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Peal of bells at St George’s to honour local man killed in WWI

London SE1 website team

Bellringers attempted a peal of bells at St George the Martyr on Friday evening in honour of a local man who was killed exactly 100 years ago in the Battle of the Somme.

The family of Rifleman Christopher Hughes lived in Union Square (now Dickens Square), close to what is today the site of the Harper Road mosque.

He was killed on 9 September 1917 whilst serving with the King's Royal Rifle Corps.

He is buried in the Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval, France.

Before World War I Hughes was a bellringer at St George the Martyr Church and a member of the Ancient Society of College Youths.

To mark the centenary of his death, the Ancient Society of College Youths arranged to attempt a peal of bells at St George the Martyr.

The church kept its doors open during the event and invited passers-by to view a display about Christopher Hughes' story.

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