A SOLDIER from Keighley was decorated for bravery in battle on the Western Front in 1916.

Private Robert Wilkinson Snowden, of the 1st/6th Battalion Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment, survived the conflict despite being injured in combat twice – on one of these occasions he was shot in the neck.

He was born in 1895 and lived in Woodhouse. He enlisted in the army in October 1914 and was deployed to France the following year.

In June of that year he was wounded in the neck by rifle fire, but was fortunate enough to escape being severely wounded. He continued on active service and was Mentioned in Despatches in November 1915.

In August 1916, while helping to dig a new frontline trench near Thiepval Wood, he was hit again, this time being wounded in the buttock by a shell explosion along with three other soldiers from his unit.

In November he was awarded the Military Medal for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty" in the field.

Private Snowden was discharged from the army due to sickness in October 1917, having served for three years and 14 days.

His brother, Private Percy Snowden, also served his country in the war and was attached to the Army Service Corps of the West Yorkshire Regiment.

Robert Snowden married in 1922 and died on June 6 1955, aged 59.