Trooper Philip Manning – Royal Armoured Corps, 11^th Hussars 

Some things are meant to be a puzzle, but with a little research the answers can always be found. One such story is that of Trooper Philip Manning, whose name appears on the memorial at Mumbles Methodist Church, commemorating those from the community who lost their lives in the Second World War.

Early Life

Philip Witheridge was born in 1913 in the coastal town of Penzance, Cornwall, to Philip Manning and Annie Witheridge, who had married there in 1903. The family later left Cornwall and gradually built their life elsewhere.

Family in the 1921 Census

1921 Census

By the time the 1921 Census was taken, the Manning family had settled at 11 Reginald Street, St. Thomas, Swansea. Philip’s father, also named Philip and then aged 49, was working as a Wireman for the General Post Office, a skilled and steady occupation. Annie, aged 42, managed the household, supporting her husband and caring for their two sons. John, aged 11, and seven-year-old Philip were both at school, growing up in Swansea during a period of rebuilding and change after the First World War.

Life in Mumbles by 1939

1939 Register

By 1939, the family had moved again, this time to 16 Riversdale Road, West Cross, Mumbles. Philip’s father was employed as a Caretaker, while Annie continued to run the household. Their eldest son John held a responsible position as a Wage and Departmental Clerk.

1939 Register

Philip, meanwhile, was living away from home. He was lodging at 5 Sussex Place, Plymouth, where he worked as a Chemist’s Assistant. He was beginning to establish his own career, and in 1940, he married Freda M. Abbott at Launceston, Cornwall, returning to the county of his birth to begin married life.

Military Service and Sacrifice

With the outbreak of the Second World War, Philip enlisted in the Royal Armoured Corps, serving as a Trooper with the 11th Hussars—a regiment long respected for its speed, discipline, and reconnaissance expertise.

The 11^th Hussars in Egypt, 1941

In 1941, the 11th Hussars were operating across Egypt and the Western Desert, serving as the reconnaissance regiment for the British armoured forces. Their role was vital: to push ahead of the main army, locate Axis positions, shadow enemy columns, and intercept supplies. Their armoured cars—fast but lightly armed—allowed them to cover vast distances, but also left them exposed to ambush, shellfire, and air attack.

The regiment was heavily involved in the operations along the frontier between Egypt and Libya, particularly around Sollum, Halfaya Pass, Fort Capuzzo, and Fort Maddalena. These early desert battles formed part of the wider struggle against General Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps, whose rapid movements and aggressive tactics challenged every British position.

Conditions were extremely harsh. Patrols crossed open desert under burning sun, often short of water, fuel, or ammunition. Sandstorms could isolate entire units, and the distances between friendly forces were sometimes measured in miles rather than yards. Reconnaissance patrols such as those carried out by the 11th Hussars were among the most dangerous assignments of the campaign.

It was during this relentless period of frontier fighting that Trooper Philip Manning lost his life on 7^th August 1941 while serving in North Africa. He was just 28 years old.
He now rests in Halfaya Sollum War Cemetery, close to the ground where he served and where many of his comrades also fell.

Additional Information

Herald of Wales

In January 1943, the Herald of Wales reported that Philip J. Manning, father of Trooper Philip Manning, lost his life in the Bristol Channel. This second tragedy struck the family little more than a year after the death of their younger son, deepening the sorrow felt by those who knew them.