Fred Latham was killed in action on this day in 1917

Fred Latham was born on 27 April 1898 at Olive House in Upholland, Lancashire.

At the 1901 Census, 2 year old Fred was living at Knowles Farm, Roby Mill along with his 32 year old father Frederick, his 67 year old uncle Abraham, a 25 year old cousin Sarah Cliff (a housemaid) and his 72 year old grandmother Alice. His mother Ellen had died in November 1900. His father remarried in 1904 and Fred gained a brother and two sisters 1906-1910.

Fred Latham was born on 27 April 1898 at Olive House in Upholland, Lancashire.

At the 1901 Census, 2 year old Fred was living at Knowles Farm, Roby Mill along with his 32 year old father Frederick, his 67 year old uncle Abraham, a 25 year old cousin Sarah Cliff (a housemaid) and his 72 year old grandmother Alice. His mother Ellen had died in November 1900. His father remarried in 1904 and Fred gained a brother and two sisters 1906-1910.

At the 1911 Census, age 12, Fred was still on the farm with his stepmother Mary and siblings Ellen, Joseph and Alice, as well as a servant and two farm labourers.

Not destined to follow his father into the agricultural world, young Fred gained employment at the age of 14, in 1912, at the Pemberton Colliery where he looked set to pursue his career.

On the outbreak of war in August 1914, Fred enlisted into the 14th (Reserve) Battalion of the Manchester Regiment and given the service number 15952. Then, after spending 9 months training in England, he arrived, as a reinforcement for the 11th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment at Gallipoli on 21 September 1915. Here he saw action for 3 months until, on 15 December, the regiment embarked from Suvla Point on board HMT Carron, which sailed from Suvla to Mudros the following morning.

After a period of rest, the regiment was shipped to Alexandria, which it reached on the 30 January. Here, they trained until, at the beginning of July, they were sent on troopships to France. From 20 July 1916 until 13 May 1917, they took part in many engagements in the Somme area. At the end of September 1916, Fred was awarded the Military Medal for his actions at Mouquet Farm and the Zollern Redoubt (his award being reported in the London Gazette on 9 December 1916).

On 13 May 1917, the battalion moved north to the Ypres sector. On 7 June 1917 (the first day of the Messines Battle), the battalion had 6 killed and 11 wounded. One of the dead was L/Cpl Fred Latham MM - the young gallantry medal winning survivor of Gallipoli and the Somme, multiple stints in the frontline at Arras and the Ancre, was struck down, at the age of 19, in what was perhaps one of the British Army's most successful campaigns to that date.

Fred's body was removed from the battlefield by his comrades on their return to camp at 3pm. Six graves were dug at the nearby, newly established cemetery at a small farm named "Irish House" into which Fred and his five comrades were lowered.

He is also listed on the War Memorial at Upholland in Lancashire.

15952 L Cpl Fred Latham MM, 11th Bn Manchester Regt