A BRAVE soldier who saved a comrade's life in The Great War was denied a medal for gallantry.

Arthur Martin, from Darwen, helped to rescue fellow Darrener, Sergeant John Edwin Sprague, during the battle of Gallipoli in 1915, but unfortunately never received a medal for his courage.

Sgt Sprague had taken a bullet in the left thigh in a charge on the Turkish lines, and as he tried to stop the bleeding, he was hit in the face and three times in his left leg, which eventually shattered.

If that hadn't been enough for the already injured Sprague, a shell then blew off his right arm and part of his shoulder.

After several long hours lying injured in no-man's land, it was Private Arthur Martin who came to his aid.

Pte. Martin, who was himself hurt after suffering from an injured knee, insisted on taking Sgt Sprague back to the trenches with him.

In a letter written by Sgt Sprague, he recalls how he told Pte. Martin to leave him and look after himself.

But without hesitation, Pte Martin, who was barely 5ft 3in tall, lifted his sergeant over his shoulder, and, as bullets whistled past them, helped him back to the safety of the East Lancs trenches some 200 yards away.

Nobody in Pte Martin's family knew anything about his war-time heroics, as he never once spoke about the war, and his five children, five grandchildren and numerous cousins grew up without any inkling as to his bravery.

However, a century after the Armistice, his story can now be read about in Darwen's Heritage centre.

Pte. Martin's grandson visited the centre on the morning of Remembrance Sunday after being told about the story by a neighbour.

Jimmy Martin, who lives in Blackburn Road, went to the exhibition with his wife Tricia, and was amazed when he realised the tale of bravery was about his grandfather.

Mr Martin said: " The whole family has been reunited in the search for information about Arthur.

"We have now gathered old documents and photos and there will be a permanent reminder of his life on display in the Heritage Centre."

Pte Martin, who was 24-years-old when he carried out the rescue, went on to to serve in France, and after the war he returned to his job as a truck-driver and later became a gravedigger.

He lived with his wife, Sarah, in Maitland Street until his death in 1954, and is buried alongside his wife and two of his sons in Darwen old cemetery.

Sgt. Sprague was patched up and he lived until 1937.

The display of stories about "proud Darreners" who served in the war is on show in Darwen Heritage Centre.