Blackley, Manchester: The Underage Soldier

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St John Battersby was born in February 1900 and was the son of the vicar at Holy Trinity Church in Blackley, North Manchester. He was only 14 when he joined the Manchester Regiment in January 1915 - when he pretended to be 19 years old. His father, the Lord Mayor of Manchester and the headmaster of St John's School in Middleton, all supported him in his application even writing letters to the War office in his support. He was soon commissioned as an officer with the East Lancashire Regiment and after a year he was posted to France in April 1916. His new battalion was the 11th - better known as the Accrington Pals. He was only 16 when he led a platoon of 30 soldiers over the top on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916. He was wounded but returned to France later that year before losing a leg in 1917. Despite this he remained in the army until 1920, became a vicar and served as the chaplain to the Royal Marines at Chatham. Location: Goodman Street, Blackley, Manchester M9 4BW Image: The teenage officer, St John Battersby