A veteran Old Contemptible from the 1914-18 war received a surprise £1-a-week gift for the rest of his life from a woman who did not want to be named, back in 1966.

He was 71-year-old Joseph Carter of Princess Street, Blackburn, who was awarded The Mons Star and Bar, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal after the First World War.

Fifty years ago he was one of the last surviving old Contemptibles in Blackburn.

Joe had been traced by the British Legion after a letter seeking his whereabouts was published in the Telegraph.

He lived in Blackburn all his life and worked in the textile trade as a reacher-in and loom sweeper in the local mills.

He joined the Lancashire Fusiliers in Blackburn in 1913, when he was just 18 and the following year was sent to France, fighting at Mons, and then saw action at the Marne, Aine and Somme.

He was sent to Egypt in 1917 and when he returned to France the following year was captured by the Germans.

After some months doing forestry work behind enemy lines, he was taken to Liege in Belgium until his release at the end of the war.

He won the Mons medal as a member of the original British Expeditionary Force between August 5 and November 22, 1914.

They had met the German 1st Army head on at Mons, but had to withdraw after suffering catastrophic casualties carrying out gallant frontal attacks.

The retreat lasted 10 days during which time the men became exhausted by lack of food and sleep – often they marched without boots.

Raymond Coar, Blackburn British Legion’s welfare officer, of Whinney Lane, appealed for Joe’s whereabouts after being contacted by the London office.

The benefactor told how she found it impossible to express the profound gratitude she felt towards Joe, and offered to pay for any large purchases, such as a new suit, if he ever had the need.

Joe was puzzled as to her identity, saying: “I only know that my gift has come from a rich London lady who wants to remain anonymous.”

* Was Joseph Carter a relation of yours, maybe a grandfather or great uncle? Do you have a photograph of this gallant First World War soldier, who survived against the odds after fighting on both the Western and Eastern Fronts?