A VETERANS' organisation has given its official support to a campaign to have Christ Church graveyard officially signposted by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).

In November, we reported how a group of GCSE students at Whitby High were doing a research project when they discovered the burial ground at the former parish church contained the graves of 25 men who died as a result of service in the First World War.

They mentioned to the Pioneer that although this made it an official war graves site, there was no CWGC sign directing the way to it.

The Pioneer immediatly began a campaign and the CWGC welcomed the initiative and agreed to look into it.

The Ellesmere Port branch of the Royal British Legion has also been studying the proposal and this week its chairman Ted Roach said: 'We considered the matter at our branch meeting on Wednesday and decided to back the idea to the hilt.'

The branch has now written a letter of support to the CWGC.

Since we began the campaign we have been contacted by a number of relatives of war heroes buried at Christ Church.

The latest to get in touch were Maurice Gill, of Ellesmere Port, whose grandfather, Private Joseph Gill of the Cheshire Regiment, was 52 when he died on December 1, 1919, and Edward Doyle whose uncle, also called Edward, of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, died at the age of 35 on January 29, 1921, after being gassed.

Your SAY

Are you related to any of the war heroes buried in the cemetery? Let us know:

% 0151 3562345 - Pioneer, 66 Whitby Road, Ellesmere Port CH65 0AA

* pioneer@ cheshirenews.co.uk