A poignant reminder of the Great War and the effect on a Preston family.

The framed medal, in the window of booksellers Halewood & Sons, commemorates Private Harold Halewood, of 35 Battalion Australian Infantry, A.I.F. who died in 1918.

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Harold was the son of Mr William Halewood, who ran the bookshop on Friargate, Preston. He attended Preston Grammar School, before signing up for war.

Injured on the first day of the big push, he later spent several weeks during 1917 in Dublin Hospital, France, after being wounded again at Messines.

A chaplain at the time wrote that: “Pte Halewood is in good spirits, is progressing favourably, and will shortly be sent over to Blighty.”

Harold was killed in action on 6 May 1918 aged 42 years old, 6 months before the end of the war, and is buried at Villers-Bretonneux Memorial , Departement de la Somme, Picardie, France.

Halewood & Sons was founded in 1867 and represents five generations of bookdealers.