Medal find sparks search for Hoddlesden soldier's ancestors (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Medal find sparks search for Hoddlesden soldier's ancestors

2:55pm Tuesday 8th December 2009 in

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THE service medal of a teenage soldier killed in the First World War could be returned to Hoddlesden after it was found in a £15 auction lot.

Tom Bowers, 64, from Sale, bought a lot of paintings at an auction in Timperley, Greater Manchester, and found a plaque containing the service medal and information on Private Edward Houghton in the same box.

Private Houghton was 17 when he was killed by a shell in the trenches of France. He was married, had worked at Carus Mill and lived in St Paul’s Avenue, Hoddlesden.

Now Mr Bowers, who himself served 14 years in the army with the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment, wants to know if Private Houghton’s family are still in the area.

He said: “I would like to trace any of his relatives and give this medal back to them.

“If they can’t be found, I’d like to see if the medal can be put somewhere on the site of Carus Mill, in a Hoddlesden youth centre, or even in the local primary school. This is part of the village’s history and it would be a great shame if a young man’s sacrifice was forgotten.”

Anyone with information on Private Houghton should call 01254 298204.