LEES soldier Robert Ackroyd Stoney was shot in 1917 – and he was one of the lucky ones.
The gunshot wound to his right forearm, causing a compound fracture, allowed him to be evacuated to England for treatment.
Treatment at Whalley Hospital in Lancashire was followed by his discharge from the army in January 1918, protecting him from the 10 months’ further fighting before the First World War ended.
Robert was born in Keighley in 1893, growing up in Haworth and Lees with his mother and siblings after his butcher father died when he was four.
By the age of 17 Robert was working as a roller cover for textile manufacturer Merralls at Lees Mills, playing with Cross Roads Cricket Club and helping at Lees Wesleyan Sunday School.
In 1916, at the age of 22, Robert enlisted in the West Riding Regiment and was eventually sent to France, fighting during the 1917 Easter offensive and receiving the gunshot wound in June.
Permanently invalided out of the Army and receiving several medals, Robert married Mary Lizzie Barwick in 1924 and had a son Jack two years later.
Robert died in 1959 at the age of 65 and his wife died two years later.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here