This Scottish forward featured in two matches for the Reds after transferring from Ayr and is the most recent addition to the list of players who lost their lives in conflict. Mark Wylie shares, “We were puzzled that he served in a London battalion until we discovered it was the London Scottish. It turns out he became a tailor in London, and upon following the clues, Ayr confirmed he was our player.” Kerr succumbed to his wounds in a hospital near Boulogne, France.
Private 43594 Harry Levis | 22nd (Service) Battalion (7th City) Manchester Regiment | Manchester United 1913-14
According to Mark Wylie, “While we haven’t found match reports documenting his play, he deserves recognition here as a reserve player registered with the club. The name Harry Levis appears only three times in the 1911 census, two from the North West, one being from Salford. He went missing in action while serving with the Manchester Regiment and is honored at various churches in the Eccles/Salford area. We are fairly certain he is one of ours and was a war casualty.”
Private F/1723 Oscar H.S. Linkson | 17th (Service) Battalion (1st Football) Middlesex Regiment | Manchester United 1908-13
The full-back had a five-year tenure at the club, participating in 59 matches, including seven during the title-winning season of 1910/11. Originating from Barnet, he enjoyed a couple of solid seasons with the Reds but later faced injuries that led him to play for Shelbourne in Ireland. He joined the footballers’ battalion and ultimately perished on the Somme. His name is also inscribed on the Thiepval Memorial.
Private 24744 Patrick McGuire | 17th (Service) Battalion (2nd City) Manchester Regiment | Manchester United 1910-11
McGuire played for both Manchester clubs; while primarily representing United’s reserves, he did play for City’s first team. Though he didn’t fully succeed at United, McGuire was a well-known figure within the Manchester football scene, playing for various clubs including Hurst, now known as Ashton United. He signed up relatively early, joining one of the initial pals battalions of the Manchester Regiment. Another casualty on the Somme, he is commemorated in Thiepval and at St Chad’s Church in Cheetham Hill.
Lieutenant Charles N. Newcombe | 7th (Service) Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry | Manchester United 1913-14
The only officer among our players who fell in conflict, Newcombe was an amateur who played with the reserves and was educated in a private school in Chesterfield. Mark Wylie noted, “He was eager to join the army at the outbreak of war and sought commissions to serve as an officer, eventually securing one with the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. He was shot by a sniper while serving near Armentieres, France, in 1915.”
Private 28819 Harry Reynolds | 20th Battalion Manchester Regiment | Manchester United 1907-09
Part of the 20th Manchesters, Reynolds lost his life on the first day of the Battle of the Somme (1 July 1916). Born in Blackley, Manchester, in 1884, he was a recognized athlete who signed with United on 10 August 1907 as an amateur. Records indicate he played just three times for United’s reserve team, serving as an inside-forward in Lancashire Combination matches against Oldham Athletic, Bolton Wanderers, and Burnley in April 1909. He volunteered for military service in 1915 and is buried in Dantzig Alley British Cemetery in northern France.
Private 6041 James Semple | 10th (Service) Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers | Manchester United 1908-09
A Scotsman from Perth, Semple was a baker before turning to football and played for several non-league clubs in Scotland before joining United in 1908. He never made it to the first team and eventually returned to Scotland. Mark Wylie observed, “By 1911, he was back in England, living in Liverpool as a baker, which likely explains his enlistment in the Lancashire Fusiliers instead of the Black Watch in Scotland. He served in a battalion known as the Bury Pals and was also lost on the Somme.”
