Henry Hunter
Henry Hunter enlisted on the 21st September 1914, giving his address as 1 Hanover Street in Chorley. Born in Chorley in 1893, he was the son of Robert and Mary Hunter – they had seven children in all. A single man, he worked in textiles at Gillett & Sons and attended St. Laurence’s Church.
Henry served as a Stretcher Bearer in the Pals, being wounded in the thigh at Serre on the 1st July 916, receiving treatment at Cambridge Hospital in Aldershot. After recovering from his wounds, he was transferred to the 3rd (Depot) Battalion and then back to the Chorley Pals. During the night of the 4th and early morning of the 5th September 1917, he was gassed at Railway Embankment near Vimy Station.
Henry was killed in action during the Battle of the Lys in northern France on the 21st April 1918 – the Pals holding front line trenches south-west of the village of Vieux Berquin. He is buried in Cinq-Rues Cemetery at Hazebrouck and on his headstone is the simple message “Until the day dawns”.
