A COMMEMORATIVE wreath has been laid at the grave of Newton-le-Willows' First World War VC hero Norman Harvey.

In October, a two-metre high statue in honour of Norman was unveiled at Mesnes Park in Newton.

This follows a £100,000 fundraising effort launched by the Newton and Earlestown Community Group in 2016 to create a memorial statue to VC recipient Private Norman Harvey at Newton-le-Willows’ Mesnes Park.

Norman was 19 when he won his VC medal on October 25, 1918 for his actions in Ingoyhem, Belgium.

Despite his age, when Norman’s battalion was held up and suffering severe casualties from machine-gun fire, he ran forward and engaged the enemy single-handed, killing two, wounding one and capturing 12 men and two guns.

He later used a hidden machine-gun to put the enemy to flight. When night fell, he went out alone and gathered important information. Throughout these actions, Norman was limping as he had a sprained ankle.

Born in Newton-le-Willows on April 6, 1899, Norman enlisted in the 4th Battalion South Lancashire Regiment in November 1914, when he was only 15. He was transferred to the 1st Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in April 1918. After the War, Norman lived at Old Station in Parkside Road.

He re-enlisted for World War II and was killed in action in 1942. He is buried in Haifa, Israel.

On Friday, Newton councillor Seve Gomez-Aspron posted about the "proud honour" of laying a wreath at the grave of Norman Harvey.

He said: "A proud honour to lay a wreath at the war grave of a fellow Newtonian in Haifa, Israel this morning. I can’t really sum it up. Other than noticing the fantastic work that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission do.

"A fitting end to the 14-18 commemorations from Newton-le-Willows".