Help To Identify Unit

[mjw]

I am trying to work out what unit the following paragraph refers to:

1914-1918
Working in Atherton. Lancashire.
Soon after the war broke out (being exempt from active service), he joined the local volunteers and when they were eventually recognised by the War Office, received a commission as 2nd Lieutenant.

Would this signify a VTC unit. If so could someone identify which badge he would have worn as an officer?

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

Kind regards, Malcolm.

[TWGB]

Malcolm,

It seems very likely that this refers to the VTC (which was the body eventually recognised by the war office).

That said, I have seen no record of any Atherton unit. The nearest units I could find reference to are the Leigh Athletes Volunteer Force and the Westhaughton AVF, with the Stretford VDC just a little further away. In the absence of any records of specific badges, the first two of these units would have worn the blue AVF lapel badges; Stretford had it's own.

County interest / organisation and War Office recognition both came in late 1914 / early 1915, and onwards. The Lancashire Volunteer Regiment - Wigan Corps seems a likely candidate for this later stage, or maybe even the Salford VTC or the Manchester VR. I will bow to any input from Simon ('manchesters') as to likely "area" compositions; he has a far greater knowledge of Manchester and environs that I do.

There is a thread titled VTC Cap Badgdes (search on Manchester and Volunteers) where a lot of the local badges are illustrated.

If you have a name, local newspapers often included the names of some of the officers in their VTC reports. Worth a search of the National Newspaper Archive, perhaps?

Best regards, Tim

[mjw]

Hello Tim.

Thank you for the extremely interesting and helpful reply. It has been of great use to me.

I have a name, so will do as you suggest.

Once again, many thanks, kind regards, Malcolm.

[manchesters]

Malcolm & Tim,

Thanks for the above mention and I can only add by saying that Atherton is part of the Wigan area and Wigan had its own cap badge in the early days, of the style used by several Lancashire units.

Whether Atherton had its own VTC I dont know, but a check of local papers would probably tell you and I am sure there would have been. They probably had their own enamel lapel badge which has been lost to time now.

Eventually he would be badged as a Manchester Regiment officer when the VTC became Volunteer Battalions of Regular Regiments.

regards

[mjw]

Simon.

Many thanks for the additional information for which I am very grateful.

One question. Would he have worn the cap badge of a regular battalion?

Kind regards, Malcolm.

[Alan O]

Possibly or he might have worn the Bronze General List coat of arms cap badge. Both were in use at the end of the war in 1918 as units transited between the 2.