How I finally found grandad’s grave

A SPECTACULAR coincidence meant an Oldham woman could finally honour her heroic grandfather who was one of the first Oldham men to be killed in the First World War.

Private James Mills (34) died from his wounds while fighting at Flanders with his regiment, the 2nd Battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers, on October 14, 1914.

His granddaughter Barbara Lindley said her mum Janey Sharp and grandmother Bertha Mills never managed to visit the beloved father and husband’s final resting place in Lille, France.

When an opportunity arose for Barbara in 1994 she decided to take a wreath in case she managed to find his grave while on a coach trip in France.

Although the trip wasn’t supposed to be stopping at Bailleul Communal Cemetery, the coach driver said they would be going past and he would stop to let Barbara search for her grandfather’s grave.

In fact Barbara (73) said the whole coach party began searching but after half an hour without success she was beginning to lose hope.

About to give up, Barbara put her wreath on the war memorial instead when suddenly a member of the party discovered it in the civilian part of the cemetery alongside the graves of four of his fallen comrades. “They had been killed together so they had buried them as best they could but because they were among the first to die it was before the military part had been built,” explained Barbara, from Limeside Road.

But Barbara hadn’t realised the other significance of her overwhelming visit.

“When I got back on the coach this lady said to me, did you notice the date on the stone? I said yes, October 19, 1914. She said today’s date is October 19, 1994, which is exactly 80 years to the day he died — I was gobsmacked,” said Barbara.