Captain Harold Sugden

Harold Sugden was born in Ashton-under-Lyne in 1878.

Capt. Harold Sugden

By 1901 he was living with his uncle Mr. Edwin Whitehead who ran an Auctioneer business where Harold worked as a clerk. Harold took over the business on the death of his uncle.

He was commissioned into the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, The Manchester Regiment as a Lieutenant on 7th April, 1906 and transferred to the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment maintaining his rank and seniority when the Battalion was formed on April 1, 1908. Earlier that year, on March 3, he married Emily Gertrude Brown and together they had a daughter, Eileen Sugden who was born on July 26, 1912.  He was promoted to Captain on July 6, 1910.

He sailed with the Battalion to Egypt in September 1914 and served with them there throughout their training and preparation for action.  Landing in Gallipoli on May 9, 1915 he was the Officer Commanding “B” Company.

On the evening of June 18, 1915 B Company attacked a Turkish trench but were met with overwhelming resistance and were forced to retire. The Turks then counter-attacked the allied trenches and the remnants of B Company with some men of C Company and some men of the 1/10th Manchesters defended their position.

Captain Harold Sugden was mortally wounded, by a gunshot wound to the lung, and subsequently died of his wounds on June 20, 1915 in hospital at Mudros. He was buried at East Mudros Military Cemetery on the island of Lemnos. He was 36 years old.

East Mudros Military Cemetery

He is also commemorated on the Ashton-under-Lyne Civic Memorial.