| AdminHistory | Colonel James Stanley Whitehead was born in Whalley Range, Withington, Manchester. He left the Leys School, Cambridge, in December 1914 after serving for three years in their Officer Training Corps (OTC) and immediately joined the 6th Battlalion the Manchester Regiment, being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on 18 Feb 1915.
He was posted to the 2/6th Battalion at Southport, later moving with the unit to Crowborough. In September he proceeded overseas to join the 1/6th Battalion with whom he served continuously until 1918 when he was gassed near Bucquoy in France.
He saw active service in Gallipoli from october 1915, proceeding to Egypt in January 1916 and and later to the Sinai Pennisula. Leaving Egypt in February 1917 with the advance party of the 42nd Division, he proceeded to France and Belgium where he served until April 1918, when he was invalided to England. After a period in hospital and of convalescence he was posted to the reserve battalion at Scarborough at the end of October 1918.
He was demobilised on 31 March 1919, and rejoined the 6th Battalion when the Territorial Army was formed in 1920. His record of promotion was as follows:
2nd Lieutenant, 18 February 1915
Lieutenant, 1 June 1916
Captain, 4 April 1918
Major, 16 Feb 1928
Lieutenant-Colonel, 16 February 1932
Brevet-Colonel, 16 February 1936
In June 1935, Colonel Whitehead was awarded the Territorial Decoration for 20 years' service. He relinquished command of the 6th/7th Battalion the Manchester Regiment on 16 February 1936, after 21 years' service.
See Manchester Regiment Gazette, Vol X, no.2, page 150 |
