Hamilton Douglas Manley (1896-1918) : Soldier Killed in World War One

Hamilton Douglas Manley was born on September 25th in Dartford, the youngest child of Arthur Douglas Manley and his wife Lucy nee Streatfield, who had married in Cardiff in 1882. The 1901 census shows Arthur (aged 42, a licensed victualler) and Lucy (42) living at 37 Hythe Street, Dartford with their children Cecil (17), Arthur (14), Eva (12), Dorothy (10), Otway (7) and Hamilton (4). 

Lucy Manley nee Streatfield, Hamilton’s mother

37 Hythe Street was a pub called The Smith's Arms. It was renamed The Stage Door soon after the nearby Orchard Theatre opened in 1982.

The Stage Door pub in 2017

Lucy died on July 5^th 1908 aged 49 when Hamilton was aged 11. His father remarried in 1910 in Dartford, to Lucy Ann Rudkin. The 1911 census shows the family still living at 37 Hythe Street, Dartford. Those listed at this address were Arthur Douglas Manley aged 52, a licensed victualler, his wife Lucy Ann Manley, 42, his daughter Dorothy Jane Manley, 20, an assistant victualler, and his son Hamilton Douglas Manley, 14, at school (he attended Dartford Grammar School).

Hamilton was nearly 18 when the First World War started on 28^th July 1914. He joined the army in 1915 and was promoted to 2^nd Lieutenant in June 1917 aged 20. Junior officers were required to lead their men from the front and so the mortality rate for them was high. He was killed in action in action on March 27^th 1918 aged 21. The remembrance card below was printed for his family.

Dr Maurice Waugh Renton came to Dartford as a GP in 1903 and was the Medical Officer in Charge of King Edward Hospital (later called West Hill Hospital, now demolished) in Dartford from 1911 to 1933. Renton Ward in the hospital was named after him. He died in 1948 aged 79 in Dartford. I don’t know what the “dangerous operation” that he performed on Hamilton was.

The National Archives has a file containing some information about Hamilton’s war service. It shows that he joined the army aged 19 years and 15 days on October 9^th 1915 in Dartford. He was 5 foot 9 inches tall, weighed 142 lbs and gave his occupation as shop assistant. Hamilton joined the Coldstream Guards and was in the UK until he was sent to France on June 7^th 1916. He was wounded in action near Ginchy (which was on the Somme section of the battlefront) on September 15^th 1916 but rejoined his battalion on September 17^th 1916. Hamilton was promoted from Private to Lance Corporal on January 7^th 1917. Hamilton had applied for a commission (to become an officer) in the Infantry on July 10^th 1916, but was turned down as it was considered that he didn’t have enough experience of active service. He applied again on December 30^th 1916. The officer who assessed him wrote on his application form “I have seen Pte H Manley. He is a clean looking respectable young man with a Grammar School education and may make a useful officer.” Hamilton’s application was accepted and on January 17^th 1917 he was posted to Windsor for the purpose of being admitted to an Officer Cadet Battalion, which occurred on March 9^th 1917.

The United States entered World War 1 on the Allied side in 1917. The German High Command decided to mount a major offensive in the spring of 1918, because they realised that their only remaining chance of victory was to defeat the Allies before the overwhelming human and material resources of the United States could be fully deployed. The Germans also had the temporary advantage in numbers afforded by the nearly 50 divisions from the Eastern front, made available by the Russian surrender under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, signed on March 3^rd 1918. The Spring Offensive was a series of German attacks along the Western Front, beginning on 21 March 1918, which resulted in the deepest advances by either side since 1914. On 27^th March 1918, Hamilton and his men were defending Aveluy Wood, near the village of Thiepval on the Somme, as part of the 7^th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment.

The Battalion war diary for 27^th March 1918, the day that Hamilton died, reads : 

About 9 am the enemy attacked on our right and the Battalion on our right fell back. A Company formed a defensive flank along the south edge of Aveluy Wood and later B Company were also put in on the right flank to bridge a gap between D and A Company. The Battalion was now formed on 2 sides of a square – C and D facing east, A and B facing south.

