Commemorative stone laid to honour a war hero from Southport

A commemorative stone has been laid at Southport Cenotaph in honour of a war hero from the town.

British Legion members and the public gathered this morning to pay tribute to Captain Harold Ackroyd.

Harold was born on 18 July 1877 in Southport Lancashire the youngest son of Edward Ackroyd who ran a textile and tailoring business. Edward inherited a sizable fortune from his mother`s family in 1878 and became Chairman of the Southport and Cheshire Lines Extension Railway, a change in fortune which made a private education possible.

Harold went to Mintholme College, Southport, a preparatory school and then on to a place at Shrewsbury School where he did well, participating in school sporting activities and as a member of the school Officers Training Corps.

Harold Ackroyd was a temporary captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps of the British Army attached to the 6th Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, (Princess Charlotte of Wales`s) during the First World War: he was 40 years old when the following deed took place which was gazetted on 6 September 1917 and for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

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