SHOPKEEPER Thomas Swindale is backing the campaign to save the Staffords' name in memory of his grandfather who died during the First World War.
Thomas Swindale , the 71-year-old owner of Family Friends, The Reptile Centre, in Hanley, knew almost nothing of his grandfather Private Frederick Swindail until he wrote to the War Graves Commission asking for information.
Through his research, Mr Swindale found out his grandad, who he never met, had served with the 7th Battalion, Prince of Wales's North Staffordshire Regiment. He is listed as having 'died of wounds' on May 25, 1916 in Mesopotamia and is buried in a cemetery in Basra.
Private Swindail's battalion was involved in the siege of Kut Al Amara when the 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, was besieged by the Ottoman Army.
Following the surrender of the garrison on April 29, 1916, the survivors of the siege were marched to imprisonment at Aleppo.
Mr Swindale, of Freshwater Grove, Hanley, said: "I never knew anything about my grandad until I started my research. I'd never met him and my dad never spoke about him or his involvement in the war.
"I feel very proud to know that he was with the Staffords and I just wish his name was on the roll of honour at Hanley Town Hall."
Mr Swindale has his grandfather's 'Next of Kin Memorial Plaque' which was given to the relatives of men and women whose deaths were attributable to the Great War of 1914-1918. He also has the letter of condolence from King George V.
"I don't have any pictures or anything other than this scroll and plaque so it's very, very precious to me," said Mr Swindale.
"It's very important that we remember people like my grandad and their proud service with the Staffords.
"I'd read about the campaign to keep the Staffords' name in The Sentinel and I wanted to get behind it. I photocopied some of The Sentinel's petition forms that were in the Londis shop, in Birches Head, and I asked people coming into my shop to sign them.
"I got almost 100 signatures and I'm still going. It's important that we fight to keep the name."
Mr Swindale's wife Pat, aged 67, added: "If they get rid of the Staffords' name then it is lost forever and we've lost too much in Stoke-on-Trent over the decades. The pits and the potteries have gone and we mustn't lose the Staffords."
So far, more than 10,000 people have signed petitions backing the call for the Staffords' name and traditions to be saved.
The campaign was launched following a Ministry of Defence announcement that the 3rd Battalion of The Mercian Regiment (Staffords) is to be scrapped as part of cutbacks.
The unit will be disbanded by October 2014, along with 16 others, as part of plans to reduce the size of the Army by 20,000 by 2018.Readers can back the campaign and have their say on the Save Our Staffords website at www.saveourstaffords.com.
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