Selected Biographies

Manning, Ambrose – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1844. Parents: William Manning (Farm Bailiff] and Maria [née Golding].  Home: Bridge Street, Long Melford (1851).  Service Record: Ambrose enlisted in 1860 as Pte.875 with 97^th [The Earl of Ulster’s] Regiment of Foot.[1]  Died: Colchester Barracks on 15.5.1862.

Manning, Amos – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 29.12.1877.[2]  Parents: Henry John Manning (Horseman on Farm) and Esther [née Scutcher].  Family Connections: Brother to Walter Manning [b1883] and David Manning [b1885].  Home: Bridge Street Farm, Long Melford (1881), Church Walk, Long Melford (1891 to 1901), 32 Sandy Lane, Long Melford (1911), 48 Church Stowe, Weedon, Northamptonshire [1918], Broughton Lodge, Broughton, Oxfordshire (1921), 6 Lower Windsor Street, Banbury, Oxfordshire (1939).  Occupation: Stockman on Farm (1901), Agricultural Labourer (1911), Milkman (1921), Agricultural Labourer (1939).  Married: Ethel May Lee in 1910.  Service Record: Although no definitive military record has been found, Amos is recorded as a Soldier at baptism of his daughter in 1917.[3]  It is possible that he served as Pte.22002 who enlisted on 12.3.1915 with the Bedfordshire Regiment.  If this assumption is correct, then he was posted to France where he received gunshot wounds to his right buttock and thigh.  His injuries were such that he was deemed unfit for further service and issued with a Silver War Badge and discharged on 22.3.1918.[4]  Died: North Cotswold, Gloucestershire in 1959.

Manning, David – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 13.2.1885.[5]  Parents: Henry John Manning (Horseman on Farm) and Esther [née Scutcher].  Family Connections: Brother to Amos Manning [b1877] and Walter Manning [b1883].  Home: Church Walk, Long Melford (1891 to 1901), 6 Manor View, Burrell Row, Beckenham, Kent (1911), 49 West Street, Croydon, Surrey (1921), 20 Grange Cliffe Gardens, Croydon (1939) to [1960].  Occupation: Stockman on Farm (1901), Carman for a Bedding Manufacturer (1911), Owner of Manning and Bosworth, Wholesale Bedding Manufacturer (1921 to 1939).  Married: Nellie Bosworth in 1908.  Service Record: David enlisted as Pte.6194 with 2^nd Battalion, Suffolk Regiment and was posted to France on 15.8.1914 as part of 14^th Brigade, 5^th Division.  He saw action at the Battle of Mons on 23.8.1914 and at Le Cateau three days later.  This fiercely fought rear-guard action on 26.8.1914 saw the Suffolks in a leading role and resulted in the battalions near destruction, with only 111 men answering the roll call the following morning.[6]  Together with hundreds of his comrades, Private Manning was taken prisoner, spending the rest of the war incarcerated in a German Prisoner of War camp at Chemnitz in Saxony.[7]  At least five other Melford men from 2^nd Suffolks were killed or captured that day: Percy George Lawrence [b1895], Alfred Martin [b1890], Harry Pettitt [b1877], Walter Charles Wellum [b1886] and Stanley Arthur Wordley [b1894].  Their stories are to be found elsewhere in this Roll.  Died: Croydon, Surrey on 28.10.1960.

Manning, Henry Frederick – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 22.10.1870.[8]  Parents: William Manning (Stockman on Farm) and Marlina Catherine [née Scutcher].  Family Connections: Brother to Sidney Horace Manning [b1881].  Home: High Street, Long Melford (1871 and 1881), Bridge Street, Long Melford (1891), Butthaugh Green, Elmswell, Suffolk (1901), ‘The Oak’, Elmswell (1911), Elm Tree Cottage, Long Thurlow, Badwell Ash, Suffolk (1939) to [1948].[9]  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer (1891), Publican (1901 and 1911), Small Holder (1939).  Married: Louise Cheeseman in 1899.  Service Record: Although no definitive military record has been found Henry may have enlisted under the name Frederick Manning as Pte.2224 with 1/5^th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment.  If this assumption is correct then he was posted to Gallipoli in 1915, before the Expeditionary Force was evacuated to Egypt in December. He was issued with a new regimental number as Pte.240468 in 1917 and took part in the ensuing Palestine Campaign.[10]  Died: Long Thurlow, Suffolk on 6.5.1948.[11]

Manning, Sidney Horace – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 17.12.1881.[12]  Parents: William Manning (Stockman on Farm) and Marlina Catherine [née Scutcher].  Family Connections: Brother to Henry Frederick Manning [b1870].  Home: Bridge Street, Long Melford (1891 to 1901), lodging with Thomas Stearn in Elmswell Road, Great Ashfield, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk (1911), Daisy Green, Great Ashfield (1921).  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer (1901), Horseman on Farm (1911).  Married: Ellen Stearn in 1912.  Service Record: Sidney enlisted in 1902 as Gnr.24192 with the Royal Field Artillery, being placed on the Army Reserve in 1905.  He was mobilised on 5.8.1914 and posted to France from 16.8.1914 with 2^nd Divisional Ammunition Column, RFA.  During his time with this unit, he would have been involved in the Retreat from Mons, and the Battles of the Marne, the Aisne, and First Ypres in 1914, and the battles of Festubert and Loos in 1915.[13]  On 24.1.1916 Gunner Manning was transferred to XLIV Brigade, RFA and on 27.5.1916 to 56^th [Howitzer] Battery, XXXIV Brigade, RFA, remaining in France until May 1919 and receiving his discharge in March 1920.[14]  Died: Stow, Suffolk in 1934.

