Remembrance Day - Oldham remembers two World War One heroes whose bravery earned them the Military Medal

As we prepare to mark 105 years since the end of World War One, the Chronicle remembers two heroic young Oldhamers, in their twenties, whose bravery earned them one of the highest levels of valour for working class soldiers - the Military Medal.

One of them subsequently gave his life in Flanders Fields in 1917.

William Armstead was born on May 28, 1889 and married Jane Connell on July 26, 1913.

They had three children Harold, John and May.

They moved from Mossley to Oldham after war broke out in 1914 and lived at 366, Roundthorn Road.

On joining up at the outbreak of World War One he joined the Fourth Battalion of the King’s (Liverpool) Regiment as Private 52488.

He had an amazing experience toward the end of 1916.

On November 13, 1916 he was wounded and taken prisoner by the Germans during a daring raid.

He was reported as killed but, after spending 10 days in the enemy trenches, he escaped back to the British lines, experiencing, as the local newspaper at the time put it, “some hair breadth escapes”

Sadly, he was killed in Flanders Field in Ypres on April 23, 1917 and is buried in the cemetery in Arras, Pas-De-Calais.

Although the citation for the actions which led to his being awarded the Military Medal is currently unknown, he is believed to have been awarded it posthumously for actions in the field, in addition to being awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal.

His name is also on the Cenotaph in Oldham with the post-nominal initials of MM added.

He is photographed on his wedding day to Wane in 1913.

Secondly, Private James “Jimmy” Herbert Chapman (pictured above), of the 1/10th Manchester Regiment, from Henshaw Street in Oldham, served on the front-line trenches in France during the Great War and was awarded the Military Medal for his efforts.

His citation reads that:

On the 20th October 1918 in Breaster, France he was No1 in a Lewis Gun Team which were ordered to push through enemy wire in France.

They started returning fire after being shot at from close range by the German enemy.

The citation goes on to state:

He successfully knocked out the (German) gun, killing the crew.

Being wounded, he handed his gun over to the No2 and continued the advances, a matter of 1500 yards, as a rifleman, to the final objective where he bayonetted several of the enemy.

He only had his wounds dressed after the position had been consolidated.

What was even more remarkable about his bravery was that, aged only 28, he had been married to his wife Alice for less than 18 months and had a nine-month-old son George to think of.

James returned safely from the war, had three children George, Sam and Alice and four grandchildren Cynthia, Roger, Tricia and Christine.

He died in 1962, aged 71, never used the post nominal title and very few people knew he even had it.

In fact, his picture was displayed in Oldham Parish Church as an unknown soldier and only found by chance when his Great Granddaughter was getting married there in 2017.

The Military Medal was a military decoration to members of the British Army, other arms of the armed forces and to personnel of other countries for bravery in battle on land – “actions of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire”.

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