Soldier Record

I researched my grandfather Tom Robinson who joined the KOYLI's in 1913(43277) but was later dropped back to the 20th Manchester Regiment. He was killed on the 9th October, 1917 in the baptism of fire in the Ypres Salient in the area of Hooge/Noordemhoek (He became one of the Manchester Pals and is in the book or rememberance in Manchester Cathedral. He has no known grave but is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial in Belgium. I have visited the memorial to pay my respects to him and laid a white rose for Yorkshire and a red rose for Lancashire by his name. Each year I go on rememberance Sunday to the Cenotaph in Bingley, West Yorkshire where his local memorial is along with others who died from the same area. During my journey of discovering Tom I heard of his friend Alfred Boyall who too had joined the KOLYI's and been dropped back to the Manchesters too his regimental No. was 51703 and died on the same day as Tom, and I had sight of a letter sent to Mrs Boyall by a Pte Fletcher who was by their side when they were killed his Regimental No. was 51704. A moving coincidence joining the three comrades. This information I passed on together with the letter to the museum of the Manchester Regiments in Ashton under Lyne. I found my research very moving and it left me feeling extremely sad that Tom and so many gave their young lives in such appaling circumstances and left their families in complete poverty and struggling to survive without them.