War hero's grave rededicated

The grave of a North Staffordshire war hero has been rededicated. A new cross has also been laid at Hartshill Cemetery in memory of driver Joseph Gittins. At the time of his death, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission did not recognise Joseph’s case as meeting the criteria for a war grave. But those gathered at the ceremony remembered Joseph as another life lost because of war. He enlisted with the Royal Field Artillery in September 1914. During army training, he suffered injuries after falling from his horse. On 17 May 1915, he was admitted to Cheddleton Asylum with primary dementia. Army training was listed as one of the causes of his illness. Joseph died on 6 November 1915, aged just 22.