A MEMORIAL stone has been unveiled in tribute to brave World War One soldier George Peachment who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross after sacrificing his life on the battlefield at the age of 18.

The unveiling at Tottington Cenotaph on Sunday came almost 100 years to the day after Rifleman Peachment was killed during the Battle of Loos in France in 1915 while attempting to pull his wounded commanding officer, Captain Guy Dubs, to safety.

The poignant ceremony followed a memorial service held at St Anne's Church and a subsequent parade to the cenotaph. Among those attending were relations of Rifleman Peachment and Captain Dubs.

This is the first memorial stone of its kind to come to Bury, launched this year by the Government to mark acts of heroism in the Great War.

The memorial stone has been installed, and will be maintained by Bury Council which decided that the cenotaph would be a fitting place for its location .

Sunday's church service was presided over by the Vicar of St Anne's, the Rev Hugh Bearn. Later, there was a parade to Tottington Cenotaph, led by the Fusiliers Corps of Drums. After a two-minute silence, the memorial was unveiled and a wreath placed upon it by Barbara Peachment. Rifleman Peachment was her late husband's uncle.

She said: "It was a most wonderful church service before the memorial stone was unveiled. It has been placed in the garden of remembrance by the war memorial.

"This means a great deal, not just to me but to the whole village. There was a wonderful turnout and all this has happened almost 100 years to the day that George Peachment was killed on September 25, 1915."

He was born on May 1897. After lying about his age and wearing his father’s bowler hat, he enlisted in the 2nd Battalion of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps. He was one of the youngest men in the Great War to be awarded the Army's highest honour posthumously for his bravery.

At the Battle of Loos he was crawling through "no-man's land" during a retreat from the German front lines when he saw his company commander, Captain Dubs, lying wounded. He gave first-aid under intense fire before attempting to pull the officer to safety, despite being injured by a bomb splinter. A minute later, he was killed by a sniper bullet.

Later, in a poignant letter to the teenager’s mother Mary, Captain Dubs wrote: “I cannot tell you how sorry I am that your brave son was killed, but I hope it may be some little consolation to you to know how bravely he behaved and how he met his end.

“I can’t tell you how much I admired your son’s bravery and pluck. He lost his life in trying to help me and no man could have been braver than he was. I have recommended him for the VC and have heard that the Commanding Officer has seen the recommendation. "

The brave soldier’s medal was presented to his mother, who lived in Hilda Avenue, Tottington, by King George V at Buckingham Palace on November 29, 1916. The VC was sold in London for £31,050 at an auction house in 1996.

In 2006, Tottington parishioners and leading dignitaries gathered at St Anne's Church for a special ceremony to unveil a plaque commemorating the life of Rifleman Peachment. The bronze plaque had been originally installed at Parkhills United Methodist Church but was later found in the back room of the Lancashire Fusiliers Museum.