A COMMEMORATIVE paving stone is set to be unveiled to honour the memory of an East Lancashire Victoria Cross winner, exactly a century to the day after he won the award.

Rifleman William Mariner VC will be honoured in his home town after Chorley council arranged for the paving stone to be installed in the grounds of St Laurence’s Church.

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It will be unveiled at a ceremony on Friday and is part of a national scheme that will see all 628 VC recipients of the First World War commemorated with a stone in their place of birth.

Rifleman William Mariner VC was born in Wellington Street, Chorley, in 1882 and served in several battles until his death in1916, aged 34.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross after he single-handedly attacked and destroyed a machine gun post on May 22, 1915, in the second Battle of Ypres.

In November 2006, having apparently been lost for decades, his Victoria Cross was sold in London for £105,000 after it was found hidden away in a drawer.

A slate plaque was unveiled in his honour at St Laurence’s Old School on Parker Street in 2002 by Chorley Civic Society, but there are few other traces of William Mariner in the area.

The Deputy Leader of Chorley Borough Council, Cllr Peter Wilson, said: “Few people know about William Mariner and the brave, heroic acts he performed. “It is only fitting that we pay tribute to him locally and it is a great honour for Chorley to have this commemorative stone.

“The churchyard of St Laurence’s was identified as the ideal location as local people and visitors will be able to view it and it is not too far away from where William Mariner was born.”

Brigadier Christopher Coles, Commander of Preston-based 42nd Infantry Brigade and HQ North West, said: “William Mariner had been a regular soldier between 1900 and 1912, and returned to his old regiment as a reservist in 1914.

“His heroism and strength of character is shown not only by how he won his Victoria Cross, but also in the manner of his death while fighting in a German trench the following year.

“It is, therefore, very right and fitting that the Army and town commemorate Rifleman Mariner in a way which shows that no matter what adversities we have to overcome, we can all perform great acts.”

William Mariner was presented with the Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace by King George V on August 12, 1915. That October, he returned to France where in June 1916 he was killed near Loos.

The ceremony will take place at St Laurence’s at 2.30pm on Friday.