About 5 pm enemy attacked on the whole front and succeeded in breaking into the wood at the south east corner. A Company retired slightly, killing a large number of the enemy. 2/Lt Rogers was taken prisoner but succeeded in escaping. D Company retired on Battalion H.Q. which were at Quarry Post. The attack was held up at Battalion H.Q. which were temporarily surrounded.

A new defensive line across Aveluy Wood was formed the following day. The Battalion was relieved the day after and marched away from the front line. The entry for 30^th March says

Total casualties for operations starting 25^th: 2/Lt Manley killed, 18 Other Ranks killed, 2/Lt Cutler, Smart, Lothein, Atkinson and Paley and 13 Other Ranks wounded, 24 Other Ranks missing believed prisoners.

The Colonel of the Regiment wrote to Hamilton’s father to tell him of his son’s death, saying that as he was killed on a retreat, his body could not be recovered.
  

The April 19th 1918 issue of the Dartford Chronicle contained the following item

Lieutenant Hamilton Douglas Manley of the Grenadier Guards, whose death in action on March 27th was briefly notified in last week's issue. He was the youngest son of Mr A. D. and the late Mrs Manley of Hythe St, Dartford. He was wounded in the great push of the Guards and gathered promotion to the Royal Sussex. He was an old Dartford Grammar School boy and was at home only five weeks ago. A great favourite with all who knew him, he gave promise of a successful career, had he been spared. He was 21 years of age.

 The Germans were unable to move supplies and reinforcements fast enough to maintain the advances they made during the Spring Offensive and all their attacks petered out. By late April 1918, the danger of a German breakthrough had passed. The German Army had suffered heavy casualties and now occupied ground of dubious value which would prove impossible to hold with such depleted units. In August 1918, the Allies began a counter-offensive with the support of 1–2 million fresh American troops. This resulted in the Germans retreating or being driven from all of the ground taken in the Spring Offensive, the collapse of the Hindenburg Line and the capitulation of the German Empire that November.

Hamilton’s name is on the Pozieres memorial which commemorates over 14,000 casualties of the United Kingdom and 300 of the South African Forces who have no known grave and who died on the Somme from 21 March to 7 August 1918. Pozieres is a village 6 kilometres north-east of the town of Albert.

Hamilton is commemorated on the Manley family grave in East Hill Cemetery (but he is not buried there).

The inscription reads

Resurgem / In / loving memory / of / LUCY STREATFIELD, / the beloved wife of / ARTHUR DOUGLAS MANLEY, / who died July 5th 1908, aged 49 years. / Mourned by her sorrowing husband / and six children, / Cecil, Douglas, Winifred, Dorothy / Otway and Hamilton. / Also CECIL DOUGLAS MANLEY, / son of the above / who passed away Nov 30th 1924, aged 40 / At rest / 'Rock of Ages' / cleft for me / let me rest myself on thee. / Also HAMILTON DOUGLAS MANLEY 2nd Lieut / 7th Royal Sussex Regiment, killed in action in France / on March 27th 1918, aged 21 years / So he died our noble loved one fighting to the last / Peace perfect peace with loved ones far away / In God's keeping, we are safe and they / Also ANNIE LOUISE MANLEY / wife of the above CECIL D MANLEY / who passed away Aug 16th 1925 aged 45 years.
"Resurgem" is Latin for "I shall rise again".

He is also commemorated on his father’s gravestone which is in Broadwater Cemetery, Worthing and is inscribed

In dearest and loving remembrance of Arthur Douglas Manley, died April 16 1919 aged 60 years.

Also 2nd Lieut Hamilton Douglas Manley, killed in France March 27 1918.

Peace, perfect peace, with loved ones far away, in God's keeping we are safe and they.

This article was written with the assistance of Nicholas O’Reilly, Heather Brooks and Sheila Brown, who are relatives of Hamilton and supplied me with information and photos.

Philip Taylor
(Revised 7 May 2017)