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from Manchester Evening
News, Wednesday January 12, 2000
 Family
of fallen war hero is found by M.E.N.
BY NICK WEBSTER
RELATIVES of a First World War
soldier, whose remains are believed to have been discovered in a Flanders
field, have been tracked down by the Manchester Evening News.
Private Harry Wilkinson’s great
grandchildren Annette Wilkinson and Harry Bradshaw were shocked to learn
about what happened to their relative.
The Lancashire Fusilier’s body
lay undisturbed after he was killed close to the French-Belgian border on
November 10, 1914.
His widow Eva and six-year-old son
Harry, back home in Bury, never knew what happened to Mr Wilkinson. a
former fireman at the town’s JK Schofield and Company mill.
 After
extensive research the M.E.N. contacted mother-of-three Ms Wilkinson, at
her home near Shrewsbury, and she was astounded to hear the news.
"I am going to have to sit
down," she said. "I am shaking like a leaf. I can’t believe
this."
Ms Wilkinson, 50 [pictured with
son Jay], was brought up in Kingfisher Drive, Bury, by her
grandparents, Harry jnr and his wife Annie. She said her grandfather had
never spoken about his own father.
But she was able to identify him
after a search through old family photos. She said: "I’m sad my
grandad is not alive to know his father’s been found. Now I just want to
see him have a decent burial."
Her brother Harry Bradshaw, 46, of
Surrey, said: "I didn’t know anything about it but I am certainly
happy now. Thank you."
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