World War I

This week’s document is a mobilisation order for Henry Rayner Claye, dated September 23rd 1914. Claye attended MGS in the 1880s and went on to teach at Cirencester Grammar School, having trained at t…

2016 marks 100 years since the Battle of the Somme. The huge loss of life that occurred during those five months has been well documented. The school lost at least 100 Old Boys to the Somme including…

The Great War had not been over long, but planning for a permanent memorial to the fallen was a priority for the school governors from as early as 1919, when a committee was set up. At this stage, th…

We have no photograph of Norman Birnage in the school archives and he certainly doesn’t appear on the MGS ‘Wall of Fame’ along the main corridor, yet his contribution to the our history and heritage …

For a list of names on the MGS WWI and WWII Memorials, click the link below: Memorial Boards.xlsx For the MGS WWI Memorial book, click on the links below (ordered in alphabetical order by surname) Ac…

OM (1909-12). Gassed and wounded. Died 13/2/19. Died 13/02/1919, Aged 23. Royal Engineers. Buried at Manchester Southern Cemetery MGS – PHO 26/0024

Frank Lockwood, OM (1912-14). 2/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers. Killed in action 26/8/18. Died 26/08/1918, Aged 20. Lancashire Fusiliers. Buried at Houchin British Cemetery. Inscription: “Deep I…

OM (1910-11). 1/16th Battalion Manchester Regiment. Killed in action 1918. Died 27/09/1918, Manchester Regiment. Buried at Flesquieres Hill British Cemetery Inscription: “Greater Love Hath No Man Th…

OM (1909-13). Died 12/05/1917, Aged 20, Manchester Regiment. Commemorated at the Arras Memorial MGS – PHO 26/0035

OM (1912-15). Cycle Corps, Welsh Regiment. Died at casualty clearing station 12/09/1917. Photo taken by Guttenberg Manchester. Died 12/09/1917, Aged 19. Welsh Regiment. Buried at Mendinghem Military…

OM (1908-17). Killed in action 26/10/17. Died 26/10/1917, Aged 19. The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. Commemorated at Tyne Cot Memorial MGS – PHO 26/0022

OM (1910-15). 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Field Artillery. Killed by shrapnel 15/4/1917. Died 15/04/1917, Aged 19. Royal Field Artillery. Buried at Vimy Communal Cemetery. Inscription: “Until The Day Dawn…