Pte 242550 Alec Manley Hudson

• Age: 19
• From: Market Drayton, Salop
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 18th Btn
• K.I.A Tuesday 31st July 1917
• Commemorated at: Menin Gate Memorial
  Panel Ref: Addenda 58

Alec Manley Hudson was born in Market Drayton, Salop on the 5th May 1898, the son of Henry Manley Hudson and his wife Emily (nee Bentley) who were married in 1884. Henry had been born in Liverpool in 1863, and Emily in Little Drayton, Salop in 1864.

At the time of the 1901 census the 3 year old Alec was living with his parents in Shrewsbury Road, Market Drayton.

His father Henry was 38 years old and working as a coach body maker, his mother Emily was 37 and at home. The couple had seven children including Alec. Living at home were John aged 12, Isabel 9, Harry 7 and 6 year old Rupert. Their two older daughters were living away: Penelope, who at the age of 14, was working as a nurse domestic for a couple in Market Drayton, who had a one year old son and a one month old daughter. Also 16 year old Kathleen who was living in Paignton in Devon working as a nursemaid for the young children of a retired Royal Navy Captain called Duke Arthur Crofton (not a Duke, that was his name!), she was part of a staff of four. Henry and Emily also had two more daughters, Gertrude born in 1887 and Gwendoline born in 1890, both sadly died in infancy. Shortly before the census was taken, Emily had her last child, a son called Cyril who also died very shortly after his birth.

The 1911 census records the family living at 233 Shrewsbury Road.

Henry aged 48 is still working as a coach builder, and Emily aged 47(married 27 years 10 children 7 still alive) is at home. They have five of their children living at home – Kathleen 26 is working as a ladies maid, Isabel 19 is a photographers apprentice, Harry 17 is a coach painters apprentice, Rupert 16 a coach trimmers apprentice and Alec 12 is still at school. Daughter Penelope was working as a domestic servant in Liverpool, part of a staff of four in the household of merchant William Henry Rowe and his wife. Mr and Mrs Rowe were in their 50s, a wealthy couple living in a large house called Beechlands in Mossley Hill, Liverpool. Mr Rowe was known for his philanthropic work. Alec’s older brother John had married the year before and was living in Bridport, Dorset where he was working as a groom.

Kathleen married in 1912, and Penelope in 1916.

Railway employment records show Alec was engaged as a boy labourer in September 1915. His employment came to an end on May 26th 1916 which was a few weeks after his 18th birthday. As conscription had begun in January 1916 for all single men over 18, it is probable he was called up for service.

Alec enlisted in Liverpool and was serving in the 18th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private No 242550 when he was killed in action aged just 19 on 31st July 1917 on the first day of the Third Battle of Ypres, better known as the Battle of Passchendaele.

On this day, before Zero Hour, the 18th Battalion was part of 21st Brigade and was to form up for the attack from trenches from the area of Sanctuary Wood to Observatory Ridge but it was dark and continually falling rain gave very poor visibility. The departure of the 21st Brigade was delayed by heavy shelling.

The 18th King’s began to move forward in the rear of the 2nd Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment who had been detailed as the left attacking battalion of the 21st Brigade.

No’s 1 and 3 Companies of the King’s led the way followed by No’s 2 and 4. In Sanctuary Wood there was considerable confusion, as a result No.2 and No.4 Companies became

separated from the others, and were moved over to the left flank towards positions known as Surbiton Villas and Clapham Junction in the direction of the 90th Brigade.

No.1 and 3 Companies were soon in action with the enemy, and were for a time, held up against an enemy strong point. They pushed forward with their right on a trench known as Jar Row and their left on the tramway south of Stirling Castle. Advance along Jar Row was held up by the Germans who put up a fierce resistance and the party was forced to withdraw.

Another group of men from No.1 and No.3 Companies led by 2nd Lieut. Graham were being held up by another strongpoint which was south of Stirling Castle, which was eventually stormed and taken. Not far away from this action, an attempt, by other men of No.1 and No.3 companies, was made to penetrate a broad belt of uncut wire, but this was covered by Machine-guns which killed almost every man attempting to pass through the two gaps that were discovered.

The situation was similar with No.2 and 4 Companies, who had attacked along the wrong axis. Their advance was met with fierce opposition, and once all the experienced officer’s had been killed or wounded, all cohesion was lost, although some men did reach and cross the Menin Road at Clapham Junction.

