Charleville-Mézières, France
This historical link was originally with the small town of Mézières. The town was badly damaged in heavy fighting during the First World War in 1918. Many of the English troops involved in this battle came from the Manchester area.
The Lord Mayor of Manchester at the time, Tom Ford, called on the city to raise funds to reconstruct the town. This helped to rebuild the hospital in Mézières and to build a cemetery for unidentified Commonwealth soldiers. In recognition, the hospital was named after Manchester.