Corporal
17th Manchester Regiment
John (known as Harry) enlisted with the Manchester Regiment on the 10th December 1915 aged twenty-five. Prior to this he was in the territorial army for four years and earned an income working in the very first Yate’s Wine Lodge which opened in Oldham in 1884.
John’s service record describes him as a “sober, well conducted man with a good record.”
Promoted to Corporal, 1 July 1916.
My understanding from John’s service record and the units War Diary is that on the morning of April 23, 1917, during the Second Battle of the Scarpe, Corporal John Henry Kelty went over the top with the 17th Battalion, Manchester Regiment near Wancourt and Neuville-Vitasse. Moving in waves at 4:45am, the Battalion advanced directly into heavy enemy fire.
The Battalion faced relentless fighting throughout the day – from the initial 4:45am assault and enemy counter-attacks at 9:00am and 2:00pm. Out of 650 men, 360 were killed, wounded or reported missing – It was during this prolonged engagement that John was struck and wounded by a machine gun bullet. Evacuated through field medical channels and then brought back to England on the H.S St. Patrick, he spent months in Reading before being honourably discharged due to his injuries.
Hospitals: No.I War Hospital and Devonshire Lodge Auxiliary Red Cross Hospital.
February 1918 – Formally discharged at Preston with injuries described as “a fracture and deep trauma to his right tibia and calf” caused by gunshot.
Post Discharge – Awarded the Silver War Badge, marking his honourable discharge due to wartime wounds.
John lived on Whiston Road, Crumpsall, Manchester after the war and his employment in Yate’s Wine Lodge continued. By 1939 Harry was manager and license holder.
War Diary
A transcript from John’s war Diary
La Bassee, Northern France
Sources and Further Reading:
- Manchester Regiment Training (1914-1918)
- Forces War Records – John’s Service Record
- themanchesters.org – The 17th (Service) Battalion Manchester Regiment
- 17th Battalion Manchester Regiment on the Somme
- UK, World War I War Diaries (France, Belgium and Germany), 1914-1920
- The Great War Archive, University of Oxford | Paul Davis
- https://www.4thbnnf.com/wordpress/?page_id=102