'We need to find these young soldiers' families'

Volunteers at a war cemetery in the Netherlands have asked for help to put photographs by the graves to "tell the story behind the headstone" of 16 North West soldiers buried there.

Campaigners in the town of Venray want to trace families of the men so they can place photographs of them alongside their graves.

More than 600 British soldiers killed in the Second World War are buried in the cemetery, which is in the south of the Netherlands.

Tom van Mierlo, of the Venray War Cemetery Adoption Graves Foundation, said: "As soon as you put a photograph on the grave and see the face of the guy, well a picture says more than a thousand words."

"There are around one hundred men from the North West buried in Venray and we're still missing 16 photographs of those men," he said.

"As soon as you put a photograph on the grave and see the face of the guy, well a picture says more than a thousand words."

"Many times they were only young men and that makes you realise there is a human being and a story behind that headstone," he added.

The foundation in Venray has managed to find photographs for the majority of the 692 soldiers buried in the British War Cemetery.

Volunteers often use social media to track down relatives of the men.

One of its recent successes was finding the family of 21-year-old Tpr Douglas Ashworth, from Stockport, who was killed in action near Venray in October 1944.

"It was a complete shock", said Andrea Rothwell, 60, whose husband Jim is the nephew of Tpr Ashworth.

"I didn't think we'd ever find out what happened to him."

Jim Rothwell, 68, said it was "really nice" to finally discover where his uncle was buried.

"It's sad though that he was such a young lad when he lost his life", said Rothwell.

The couple said it was "comforting" to know that a photograph of Tpr Ashworth was now by his grave.

Private Harold 'Toby' Milward from Liverpool was 18 years old when he was shot and killed in the Netherlands in March 1945.

His nephew, Ted Milward, 64, was able to provide the foundation in Venray with a photograph of his uncle.

He said he had "nothing but admiration and thanks" for the volunteers in Venray who tended hundreds of graves, including that of his uncle.

"It shows that even after more than 80 years, these soldiers are thought of."

"Toby's being looked after and that's great", he said.

The Netherlands was occupied by the German army in May 1940 and the town of Venray was liberated by Allied troops in October 1944.

The burials in the cemetery date from October 1944 to March 1945.

The Venray War Cemetery Adoption Graves Foundation is trying to trace relatives for these 16 soldiers from the North West:

• Pte Kenneth Baskerville from Lymm, Cheshire
• Pte Albert Cliff from Christleton, Cheshire
• Pte Dennis Bades from Bolton
• Pte John Chapman from Newton Heath, Manchester
• L/Cpl Edward Clark from Liverpool
• Pte Charles Robert Clayton from Liverpool
• Dvr Thomas Corfield from Oldham
• Spr Walter Green from Tyldesley
• WO William Arnold Livesley from Blackley, Manchester
• Pte Thomas Marsh from Westhoughton
• Pte Francis Reginald McGrath from Liverpool
• Tpr William Shawcross from Warrington
• Pte Samuel Turnbull from Salford
• L/Cpl Patrick Osborne from Higher Blackley, Manchester
• Rfn Leslie George Arrowsmith from Fairfield, Liverpool
• Rfn Roy Francis Lovatt from Birkenhead

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