Family :

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

31 July - 10 November 1917. By the summer of 1917 the British Army was able for the first time to fight on its chosen ground on its terms. Having secured the southern ridges of Ypres at Messines in June, the main attack started on 31st July 1917 accompanied by what seemed like incessant heavy rain, which coupled with the artillery barrages conspired to turn much of the battlefield into a bog. Initial failure prompted changes in the high command and a strategy evolved to take the ring of ridges running across the Ypres salient in a series of 'bite and hold' operations, finally culminating in the capture of the most easterly ridge on which sat the infamous village of Passchendaele. The Official History carries the footnote ?The clerk power to investigate the exact losses was not available? but estimates of British casualties range from the official figure of 244,000 to almost 400,000. Within five months the Germans pushed the British back to the starting line, which was where they had been since May 1915.

Detail :

Captain Alfred Ernest Mander B.A fell in action at Passchendaele. Born 15th September 1879 at Spon End, he resided in Spon House, Spon End. He was the third son of Alderman Mander and Mrs. H. Mander, and his brother Second Lieutenant P. G. Mander, 4th West Riding Regiment, also attended Bablake, leaving in 1896. The actual date that Alfred left Bablake is unknown; however, it would have been slightly earlier than his brother. On leaving Bablake, he furthered his education at Trinity College, Dublin and became a schoolmaster. He enlisted on September the 14th, 1914 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant to the Duke of Wellington Regiment on the 10th April 1915, formerly being a Sergeant in the 2nd South Midland Brigade, Royal Field Artillery. He proceeded to France in December 1915. 'The Coventry Graphic' of July 21st 1916 contains details that he had been wounded probably at the start of the Battle of the Somme, and was now lying in the Duchess of Westminster Hospital at Le Troquet, Paris. He made a sufficient recovery and was able to rejoin his Battalion. At the time of his death in the Battle of Poelcapelle on the 9th October 1917, aged 38, he was the Captain of A Company, 4th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regiment). The affinity with this regiment is not clear but it obviously appealed to Alfred and his brother. Captain Mander has no known grave and is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial and in the War Memorial Park. His brother survived the war and is on the school memorial as P. G. Mander. The Times, October 18, 1917 - Fallen Officers CAPTAIN ALFRED E. MANDER, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, was killed on October 9 while gallantly leading his men to the attack. He received his commission in the autumn of 1914, proceeded to the front in 1915, and was wounded in July 1916. He was the third son of Alderman and Mrs. Mander, of Coventry, and a graduate in Arts of Trinity College, Dublin. He had been second master at the Crossley Schools, Halifax, for about 10 years. A Coy. AE Mander was KIA at Belle Vue Spur in Oct 1917 as OC A Coy...A well respected and liked Company Commander We have sourced a letter from Alfred Ernest MANDER who wrote to his brother 2/Lt P G Mander after a lapse of some months from the firing line (probably from injury), providing a retrospective look at the attitude of those serving that corrects some of our modern assumptions about trench service; The outstanding feature appears still to be unfailing cheerfulness. Whenever there was anything to be done, no matter how hazardous, there were men to do it in a light-hearted fashion. Exactly why every man lived up to this ideal is difficult to state; in the trenches there was always the chance that he was living his last day, indeed his last minute on this earth and a kind of fatalism was held by most. At the back of every mind was an idea that ran somewhat in the style: If my name happens to be written on a bullet, I shall get it, no matter what I do. In these circumstances it may not be surprising to learn that for every new job to be done men came up to do it with smiling faces. Men who were exceedingly tired were always ready for another task, with happy expressions on their faces even if their vocabulary left something to be desired from the point of view of the English taught in some schools. It might appear from these few remarks that the men were unable to conceive what was before them, that they went on with their work without a thought for the consequences; quite the contrary, it was simply an expression of their British pluck and lion- heartedness, and to know that you belong to a nation that has produced such men should make you proud and more than proud. Of course it is not to be expected that every man possessed the same degree of courage, but throughout all branches of the service that came under my notice, it was easy to discern the same high qualities. In view of this, it is quite possible to understand the readiness of all to make jokes and to see the funny side of things. Those who in the beginning did not possess a sense of humour quickly cultivated one. From a high class joke to a limerick or a pun, passing through comic parodies of popular songs, each had its supporters. In peace time the best limericks originated in the stock exchange, so it was not my fortune to come across good ones. The following is quite typical; There was an old woman of Ypres Who was shot in the cheek by some snipers And the music she played Through the holes that they made Beat the Argyll and Sutherland Pipers The songs that were sung behind the lines were favourites brought out from England, or those in evidence at the concert parties a few miles behind the firing line like the Fancies at Poperinghe. Keep the home fires burning was kept in the original, but, everyone knows the parody on Little Grey home in the west. One popular parody was on a song that I imagine has a title Never mind. Here are two or three of the lines:- If the Sergeant's got the rum, never mind, Though entitled to a tot He will drink the blooming lot, Etc never mind. Of jokes and tales there was an unending variety. The men were so quick to seize upon anything that was at all promising, and so in conclusion I will recall two or three. Last August at a listening post in the Ypres Salient, the sentry thought he heard some Boche mining, so the information went through the usual chain of responsibility, the corporal, the sergeant, the platoon commander, the officer of the engineers. Later the platoon commander heard the sergeant holding forth to a group of men:You see it's like this: there are huns in front of us, huns on our right, huns on our left, all firing at us. Huns in aeroplanes above us, trying to drop things on us, and now Huns beneath us trying to blow us up, yet they say in Blighty that we've got the Kaiser tied up in knots. I don't think. A platoon was in reserve, and a group of men were preparing to fry their breakfast bacon, by the side of the lake that was between them and the firing line. When things were nearly ready a Boche shell dropped into the lake and displaced a fish, which by some peculiar gymnastic feat was able to fall exactly on the frying pan, in its proper place. 'Twas an excellent breakfast dish. In rest billets there was usually a band to relieve monotony, but when in reserve the only musical instruments available were those easily carried by the men, such as mouth organs, whistles, etc. One evening in a farmhouse billet I went to see how my platoon was faring, and looking in an outhouse found a group of men sitting around a brazier. In the middle was one man on his knees, piously and piteously thanking heaven that there was only one tin whistle in the Company. Second Lieutenant P. G. Mander later lost his brother, Captain Alfred Ernest Mander who fell in action at Passchendaele. These letters are very poignant and show some insight into the roles performed by the Old Boys; contributions were also received from those who would later lose their lives.

Masonic :

Chaplain

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley