A Soldier's Letter From Khartoum, 1898
In September 1898, the 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers engaged in the Battle of Omdurman , Sudan. This took place 13 years after the famous seige of Khartoum and was part of the eventual recapture of Sudan by the British. Among the Heywood men who took part in the battle was Private J Carruthers, who later wrote this letter home: The Battle of Omdurman, 1898. (Purton Museum, England) The following account of the battle is from a Lancashire Fusiliers website : ('2LF' = 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers): "The 2nd September 1898 was a Friday. At 0400 hrs, the Division was stood to, Lyttelton's Brigade was on the left of the Infantry position, with its left thrown back to protect that flank. They had the Nile at their backs. The Brigade was formed as follows:- 2nd Rifle Brigade on the left, then 2LF, then 1RNF and 1 Warwicks on the right. The Brigade had 6 companies in the front line and 2 companies in reserve. And so they waited...... At 0630 hrs