[2][10] The Hon Algernon Egerton, younger son of the Earl of Ellesmere, and at the time Member of Parliament for South Lancashire, was commissioned as Lieutenant-Colonel of the new unit on 16 May 1860.

[11][12][13] The unit's original headquarters (HQ) was at 11 Deansgate, Manchester, and it used the top storey of a large loom warehouse (up a flight of 100 steps) for drill.

Under the 'Localisation of the Forces' introduced by the Cardwell Reforms, the 16th was linked with other Manchester-based RVCs, Militia regiments and the Regular 63rd and 96th Foot into Brigade No 16 (Lancashire).

On 20 August, having volunteered for overseas service, the division moved into camps for training, and on 9 September it entrained for Southampton to embark for Egypt.

In January the Manchester Brigade was concentrated at Cairo and initially the East Lancashire Division was assigned to guard to Suez Canal before being selected for the Gallipoli Expedition.

On 12 May the brigade made a feint attack to attract attention away from a movement elsewhere, and the following day two platoons of the 1/7th advanced 100 yards (91 m) but were unable to hold the ground and were forced to withdraw during the night.

Although the Manchesters held on to the first Turkish line they had captured, casualties had been severe: the battalion lost its CO, Maj Staveacre, who had been acting since Lt-Col Gresham was evacuated to Malta on 28 May.

After a short rest and receiving a few drafts and returning casualties, the division was put back into the line on 19 August, still badly under strength and suffering from sickness.

[26][34] The Gallipoli Campaign was shut down at the beginning of January, but 42nd Division remained on Mudros until the middle of the month before returning to the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) and the Suez Canal defences.

In July, 42nd Division became part of a Mobile Column formed to counter a threatened Turkish thrust across the Sinai desert before it reached the canal.

On 4 August artillery fire was heard as the Battle of Romani began, and 127 Bde was rushed by railway up to Pelusium where 1/6th Manchesters were preparing defences.

During 5 and 6 August the brigade pursued the defeated Turkish force, suffering badly from extreme heat and lack of water, with many men falling out through exhaustion, until it reached Qatiya.

[17][35] During the Autumn the railway and water pipeline were pushed forward, and 42nd Division participated in the EEF's Advance to Wadi el Arish, which began in late November 1916 and completed the Sinai Campaign in January 1917.

The troops were concentrated at Pont-Remy, near Abbeville, and re-equipped; the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle was issued in place of the obsolescent long model with which the battalions had gone to war.

After special training and with a supporting artillery barrage, 'a model raid' was made by Lt A. Hodge and his platoon on the night of 3 July, securing prisoners for no loss.

[17][38] After 18 days in the Salient, the division was relieved and moved to the Nieuport Sector on the Belgian coast, where it remained under constant shellfire until November.

On 16 June a party of four officers and 80 other ranks of 1/7th Manchesters raided 'Fusilier Trench'; as they withdrew, Sergeant A.S. Fleetwood carried out a wounded comrade, reaching safety 20 minutes after the rest of the raiders.

On the night of 19/20 July Lieutenant N. Edge led a party of 38 men of the battalion to capture and consolidate an enemy post 500 yards (460 m) in front of the British line.

The following night three officers and 125 other ranks of the battalion captured the enemy trench system known as 'The Triangle', and then drove off a German counterattack the following morning.

One the night of 12/13 August, as 127 Bde took over a line of advanced outposts that had been occupied that day, a heavy German counter-attack was launched but was repulsed with great loss.

Assisted by morning mist, the Manchesters took their first objective, and then cleared the ravine in which the Beaucourt–Puisieux road ran, the men getting to close quarter fighting with the defenders.

On 24 August the Manchesters worked round Miraumont, 7th Bn securing fords over the River Ancre, and large numbers of prisoners were taken.

On 25 August, patrols of 7th Manchesters advanced against Warlencourt, and as opposition diminished a company passed through the town at 10.00 before halting to allow flanking units to catch up.

7th Battalion was exposed to enfilade fire from high ground that a flanking formation had failed to capture, and lost two-thirds of the 450 men who attacked.

There was a great shortage of arms and equipment, and the 2nd Line East Lancashire units had to train with .256-in Japanese Ariska rifles until the end of 1915.

[52][53][54] When the German Spring Offensive opened, 66th Division had recently been moved from Ypres to Fifth Army and was holding a line among the undulating valleys of the River Somme's tributaries.

Communication with brigade and divisional HQs was cut off, and the companies ran out of Hand grenades and serviceable Lewis guns shortly after 17.00.

The combined battalion remained in 127 (Manchester) Brigade of 42nd Division until 1936 when it was converted into a heavy anti-aircraft regiment of the Royal Artillery, in which role it served during the Second World War.

[6][61][62] The following officers served as Honorary Colonel of the unit:[11][9] The battalion was awarded South Africa 1900–1902 for the service of its volunteers during the 2nd Boer War.

[65] A memorial stone was laid by Harold Greenwood, formerly of the 7th Manchesters, on behalf of former comrades, when the Nightingale Centre at Great Hucklow, Derbyshire, was built in 1930–31 as a convalescent home for ex-soldiers.