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Cpl. Gilbert Stringfellow MM

Details and a photograph of a Chorley Pal who fought on the Somme battlefield have been sent from Australia, courtesy of the internet.

His details were spotted on our website by his grandson, 57 year old Peter Stringfellow in Melbourne, who forwarded a photograph of him from 1915.

Corporal Gilbert Stringfellow was wounded at Serre on the 1st July 1916 with the Chorley Pals, and won a Military Medal on Easter Monday 1917 for single-handedly capturing nine Germans at Feuchy, near Arras in northern France.

The Chorley born solider was a miner at Chorley Colliery and lived on Moor Road, before joining the Pals; he worshipped at St. George’s Church. He didn’t return to live in Chorley after the war, marrying a girl from Gt. Yarmouth in 1918 and raising a family of five in the nearby Caister-on-Sea.

His page under our A – Z section has updated accordingly.

The Chorley Pals Memorial have appointed Nikki Davidson-Kerr as full-time Project Manager for their ‘Chorley Remembers’ project, to be officially launched at the end of the month.

Lindsay Hoyle and Steve Williams with new Project Manager Nikki Davidson-Kerr

Mrs. Kerr lives on Astley Village and has experience of similar Lottery projects, having worked with The Wildlife Trust in two spells since 2002.  A Honours Graduate from the University of Salford, she also holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, something the Chorley Pals Trustees feel will be invaluable when dealing with local schools and the educational side of the two year project.

Mrs. Davidson-Kerr starts work on the 16th August and will be based from the Chorley Building Society Head Office in Chorley, developing the Heritage Lottery funded project with a remembrance theme.

The Chorley Pals Memorial were at the Lancashire Family History event at Astley Hall last Saturday, where Mrs. Davidson-Kerr had the opportunity to meet a groups and individuals keen to be involved in the project. Commenting on the appointment, Chairman of the Chorley Pals Memorial, Chorley MP Lindsay Hoyle, said “we are delighted that Nikki is to manage the project which will have benefits across the whole of the Borough”, a sentiment echoed by Chorley Pals Memorial Co-Founder, Steve Williams, who devised and wrote the successful funding application.

A new website, www.chorleyremembers.org.uk will go online shortly.

In response to demand, Pals Memorial Secretary & WW1 historian, Steve Williams, has organised a short coach trip to the Somme battlefield over the late May Bank Holiday next year.

The four day trip from Lancashire will visit all the major sites and memorials on the Somme, including the front-line trenches held by the Chorley Pals near the village of Serre during 1916.

A PDF brochure about the trip, including details on how to book a place, can be downloaded here.

A DVD about the recently unveiled Chorley Pals memorial has gone on sale, priced £7.95.

The thirty minute DVD, narrated by Gerald Jackson, highlights the history of the Chorley Pals Company from the First World War, as well as a behind the scenes look at the three year project that came to fruition in February this year. Also on the DVD is the unveiling ceremony, attended by over 1,500 local people.

All proceeds from the sale of the DVD will go to the Chorley Pals Memorial charity to maintain the memorial in the town, and can be bought at branches of Chorley Building Society or direct from the charity by telephoning 01254 854298 or by requesting further information via our Contact Us page.