THE story of a soldier from Burley who fought in almost every major British battle on the Western Front from 1916 to 1918 is part of a new project to commemorate the end of the First World War.

Captain Geoffrey Bowen received the Military Cross for his bravery after joining the 2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers in 1915 aged 20. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Road to Peace project tells 120 personal stories of casualties who died during the final 100 days of the war.

Captain Bowen fought on the first day of the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916, which has been referred to as the worst day in the British Army’s history with more than 19,000 casualties.

Promoted to Captain, Geoffrey fought in the Battle of Arras in 1917. This was known as one of the hardest-fought battles of the war with a higher average daily casualty rate than any other. He was awarded a Military Cross for his bravery. The citation for his Military Cross said: “He led his company with great skill and courage. On four separate occasions he advanced his company and had to dig in on new lines. His personal example was of the utmost value to his men under very trying conditions”.

He then fought in the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917, known as Passchendaele.

On September 2 1918, the 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers took part in an attack on a German strong point, between the French towns of Drocourt and Quéant.

There were 30 casualties in the attack, including Geoffrey. He died aged 23, only a few weeks before the armistice was signed on November 11.

CWGC historian Max Dutton said: “Behind every one of our headstones or names a memorial to the missing, is a human story just waiting to be told. Our Road to Peace campaign will remind people of the human cost of the Great War, the sheer diversity of those who took part and the global nature of that sacrifice and remembrance today. We hope Geoffrey’s story will inspire people to find out more about him and his comrades commemorated by the CWGC and visit their graves and memorials.”