AN appeal has started to trace the family of a Shipley-born soldier killed in the First World War.

Lance Corporal Thomas Hodson was killed during the Battle of the Somme on July 29, 1916, aged 24.

A selection of items he was awarded for his service in the military have been given to the Saltaire Stories archive project.

LCpl Hodson was awarded the 1914 Star or 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal – popularly known as ‘Pip, Squeak and Wilfred’ – for his service in the 10th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment.

The Saltaire Archive also has LCpl Hodson’s ‘Dead Man’s Penny’ memorial plaque.

These were issued to next of kin of all British and Empire service personnel killed in the war.

They also have his Princess Mary Gift Fund 1914 Box. These boxes were presents for those serving during Christmas 1914. They were paid for by public funds, backed by Princess Mary. The contents included cigarettes and/or chocolate, a photo of Princess Mary and a signed card.

LCpl Hodson worked as a warehouseman at the Conditioning House in Bradford prior to enlistment.

His division landed in Le Havre, France, in August 1915.

They served in frontline trenches and at several battles, including the Battle of the Somme.

LCpl Hodson is remembered at the Thiepval Memorial in the Somme and on the rolls of honour at Nab Wood Cemetery, St Paul’s and St Peter’s in Shipley.

The items were donated to the Saltaire Stories archives in 2012 after being found in the cellar of a house in the village.

Saltaire Stories archivist Hari Jonkers said: “It would be great to reunite these items with his family.

“I’m sure if we do trace his family, they might be able to find more items in our archives of his. It is wonderful to find things like these.

“We were given these items when someone was clearing out their cellar.”

The 10th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment served at Vimy Ridge and eventually the Battle of the Somme, including the Battle of Albert, Battle of Bazentin Ridge and Battle of Pozieres.

The appeal for information about LCpl Hodson’s family is the latest archive search started by the Saltaire Stories project, after it received a £135,600 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant to continue its work earlier this year.

The project, which features artefacts from the village’s history, will cost a total of £150,200 between this year and 2019.

The grant has been handed to its organisers, The Saltaire World Heritage Education Association, which has provided the remaining £14,600 to fund the project for the next two years to help promote the village’s heritage. The grant will be used to help fund two part-time archivists and an IT worker who will help digitise key elements of the collections and allow online public access to the collections for the first time.

The archive has 4,300 items catalogued, with a further 1,000 yet to be archived.

Anyone with any further information on LCpl Hodson or his family should email saltairestories@gmail.com.

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