West Lancashire church window dedicated to Great War sacrifice

Jan 17 2013 Ormskirk Advertiser

ST JAMES’ church, in Westhead, features a war memorial that is highly unusual.

The church’s east window (like St Johns, of Burscough) is a magnificent testimony to the war effort.

It also provides proud testimony to the men of the village in the form of a memorial to those men who came home (as does the Wesleyan Church, in Ormskirk)

This type of memorial is not often found, and is indicative of the pride of a small village and the respect of one employer whose workers fought and died in the war.

West Lancashire man Henry Tyrer worked as a shipping agent in Liverpool. He provided the funds to have the window installed. Many of his workers fought in the war and five were killed. They were Daniel Alty, Henry Alty, James E Lyon and Robert Evans (all of the Kings Regt) and Clement C Ford, of Shropshire LI.

Brothers Daniel and Henry Alty, of Wigan Road, Westhead, both died in The Great War and a third brother, Thomas, was killed while serving with the MGC.

Henry won the DCM and a battlefield commission for gallantry while serving with the 9 Liverpool Regt.

Daniel was commissioned in to the same Liverpool Battalion and attached to 2/South Staffs.

The story of Henry is very poignant, with his parents successful in obtaining his release (it must be said, against his wishes) from the Army, in view of the prior death of his brothers. This permission arrived on the day of his death.

The three were killed within 10 months of each other, between November, 1917, and September, 1918.

Only Henry has a grave, buried at Anneaux British Cemetery, near Cambrai, 20 miles from his brother Daniel’s memorial at Vis en Artois.

Thomas is commemorated on the Louveral Memorial, Cambrai, less than five miles away from Henry. Daniel and Thomas were married.