Parks, leisure and the arts Brave men who fought at Manchester Hill

Charles Heaton

Charles Heaton wearing his uniform

Born: 6 January 1895, Openshaw
Married: 26 March 1921 to Lily Hazeldine (for 66 years) 
Died: 21 August 1988 (aged 93)

Charles was one of ten children. His mother died when he was ten, so he went to live with his auntie and uncle, Anne and Thomas Slater of Jackson Street Cheadle.

His brother John served with King's Own, Dacca, and another brother Harold (killed in action) fought on 30 July 1916 at the Battle of the Somme.

At the outbreak of WW1 my grandfather, Charlie Heaton, an assistant at S & J Watts warehouse (now Britannia Hotel) volunteered aged 19 to join the 1st City Battalion Manchesters. He, along with hundreds of others enlisted on 29 August 1914. Later to become Private 6254 Charles Heaton of “A” company, 2nd Platoon, 16th Manchester Pals.

After training, which included Belton House, in Lincolnshire and Salisbury Plain, they embarked to France in November 1915. He was wounded during an attack clearing a German trench during the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916 so he returned to England to recover at The Lord Derby War Hospital, Warrington.

The big German push known as Operation Michael was expected and while home on leave Charlie told his aunt that he didn't expect to return. Charlie returned to the lines near Saint-Quentin around 20 March 1918. After many other actions including Passchendaele in 1917, his last was 21 March 1918 during the German offensive on a redoubt near Saint-Quentin later known as Manchester Hill. 

On the day Elstob allocated Charlie to be a medical orderly assisting the American doctor Captain Walker. They were based in the quarry where the first-aid post was. Once the position surrendered around 4pm, he was one of only 14 survivors to become a prisoner of war (POW).  Because Elstob had told this men to fire at the horses' legs to slow down the advance, a German officer was going to have them shot and went off to get a machine gun.  Luckily a more enlightened German officer told them to walk off over the ridge in the direction of Saint-Quentin along with hundreds of other British POWs.  He eventually ended up in a German POW camp, volunteering to work on a farm (one of the few places you could get food in 1918).

After the Armistice and liberation he eventually returned to the UK in January 1919.  During WW2 he was a Superintendant running the Cheadle St John Ambulance Brigade. He worked well into his 70s as a part-time first aider at Henry Simon's engineering, he also enjoyed playing crown green bowls.

Charlie died in 1988 aged 93, having made a number of interviews about his life.  You will find his accounts in a number of books. The recordings now form part of the national sound archive at IWM.

By RIchard Heaton, grandson. March 2018.

Read about the battle of Manchester Hill

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