Together Trust Archive

In two of our previous blog posts we discussed the role the Crossley family played in the Charity’s history, chiefly the involvement of Sir William John Crossley 1st Bt. and his son, Brian Crossley . The motor engineering entrepreneur Sir William Crossley held the position of Trustee and later Chairman of the Manchester Refuges Committee. Brian, alongside a number of other philanthropic Crossley relatives, including his brother Eric, was also one of the Refuge’s Committee members. Sadly, Brian’s years were cut short in the Second Battle of Artois in 1915. Upon Sir William’s death in 1911, another of his sons, Kenneth (1877-1957), assumed his Baronetcy and hereditary knighthood. Sir Kenneth Irwin Crossley 2nd Bt. was the Chairman of Crossley Brothers and Crossley Motors Ltd; with his inheritance he took on his father’s role as Property Trustee of the Manchester Refuges as Sir William had previously assisted in the purchase of the Rosen Hallas ‘Training Home for Girls’ on Bury Old Roa...

On the 11th August 1914, the now famous ‘ Your King and Country Need You ’ slogan was published, calling for 100,000 men to join Lord Kitchener ’s new army. The call was answered within two weeks. Amongst them was Brian Crossley.  Your King and Country Needs You  © IWM (Art.IWM PST 0581)

It’s been a while since we thought back to our Refuge boys on the Western Front. In September 1916 the Battle of the Somme was still raging and the Manchester population read the newspapers everyday, to try and gain some understanding into what was happening 400 miles away.  Refuge soldiers