Manning, Walter – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 10.5.1883.[15]  Parents: Henry John Manning (Horseman on Farm) and Esther [née Scutcher].  Family Connections: Brother to Amos Manning [b1877] and David Manning [b1885]; also, brother-in-law of Charles Butcher [b1889] and Samuel Thomas Butcher [b1895].  Home: Church Walk/Row, Long Melford (1891 to 1939).  Occupation: Agricultural Labourer (1901 and 1911), Maltster’s Labourer (1939), inmate and Brother at Trinity Hospital, Long Melford [1963].  Married: Eliza Butcher in 1908.  Service Record: Walter enlisted on 1.2.1915 as Pte.3153 with 2/5^th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, transferring as Pte.290212 to ‘D’ Company, 14^th Battalion, Suffolks, then on 16.2.1918 as Pte.527666 to 432^nd Agricultural Company, Labour Corps, receiving his discharge in 1919.  Died: Long Melford, Suffolk on 5.5.1963.[16]

Related Biographies

Butcher, Charles – Born: Borley, Essex in 1889.  Parents: James Butcher (Farm Bailiff) and Emma Chambers [née Theobald].  Family Connections: Brother to Samuel Thomas Butcher of Long Melford [b1895] and brother-in-law of Walter Manning [b1883].  Home: Highlanders Farm, Cox Green, Long Melford (1891), Rodbridge Street, Long Melford (1901), Borley Road, Rodbridge, Long Melford (1911).  Occupation: Under Gardener (1911).  Service Record: No definitive military record found.

Butcher, Samuel Thomas possibly also known as Herbert Samuel – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk in 1895.  Parents: James Butcher (Farm Bailiff) and Emma Chambers [née Theobald].  Family Connections: Brother to Charles Butcher [b1890] and brother-in-law of Walter Manning [b1883].  Home: Rodbridge Street, Long Melford (1901), Borley Road, Rodbridge, Long Melford (1911).[17]  Occupation: Horse Lad (1911).  Service Record: Samuel enlisted in 1903 with the Suffolk Cyclist Battalion.  During the First World War he re-enlisted as Pte.43070, later Lance Corporal with 7^th [Service] Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, being posted to France as part of 35^th Brigade, 12^th [Eastern] Division.  At the beginning of October 1916 his unit was moved to Gueudecourt, described in the regimental history as ‘a shell-holed wilderness without shelters of any description’.  On 12.10.1916 7^th Suffolks attacked German lines at ‘Bayonet Trench’ and Luisenhoff Farm but was beaten back with over five hundred men dead, wounded or missing.  It was probably here that Private Butcher received his fatal injuries.[18]  Died: Samuel died of wounds on 14.10.1916 at N^o. 36 Casualty Clearing Station and is buried in Heilly Station Cemetery [grave ref: III.C.25], Somme, France and commemorated on the Long Melford War Memorial.[19]

Notes – [1] Regimental Registers of Service, 1756-1900.  [2] Date of birth from the Baptism Register 15.3.1878, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford; the 1939 Register for Banbury, Oxfordshire records his birth date incorrectly as 29.12.1878. [3] Baptism Register of 7.1.1917 for Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford [Bury Record Office ref: FL509/4/18]. [4] [WO 329 – Silver War Badge ref: 357558], Medal Roll [WO 329], Medal Index Card [WO 372], and Pension Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 [ref: 7/MM/2011 & 11/M/347592].  [5] Date of birth from the Baptism Register 3.5.1885, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [6] For details of 2^nd Suffolk’s movements in 1914 see War Diary [WO 95/1424/1] and Murphy, Lieutenant-Colonel C. C. R. The History of the Suffolk Regiment 1914-1927 [London: Hutchinson and Co, 1928], pp.21-38.  See also his Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [7] For his POW record see International Committee of the Red Cross [file ref: PA23014], which records his battalion incorrectly as 12^th Suffolks, the unit not being raised until June 1915. [8] Date of birth from the Baptism Register 3.2.1871, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford.  [9] Recorded as Frederick Manning on UK Census Returns for 1891, 1901 and 1911. [10] Based on the premise that the service number from his Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329] and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372] point to him enlisting at Sudbury or Long Melford on 2/3.9.1914, however no other WWI record has been found.  For details of 1/5^th Suffolk’s part in the Gallipoli and Palestine Campaigns see War Diaries [WO 95/4325 and WO 95/4658] and Capt. A. Fair [mc] and Capt. E. D. Wolton [compiled by] “The Suffolk Regiment”: the history of the 1/5^th Battalion [London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1923], pp.13-107. [11] Date of death from the National Probate Calendar, recorded as Frederick Henry Manning.  [12] Date of birth from Baptism Register 5.3.1882, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [13] For details of 2^nd DAC, RFA’s movements see War Diary [WO 95/1328/2]. [14] Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363], Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329], and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [15] Date of birth from the Baptism Register 3.5.1885, Holy Trinity Church, Long Melford. [16] All units mentioned in Walter’s Service Record appear to have been engaged on home duties only.  Date of death from the National Probate Calendar.  [17] Samuel Butcher’s Soldiers’ Effects file records his mother’s name as Emma.  Therefore, the UK Census records used, refer to the household of James and Emma Butcher.  Samuel is recorded as Herbert Butcher on the UK Census for 1901 and 1911. [18] For details of 7^th Suffolk’s movements see War Diary [WO 95/1852/1] and Murphy, Lieutenant-Colonel C. C. R. The History of the Suffolk Regiment 1914-1927 [London: Hutchinson and Co, 1928], pp.179-9.  See also his Service Medal and Award Rolls 1914-1918 [WO 329], and Service Medal and Award Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922 [WO 372].  [19] Commonwealth War Graves Commission record and British Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 file [Ref: 388423].