IN SUNDAY'S D-Day anniversary, those who fought were commemorated for bravery and honour - but for one Warrington man, the First World War is associated with the murder of his great uncle.

Patrick O'Callaghan, of Knutsford Road, Latchford, contacted the Warrington Guardian after discovering that his great uncle, Patrick Joseph Downey, had survived the terrifying ordeals of trench warfare that killed almost as many soldiers as the enemy's bullets - only to be blindfolded and shot by a firing squad from his own division, on December 29, 1915.

As a 19-year-old soldier in the 10th Irish Division, he was dispatched to Gallipoli in the summer of 1915, only to be withdrawn a few months later and sent to Salonika in Greece for more fighting.

Like many in this division, Mr Downey's morale was destroyed and prior to being court marshalled to death for disobedience to a superior, received harsh punishments for minor misdemeanours from officers who feared mutiny would occur.

Mr O'Callaghan said: "This involved being tied by the wrists and ankles to cartwheels for periods of two hours daily, as well as performing heavy duties on starvations rations."

Now, 89 years after the death of his Irish relative, Mr O'Callaghan is determined to clear his name and promote the peace and reconciliation that Warrington has cultivated since 1993, through a new petition to gain an apology from the British Government.

Mr O'Callaghan continued: "As with over 300 other innocent British and Commonwealth soldiers, these Irishmen were brutally gunned down, not in the name of justice, but as an example to others."

To support the campaign to pardon Irish soldiers executed during the First World War, log onto www.shotatdawn.org.uk and sign the petition.