Cecil Reginald Oakley, Age 18

Private, 52837, 21st Battalion, Manchester Regiment(6th City Battalion).

Manchester regiment cap badge.

Cecil was the step son of Mrs Williams who resided at Chapel Street, Dawley; he was also the brother-in-law too Mr John Walford Phillips of 381 Holyhead Road, Wellington.

He had enlisted at Ironbridge but somehow ended up in the 21st Battalion, Manchester regiment which was one of the famous Pals Battalions We know by his regimental number that he had not enlisted early in the war as the regimental numbers for this battalion were all between 18000 and 21000 for the original members.

The makeup of this battalion would have changed by the time Cecil joined it as the original men mainly hailed from Manchester but after the Some in 1916, battalion casualties were replaced with men from anywhere in the UK so as not to send whole Towns & Cities into mourning when Pals battalions went into action.

The 2lst were part of one of the finest divisions (7th) that fought during the First War and it was whilst serving within this division that Cecil was killed in Action on the 4th October 1917 during 3rd Ypres (Passchendaele).

Cecil’s body was never found and his name appears on the Tyne Cot Memorial on panels 120-124 & 162-162A.

Extra info:
Cecil’s father was Frederick Thomas Oakley who died on the 31st December 1901 leaving Clara Oakley his widow £224 15s 5d, on the 20 Feb 1909 Clara got remarried to William Williams at Holy Trinity, Dawley, he was a greengrocer who had a shop at 20 High Street, Dawley.

WWI Medal Rolls Index Card

Commonwealth War Graves
Commemorated Tyne Cot Memorial

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Victory Medal	British War Medal