A FIRST World War hero is set to be commemorated 100 years after he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Lance Corporal James Welch VC will be honoured with a commemorative paving stone on Saturday, April 29, in New Street, Stratfield Saye where he lived.

Residents and members of the public are invited to join the Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire Nigel Atkinson, the Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane, Cllr Jane Frankum, MP for North West Hampshire Ranil Jayawardena and many more for the unveiling of the memorial stone.

Among the guests at the ceremony will be grandchildren and descendants of Lance Corporal Welch and retired members of the Royal Berkshire Regiment, in which he served.

During the Battle of Arras, on April 29, 1917, Welch entered a German trench and killed a German soldier after a hand-to-hand struggle, before chasing four others across the land and capturing them single-handedly.

He then manned a machine gun for five hours before being wounded, even going into the open several times to collect ammunition and spare parts.

After the war he moved to Sheffield and worked for a box factory until he retired and moved to Bournemouth with his wife Daisy, who he married in 1915.

Ian Pearson, chairman of Stratfield Saye Parish Council, said: “The commemorative stone provides a lasting legacy to a local hero, and it is a fitting tribute to mark the centenary of the action.”

“Lance Corporal Welch was an ordinary soldier who, on that day in 1917, did an extraordinary thing, and exhibited gallantry worthy of the highest award. It is only right and proper we pay our tribute to him.”

The specially commissioned stone was presented to Stratfield Saye Parish Council as part of a national project organised by the Department for Communities and Local Government to give councils across the country stone memorials in areas where the Victoria Cross recipients lived, as a symbol of the centenary commemoration of the Great War.

Guests will gather from 10.15am ahead of a procession at 10.45am.

For more information, visit basingstoke.gov.uk/victoria-cross.