Private John Laurence Byrne
33630 11th East Lancashire Regiment
Lived at 15 Napier Street
Prisoner of War 27th March 1918
Burnley Express 8/6/1918

My grandfather John Byrne was wounded and taken prisoner in 1918. He had a leg amputated by the Germans.

Unfortunately I do not have any photos of him in uniform, or any other family record, although I do have his enlistment papers, which show she signed up on15/12/15, -the last day of the operation of the Derby scheme. So, technically he would have been a volunteer, but as a married man with a child (and a very assertive wife!) he was obviously not rushing to get himself killed. Unfortunately he died before I was born, but my mother told me he was immensely proud of his war service and very patriotic all his life.

My father was named after his uncle, and I was named after him and my grandfather Byrne, so the name lived on from those 2 soldiers. My paternal grandfather was lucky enough to be a driver before the war and spent his time in the A.S.C. driving a general in France.

(Courtesy of John Chaloner)