A LOCAL woman has brought to light a fascinating family connection with a World War One battle in order to raise money for charity.

Alison Humphries, who lives at Elton near Westbury and volunteers at Bathurst Pool, discovered that her great uncle, John M Smith, was involved in the Battle of Otranto, which took place in May 1917 at the mouth of the Adriatic Sea between Italy and Corfu.

Together with her daughter, Meg Humphries, an editor and proof-reader who lives in Lydney, she has pieced together the story of John’s involvement in holding back Austro-Hungarian forces at the height of the war.

Alison, who was a teacher at Primrose Hill Primary School for many years, told the Review: “Winston Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty at the time and had the idea to create a barrage. Fishing boats from around Britain’s coast were requisitioned and 47 steam drifters were used by the British Navy to create a barrage to block enemy forces.

“Most of these were crewed by fisherman and ‘Uncle Johnny’, who was from the east coast of Scotland, was on board Craignoon KY 279 as an engineer.

“Many men lost their lives in the action, but Johnny survived. My mother lived in Coleford for many years and when she died, I found a series of newspaper articles about him published years ago in a Scottish newspaper.

“My family have always been strong supporters of the Royal National Lifeboat Institutue (RNLI) and I decided to write this book and tell his story, with help from my daughter.

“Research notes, family history and recollections shed further light on John’s naval career, family and experiences during and after the battle. It is being published to thank, commemorate and celebrate all those ordinary people, the ‘brave and the cheerful’ folk, in the past and in the present time, whose work takes them out onto the sea.”

Memories of a First World War Sailor is available as a paperback or as a download, from Amazon.