THE brother of a Lancashire Fusilier killed in World War Two has helped a church with its quest to find out more about the fallen soldiers listed on their memorial plaque.

St John the Baptist Church, in Bircle, appealed last month for information about eight men listed on their memorial that they had no record of.

And after seeing an article in our sister paper the Bury Times, Ainsworth resident Tom Crankshaw got in touch to share his memories of his brother, who died in Burma in 1944.

Fusilier Richard Crankshaw was just 21 when he was killed and is also remembered on the Rangoon Memorial.

Tom, aged 89, said: "Richard was four years older than me and was called up to fight in the war.

"He had worked for a haulage firm in Fairfield that was run by my uncle, but was called up in 1942 when he was 18 and joined the Lancashire Fusiliers. A year after that, he was shipped out to India and went on to Burma after that, where he was killed.

"We lived in Bircle at the time and I remember his name being put on the memorial there, but we have moved away and lost contact with the church over the years."

Tom, of Ainsworth Hall Road, remembers seeing his brother for the last time when he walked with him from their home on a farm in Bircle to Bolton Street Station.

After returning to the church to speak with the Rev Gordon Joyce, Tom and his younger brother, Alan, will be attending the Bircle Lads Remembered open days next month.

The exhibition will be held at the church, in Castle Hill Road, on September 9 and 10 from 10am until 4.30pm.

A church spokesman said: "We now have information on 44 of the 46 men on the plaque – the last two names that we can’t find any information on are Walter Holt and James Chadwick who both lost their lives in WW11."