Heroes who died at home honoured

BOOK launch . . .(from left) Maggie Hurley, Howard Foster and Margaret Lever

SOLDIERS who died from First World War battlefield injuries after returning home to Oldham have been remembered in a new book.

As part of the Lest WE Forget project, Age UK Oldham have painstakingly researched the names and details of 100 Oldham soldiers who died from their injuries after the war, many of whose names never appeared on an official memorial.

The book project began with the help of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £9,900 two years ago and since then the team have scoured archives, past editions of the Chronicle and artefacts from soldier's relatives to gather information to tell the stories of those who died from their injuries within five years of returning from the First World War.

Maggie Hurley, Lest WE Forget project manager, said: "Its been a long two years, but without the support of volunteers Howard Foster and Margaret Lever I would never have finished this book, credit must go to the hours of hard work they too have dedicated to Oldham's Forgotten Men. These Oldham soldiers may have fought for a few weeks or years but all came back injured.

"Many had terrible injuries."

The project discovered that 58 of the 100 soldiers detailed in the book are missing some form of recognition to which they are entitled, including 22 who do not have a war grave or a local war memorial listing.

The book was officially launched at George Street Chapel on Saturday before being made available at Age UK Oldham from today.

The soldiers included in the book include James Henry Crowder, who was chosen to embark across No Man's Land, tasked with cutting the barbed wire fences that would impede the advance of his comrades.

He was exposed to poisonous gas and became very ill before being sent home from war. He died, aged 34, on August 26, 1918, following respiratory issues.

Another soldier, Edward Wrigley of Greenacres, was discharged from service due to an injured left knee and a septic hand - and died two years later on January 16, 1921, after he succumbed to nephritis and bronchitis, illnesses almost certainly attributable to his time on the Western Front.