A war hero, who worked as a drayman for a Keighley brewery before joining the army to fight in the First World War, has been honoured by a small town in France.

Eighty years after Private Arthur Poulter won the Victoria Cross for his heroism in rescuing wounded men under fire, a memorial has been erected commemorating his deeds of valour in the small town of Erquinghem Lys, near Lille.

And at the same time Pte Poulter's family presented his medal to his old regiment, The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding).

To mark the unveiling on Saturday, his family, townsfolk and soldiers from the regiment quaffed from several casks of Timothy Taylor prize-winning ale sent over especially for the event.

Pt Poulter was a stretcher-bearer who had built up his strength humping eight-stone sacks of barley for the Keighley brewery.

It was this strength which enabled him to carry badly wounded soldiers back to safety through a heavy artillery and machine gun barrage. He made at least ten trips carrying men after his company was decimated in the action near the town's railway crossing on April 10, 1918.

Pte Poulter was badly wounded when he was hit in the head by a German sniper as he tried to save another wounded soldier two weeks later. But he recovered and went on to father ten children in Leeds. He died aged 62 in 1956.

The memorial to his bravery was unveiled by his great-grandaughter Katy Harrison, from Leeds, watched at an emotional ceremony by more than 300 people including two of Pte Poulter's grandchildren, John Harrison and Lorraine Barker.

Katy, who was granted the freedom of Erquinghem Lys, also planted a tree along with a youngster from the town and a volley of three shots was fired by soldiers from the Dukes.

Timothy Taylor managing director Charles Dent said: "With so many of our company employees having served with the Dukes, it was a great surprise to find we had a VC amongst them. We were honoured to be asked to serve our beer in his memory."

And John Harrison, 38, of Meanwood in Leeds, said the occasion had brought home the reality of his grandfather's amazing act of bravery. He said it was a pity his mother Pat and her brothers John and Leslie were not fit enough for the trip.

"They would have been really impressed and very proud," he said. "It really was quite emotional and a lot bigger occasion than we had imagined it would be.

"It was a fitting tribute on the site where he won his medal and you can see what he did.

"To come and go back and do it ten times in an open, flat field in front of a machine gun, he was very fortunate not to have been shot sooner."

The French town's historical society enlisted the help of Major David Harrap of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment to organise the ceremony and he contacted the brewery to see if it wanted to help.

Saturday's ceremony was also attended by senior army officers including the Colonel of the Regiment, Brigadier Dick Mundell OBE, who said the donation of the medal was extremely generous and was a honour for the regiment.

A contingent of 50 soldiers led by regimental drummers marched through the town to the railway crossing where the action took place. Afterwards wreaths were laid at the town's cenotaph and national anthems were also played and a dinner was held on Saturday night.

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