By that time, the situation had become extremely confused, and the whereabouts of all four companies being unknown to Battalion Headquarters, urgent attempts were made to discover their locations. Eventually by mid- afternoon, it was established that the bulk of the companies, although all mixed together, were dug in the vicinity of Stirling Castle and by mid evening, the Battalion Headquarters moved forward to meet them.

During its time in the line the 18th Battalion lost 7 officers and 76 men killed or died of wounds and 7 officers and 177 men were wounded. They were relieved on the 2nd August.

Family history has a story that Alec was killed in an attack on a field hospital, which given the chaos of the day may have some truth as family histories often have.

Alec’s body was never recovered and he has no known grave but is commemorated along with his comrades on the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres in Belgium. 

The site of the Menin Gate was chosen because of the hundreds of thousands of men who passed through it on their way to the battlefields. It commemorates casualties from the forces of Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and United Kingdom who died in the Salient. In the case of United Kingdom casualties, only those prior 16 August 1917 (with some exceptions). United Kingdom and New Zealand servicemen who died after that date are named on the memorial at Tyne Cot, a site which marks the furthest point reached by Commonwealth forces in Belgium until nearly the end of the war. New Zealand casualties that died prior to 16 August 1917 are commemorated on memorials at Buttes New British Cemetery and Messines Ridge British Cemetery.

The YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL now bears the names of more than 54,000 officers and men whose graves are not known. The memorial, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield with sculpture by Sir William Reid-Dick, was unveiled by Lord Plumer on 24 July 1927.

Soldiers Effects to father Henry M., Pension to father and mother Emily.

He is also commemorated at home on the Market Drayton Memorial Cross.

Alec's sister Kathleen (Kate) spoke about her brother in taped conversations with her son Fred Carlisle in Toronto in August 1963. A friend told the family that Alec had been badly wounded in the shoulder in a "'terrible battle" and the friend had told him to go to a pill box to get his wounds attended to. The last time he saw Alec, he was making his way towards the pill box. However Alec's older brother Rupert was close by in Poperinge and said that the pill box and the whole of that area was blown apart by the German fire and that Alec could not possibly have survived. No body or dog tag was ever found.

Soon after the war, Kate and her father went to Ypres, near to where he had fallen, to try to find a grave. She reported how upsetting it was to see no grave stones but only wooden crosses saying, for example, "Here lie 20 unknown British soldiers", "Here lie 7 unknown British soldiers" and so on. They knew that any parts of him found would be in that cemetery. She said there was plenty of evidence of war still visible: tanks lying on their sides in the Tank Cemetery, billy cans strewn about, trees split apart and only burnt stumps remaining. A man in charge of the cemetery said they were digging up identity discs all over the place but Alec's was never found.

Alec's fiancée never gave up hope of Alec returning. She wrote letters to "other fellows" who had been in his unit and to the Red Cross, hoping for information. She refused several offers of marriage but finally accepted a man who worked in the same office as she did, on the condition that if Alec returned during their engagement she would return to Alec.

Alec’s brother Harry served in the King’s Liverpool Regiment in the 1st Battalion. He survived a gas attack, but never fully recovered and died in 1931.

Their brother Rupert also served, enlisting in the Territorial Army aged just 17 in 1913. He went on to serve in the Army Cyclist Corps, the Royal Engineers, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and the Machine Gun Corps.

Their brother John, known as Jack, served as an air mechanic in the Royal Flying Corps/RAF from 1915 to 1918.

Their father died aged 58 in Market Drayton in 1922, and their mother aged 81 registered in Whitchurch in 1945.

Grateful thanks are extended to Mary Haynes who is Alec’s sister Kathleen’s granddaughter, and her husband Rob for helping write this biography of Alec and for giving us permission to use his wonderful photograph.

We currently have no further information on Alec Manley Hudson, If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.

A photo exists on a family tree of father Henry circa 1880 in his uniform of most probably the Market Drayton Rifle Volunteers in which he is a musician holding a euphonium. Such men were usually enlisted purely as musicians and did not receive the musketry training, etc. of the other volunteers.  His headdress is a 'kepi,' a type of undress forage cap that was popular in the 1870's.