8738 Henry (Harry) Mc Linden in Naours

17th Battalion Manchester Regiment

The starting point for this identification is the photograph of the inscription from the walls of the caves and a part transcription below: 

On inspection of the Manchester Regiment database there was only one “Linden” in the 17th Battalion, and that was a Henry Mc Linden. On closer inspection of the photograph, there is what looks like a small “c” to the right of the “M” initial, so the inscription reads:     

       H Mc LINDEN

17th MANCHESTERS

              1916

War Diary, Manchester Regiment, 17th Battalion

Inspection of the War Diary of the 17th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment confirms that this battalion was in Naours in 1916, from the 6th to 7th January.  

Manchester City Battalions, Book of Honour

CWGC Records

On 25th May 1917, the following article appeared in the Bolton Journal & Guardian:

23rd April 1917, 17th Manchesters attack at Cherisy (Hindenburg Line) 

– Pte, H McLinden killed

At 4.45am on 23 April 1917 the 30th Division, comprising the 16th, 17th, 18th Manchesters and 2nd RSF (Royal Scots Fusiliers) launched an attack on the Germans Hindenburg Line towards the village of Chérisy. The position of the attack at 12 noon on the 23 April 1917 is shown on the plan below. 

Despite heavy shelling in advance of the attack the German defences were well organised and well prepared and held a large garrison of soldiers. The German positions were on high ground and there were numerous sunken roads providing cover for abundant reserves and machine gunners. Casualties were immediate and by 6.20am requests were made by the 17th Manchesters Adjudant to bring up 2 platoons of the 16th Manchesters in support. By 8am the left company of the 17 Manchesters had been wiped out and the 2RSF on the left had also been wiped out.

Two tanks had been allocated to the assault but both failed. The tank to the right in front of the 17 Manchesters caught fire and stuck fast near the starting position. The tank to the left in front of the 2 RFS initially did well advancing 500 yards, but overheated and was returned to it’s starting position.

The operation soon became complex and confusing and communication with the commanding officers became critical. With reference to the article that appeared in the Bolton Journal & Guardian above Henry McLinden “was attached to the head-quarters of the Battalion as a dispatch runner, and it was whilst carrying an important dispatch he met his death”. 

So it is almost certain that Henry was killed relaying messages to and from the commanding officers during these actions.  

By the end of the fighting on 23 April 1917, the four battalions of the Manchesters (16, 17, 18, 19) had suffered casualties approaching 1,000 men for the gain of little ground.

The diary of the 17th Battalion records, 2 officers killed, 11 officers wounded, 10 OR (other Ranks) killed, 105 OR wounded, 168 OR missing. Henry Mc Linden will have been one of the 168 other ranks reported as missing on the 23/4/1917. His name is commemorated on Arras Memorial, so he was amongst those with no known grave.

1911 Census Check 

Henry was recorded as the son of Patrick and Agnes McLinden in records above. A check of the 1911 census identifies Henry residing with his father Patrick (50), his mother Agnes (45), his brothers James (14), Bernard (12), and sisters Margaret (20), Agnes (8), Mary (6), Emily (5) at 26 Loxham Street, Farnworth, Bolton. This is consistent with Henry’s name appearing on the Roll of Honour at St. Gregory’s, Farnworth (see newspaper article).

Interestingly all of the McLinden family members were from the Liverpool area except Henry’s father Patrick who was born in Lincoln. Also to note in the 1911 census is the spelling of McLinden as McAlinden.

The address referred to in records above of 20 Moncrieffe Street was occupied by a family called Holker in 1911.

Loxham Street and Moncrieffe Street – Map / Address check

Both streets still exists but the houses have since been demolished:

1901 Census Check

In 1901 census the McLinden family were residing in the Liverpool area. They were all 10 years younger than above as you would expect – Henry (8), father Patrick (40), mother Agnes (35), his brothers James (4), Bernard (2), and his sister Margaret (10). Agnes, Mary and Emily were not born. Henry had a younger son Edward (2 months) who was not present in 1911, possibly an infant mortality. A copy of the 1901 census is provided in the supporting documents.

Birth / Baptism Record

Henry was born on the 18 November 1892 and baptised “Henricus” on 11 December 1892 at St. Francis de Sales, Liverpool. A copy of the baptism entry is provided below: 

Memorial to Henry Mc Linden

There is no known grave for Henry McLinden. His name is commemorated on Arras Memorial. 

However, his name was remembered on the McLinden family headstone at Tonge Cemetery in Bolton, close to where the family lived (see map above).

Army Records of Henry Mc Linden

The Army records for Henry can not be located and are likely to have been destroyed during the blitz of WW2. 

Interestingly the records for his younger brother James McLinden do survive. His address is confirmed as 26 Loxham Street and he enlisted into the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. Referring back to the newspaper article above, after Henry was first wounded on 1 July 1916, he recovered and was transferred into the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment (his brothers regiment), before being wounded for a second time and transferring back to the 17 Manchesters.

There is a record confirming Henry’s entitlement to the 14-15 star and a pension record referring to his mother Agnes as his next-of-kin:

Family Records - timeline of Henry Mc Linden

There are family records and family trees of the McLinden’s on ancestry.co.uk that include Henry.  A time-line of Henrys life (copied from ancestry.co.uk) is provided below: 

Subsequent information - 17th Manchesters by John Hartley

Subsequent information on Henry (Harry) McLinden in the book "17th Manchesters" by John Hartley has a much clearer photo of Henry which has allowed a facial recognition assessment to be undertaken to identify Henry in the Battalions Book of Honour (see below):