915 at Manchester Town Hall to the 5th City Battalion, Manchester Regiment. His initial training was at Bellvue, Manchester then Morcambe and finally Grantham, before going to France in December 1915. He fought at Albert and Fricourt and after a spell behind the lines with trench fever was sent back to the front to join the 8th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment at Thiepval where he was injured by mortar fire, wounded through the thigh and taken prisoner on 26th August 1916. He then spent the rest of the war in two or three prisoner of war camps before being repatriated at the end of the war and demobilised at Preston on 19th March 1919. In his attestation certificate, downloaded from the Ancestry website, Hunt's details include: No. 1712 ?; Corps: 5th City ? Batt. Mtsr Manchester? Regt; Your name: William Hunt: Address: Rosslyn, Hazelwood Rd, Hale ?, Cheshire; Age: 24 years 10 months; Trade: clerk; Married: no; Previous service: no; Witness to Hunt's signature: K. Howell. Two CDs of his story have been recorded telling the details of his wartime experiences from signing on to repatriation. These are marked 20 SB Manchester Res. L/C William Hunt, No. 17127. WW1 memories. A number of photographs of the period are also in the collection and postcards to his fiance, May Stone. || || 53.9690089,-2.627690799999982 || Photograph
Diary of John Henry Fisher
56 Items
Diary of John Henry Fisher. Photographs of John Henry Fisher and his wife. || John Henry Fisher was conscripted at the age of 37 to the 13th Infantry Labour Corps of the Lincolnshire Regiment. He was married with two children, Jack and Gladys and was employed as a clerk at Tetley's Brewery in Leeds. Within two weeks of being called up in March 1917 he was in France working behind the Front Line in the Arras area. His job was to ensure equipment and resources got to the soldiers who were fighting on the Front Line. This included loading shells in to cases which were then loaded on to wagons to be taken to the Front Line, and then unloading the wagons on their return. He was engaged in much dangerous work including the testing of gas masks. Whilst working here he witnessed the Canadians taking Vimy Ridge and saw German prisoners being marched back through his village. In September 1917 he was moved to the Ypres area of Flanders and was now attached to the Royal Artillery Garrison. Work continued to supply the Front Line with equipment under the constant shelling from Fritz. He also worked on digging trenches, laying barbed wire, concreting dug outs, clearing the Menin Road and working on the light railway at Sanctuary Wood. He had some narrow escapes and was invalided twice to hospital: once with dysentery and secondly with an injured hand which resulted in him being sent back home on sick leave. Even on Armistice Day he was out working building a railway bridge and dangerous work continued digging up mines the Germans had laid under the railway lines during their retreat. The men who served in the Labour Corps did essential logistic work during the war and yet are very much overlooked and forgotten. They served unarmed and frequently within the range of the German guns undertaking a wide range of menial, hard and dangerous tasks. They experienced the same sights and sounds of the fighting soldiers and I believe it is important to tell the stories of their experiences so we may appreciate the ehind the scenes activities during the Great War and give these men the recognition and thanks they so rightly deserve. John Henry Fisher survived the war and died peacefully at home at the age of 77. John Henry Fisher was my Great GrandFather. I was always led to believe that no one in my family had fought in World War 1 and yet this diary reveals that although he did not fight he was certainly there and very much involved in the hell of Flanders of 1917 - 1918. || || Photograph || Photograph of John Henry Fisher || Photograph of John Henry Fisher and his wife. || || Photograph || Photograph of John Henry Fisher || || Diary || Trench Life || Following 54 images comprise the diary kept by John Henry Fisher || John Henry Fisher