The medal was then found in 1999 by Bob Sheppard, who was using a metal detector at the time. Mr Sheppard tracked down the surviving family of Thomas Swan after 11 years and gave the medal to his great granddaughter, Keely McGuinness.

As part of the first state visit by the French for over a decade, Sarkozy claimed the existence of a “Franco-British brotherhood” which had stood the test of time and it is hoped will continue despite the current political differences between the two nations.
The French premier spoke of how his nation was “not entitled to forget” the sacrifices of the British whilst liberating their nation.

“France hasn’t forgotten, she will never forget that when she was almost annihilated, Britain was at her side,” he said.

The speech went on to claim that the two nations could now describe their relations as a “Entente Amical” as opposed to the historic “Entente Cordial”.

The German artillery showered the trenches with an astounding one million shells in five hours which was followed with a ground attack by Germany’s most distinguished storm troopers. It was at this point that the young L/Cpl Stafford was taken prisoner along with twenty one thousand other British troops.

Ninety years later, the true horrors of the ordeal are being realised with the discovery of Stafford’s diaries, which give a shocking insight into the eight months he spent at the hands of the enemy.

The harrowing synopsis describes the inhumane conditions which were part of every day life for these British troops, and the work which they were made to undertake to aid the German war effort. Stafford tells of excruciatingly long days laying railway lines and repairing roads with token amounts of food and no access to washing facilities. He describes the fact that numerous troops were “breaking out in sores and boils all over them” – whilst others were either killed or wounded as a result if bombs unknowingly placed by the Allies.

In a rare interview with Chad, Stafford’s daughter, Marion Towle spoke about the pride which the diaries elicit for her and the fact that the “precious” diary helped her to gain an understanding into her father’s past.

“We knew that he’d been shot and was a prisoner but he didn’t talk about it in detail” Towle stated

This is a well known trait of many war heroes such as Stafford – the pain of recollection far outweighs any present day glory and for this reason we must value all written artefacts such as the diary discovered here, and treat them with as much objectivity as humanely possible.

Stafford was freed from captivity when the guns fell silent on 11th November 1918 and was soon to move to the village of Blidworth –becoming an estate manager at the local colliery’s housing dept.

He was known to be a well liked and humble man and following his death in 1959, an army of mourners saturated Mansfield Road to offer their final respects.

It has been a pleasure learning about this true hero in every sense of the word.

Leonard Wentworth Stafford 1898-1959

RIP

Lazare Ponticelli was carried by members of the French Foreign Legion during the commemoration in Les Invalides. Numerous French dignitaries were present including President Sarkozy who paid tribute to the fallen and reaffirmed his commitment to encourage the younger generation to recognise the sacrifices of les poilus – the loving name given to the French veterans of the First World War.

Also present was former President Jacques Chirac and numerous personnel from the Italian Alpine brigade – to which Ponticelli was called up to in 1915.

Ponticelli was a native Italian who fled the country at nine years of age in order to join his brothers in Paris. He enlisted at the Foreign Legion at the outbreak of war in 1914 and like many, believed that he would be “home by Christmas”. After joining his Italian comrades, he moved back to France in 1921 where he went into business with his brothers making chimneys for factories. Some years later, he was awarded French citizenship and died last week at the age of 110.

A commemorative plaque was revealed by the President at Saint-Louis cathedral – the location of Napoleons tomb. As part of the solemn service to honour the 8.4 million soldiers who served their country so valiantly President Sarkozy stated –

“Never again will anyone tell their grandchildren or great-grandchildren about the terrible life of the trenches,”

Dulce et decorum est . Pro patria mori.

Located in the Artois region of France, deep below the town of Arras, the city was used to provide shelter and protection for up to twenty four thousand troops against the seemingly never ending German artillery bombardment.

Over 10 miles of interlinked tunnels connected dormitories, kitchens, a command centre and a heavily utilized hospital.

Historically, the area had long been densely populated with cellars and mine shafts – some of which dating way back to the Middles Ages – this was furthered when the British High Command issued directives to create the “secret city of Arras”.

The project was completed by miners from Northern England together with Maoris and took around eighteen months to complete.

There is one recorded offensive being launched directly from the underground city. This occurred on 19th April 1917 which ended in attrition after eliciting over four thousand casualties a day.