One search has sparked another for an Ashton social media group after stumbling upon a military service medal awarded to a local soldier more than 100 years ago.

Dave Howarth, from the Facebook group Waterloo News, was browsing an online auction site for interesting artefacts of the town’s past when he spotted the First World War Allied Victory medal with the name Private Harry Pollitt of the Manchester Regiment.

Dave mentioned his find to fellow group ‘admin’ Lee Woods. Knowing of Ashton’s long-standing connection with the regiment, they decided to go ahead and buy it.

“We thought it would be wonderful to bring the medal back home where it belonged with the intention of returning it to Harry’s family,” said Lee.

“We’ve even bought a replacement ribbon for it as the original wasn’t included in the auction.”

Although Lee and Dave have managed to piece together a few details of Harry and his family history, so far they have been unable to find any living relatives.

Born on August 8, 1888, he was the son of James and Mary Pollitt of 56 North Street, off Katherine Street, Ashton. He joined the army in 1914 at the age of 26 and was discharged in July 1919, eight months after hostilities officially ceased with the signing of the Armistice.

Pte Pollitt’s discharge certificate gives his home address as 22 North Street, a few doors down from where he was born. It might be that he moved there after he married, although that has not been confirmed. Harry and his wife Lena (née Oldfield) had two children, James and Alice. James went on to marry Vera Morton and Alice married Vincent Birchall. Harry died in 1971.

The British version of the Victory medal which Harry received depicts the winged figure of Victory on the front side. On the back is the inscription ‘The Great War for Civilisation 1914-1919’. The soldier’s service number, rank, name and unit were impressed on the rim.

The medal they are looking to reunite with Harry's family

The Imperial War Museum website explains that in order to qualify, an individual had to have entered a theatre of war (an area of active fighting) and not simply to have served overseas. The ribbon consists of the combined colours of the Allied nations with a double rainbow representing ‘the calm after the storm.’

If Harry’s name seems familiar, as Lee pointed out, it may be that you are thinking of his famous namesake, Harry Pollitt (1890-1960) was born in Droylsden and followed a very different path as general secretary and chairman of the Communist Party of Great Britain.

“The Harry who served with the Manchester Regiment and whose medal we now have, definitely was from Ashton. We would be grateful for any information to put us in touch with his family.”

You can contact Lee or Dave by emailing waterloonews@btinternet.com 

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