The WW1 Victoria Cross hero who became a lollipop man
AHERO soldier’s bravery on the battlefields of Belgium will be remembered 100 years on.
Sergeant Joseph Lister, who survived both world wars to become a lollipop man in Stockport after he retired, was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry during the Battle of Passchendaele in the First World War.
During a violent thunderstorm east of Ypres, and under heavy enemy fire, he ran towards a German machine gun position and killed two soldiers before forcing the surrender of around 100 more, showing ‘most conspicuous bravery in attack’ on October 9, 1917.
A monument will be unveiled in his memory at the exact site in September and a campaign to raise funds has been launched by the Fusilier Association.
Salford-born Lister, who served with 1st Battalion the Lancashire Fusiliers, was wounded at the Somme but survived to fight at Passchendaele.
The centenary of the battle will be marked nationally this year.
Representatives from Salford council and the regiment are expected to attend the memorial service in Belgium with the governor of West Flanders, but buying the land and memorial will cost £5,000.
The association’s Lancashire branch is now appealing for donations.
Lieutenant Colonel Mike Glover, regimental secretary of the Fusiliers Association in Lancashire, hailed Lister as a ‘typical Fusilier.’
He said: “From the back streets of Salford to the front line in Belgium, he knew his duty and did all he could to project his friends and comrades at a critical point in the battle.
“I would ask all of you who have a pride in the history and heritage of the Lancashire Fusiliers to con- tribute to this fundraising appeal for a permanent memorial in Belgium.”
A memorial stone will also be dedicated to his memory in Salford in October and a celebration of his life will be held at Willow Grove Cemetery near Stockport, where he is buried
Sgt Lister’s parents moved to Stockport and he worked at Lowe’s Chemical Works in Reddish before he enlisted at the outbreak of the war. After the war he worked in Reddish as a postman before he rejoined the Lancashire Fusiliers to serve in the Second World War. Following the Second World War, he remained in Reddish and after retiring, worked as a school lollipop man.
He died in January 1963 aged 76.