A mural has been painted in Town Meadow Park in Tottington in memory of Victoria Cross recipient - and it has been hit with residents.

George Stanley Peachment, from Tottington, was the youngest army recipient of the Victoria Cross in the First World War aged only 18 years and four months when he died.

He won the medal posthumously after selflessly trying to save his company commander at the Battle of Loos, losing his life in the process.

The Victoria Cross is the most prestigious award for gallantry for the British and Commonwealth forces.

The artwork was completed by Manchester street artists, Tony Kelzo, well known as "Kelzo", and Evan Barlow and is 131ft long and between seven and 11ft high.

The idea for the mural initially came about after Mr Kelzo and two other artists Tony Brady and Evan Barlow painted a mural in Prestwich opposite the tram station for the Prestwich Arts Festival.

Someone at the festival then gave Kelzo’s details to Bury Council and they came up with an idea for a mural dedicated for George Peachment to be created.

Kelzo said: “Veterans in Bury have long tried to get something where Peachment is mentioned, and the idea came to paint a mural on an old metal engineering factory which faces into Town Meadow Park in Tottington.

“We went away and did research on Tottington as a village, we did some research on Private Peachment and his own story and liaised with local councillors on what they’d like to see featured especially regarding the architecture and historical buildings in the town.

“The main brief was to make sure we did a war memorial in memory of Private Peachment.”

The artists included as much local history into the mural to create a local history/war memorial/environmental painting that also fitted in with the vibe of the park.

Kelzo said: “We became friends with a lot of dog walkers who walked through the park and even some of the locals made us some home baking and brought us some homemade pies which we painted in the mural as well.

“There was a nice connection with the local community, and everyone loved it and enjoyed passing through the park and seeing the progress of the mural over a two-week period.

“It took us about 15 days in all with us sometimes working 10 hours a day.

“We then added more local things for example there’s a local bowling green, so we included that and then there’s a rounders match played every Tuesday on that park, so we featured that too.

“There are 15 local dogs on that park that we painted and it all encompassed Tottington’s history and it’s gone down an absolute storm and everyone really loves it.

“It’s a mission completed really.”

Describing the mural from left to right, Kelzo said: “The war memorial side of the mural is a picture of George Peachment and to the left of him shows the act of valour which depicts showing Peachment saving his commanding officer, Captain Dubs.

“The injuries sustained by Peachment were fatal, but his captain lived so the mural shows King George V presenting the Victoria Cross to George Peachment’s mother posthumously and she’s depicted in the mural with red roses round her.

“It also shows the cross at St Annes church because George’s mother, Mary Peachment worked at that school in St Annes in Tottington.

“Then there’s poppies, so this area is the war memorial part of the mural.

“Going left to right we have a woodpecker which is definitely seen in the area, and we have Harwood Road and Turton Road junction with an old Tottington tram which would have been seen on Market Street.

“Then there’s St Annes school building and Stormer Hill house and then wild stag, deer and boar which were known to roam the area.

“There’s lots of local dogs at the front of the mural and then we have the Whitehead clock tower, Bury’s coat of arms and Bury fusilier to the left of King George V just to represent Bury.

“Then we come to the war memorial and to the right of Mary Peachment we have Tottington Library and Quakers Cottage on Cann Street and then Tottington Mill which was demolished in 1926 and remnants of the mill can still be seen on the old trail towards St Johns cricket ground.

“After that there’s The Lodge and then on the far-right hand side we have The Flying Scotsman which is refurbished in Bury and ties in with George Peachment as before he joined the army, he used to work on building steam engines so there’s also a steam engine depicted there as well as The Flying Scotsman.”

The mural was finished last week and has delighted the residents of Tottington.

Kelzo added: “The people of Tottington love it.

“I’ve had a couple of people almost in tears and an elderly gentleman walked past and said it’s the best thing to happen it Tottington for many years and he was well into his eighties.

“It’s nice to see something being well admired and the gratefulness of everybody has been quite overwhelming so it’s a nice end result for us as artists.”

Kelzo has been creating street art and murals for the last 10 years before previously starting out as a graffiti artists in his hometown of Hulme in Manchester in the early nineties.

He’s combined his street art with his interest of local history and in his murals, makes sure to include the local history of the town or village to captivate the attention of everyone who lives there.

Cllr Yvonne Wright said: “I am very proud that this mural has been created in Tottington honouring the bravery of this young soldier.

“Locals are very supportive and his relatives too who will be present at the event in the park on 25th September (the anniversary of his death) along with local dignitaries, military bands and Bury Veterans for the first George Peachment VC Day which is hoped to be an annual community event.”