Herbert Berry was a tram driver working for Manchester Transport Corporation. He lived in the inner city area  of Rusholme and had a strong faith as a Roman Catholic. He had three young children William, Winifred and Molly. My father, William, was the oldest and was only eight yrs. old when his father died.  Herbert died in the Battle of Bligny on the Eastern front only a few weeks after arriving in France.  He survived a few days in the hospital close to Bar Le Duc where we now can visit the cemetery where he is buried.  We have a very poignant letter from the priest who attended my grandfather in hospital and commented that he found a prayer book and his first communion card among his effects, My father felt the loss of his father all his life and paid a very emotional visit to the Bar Le Duc grave to pay his last respects and to remember those last sad days of the war.  

As a family we have always missed the grandfather presence and can only guess at the relationship we might have had.  He can be proud of the family he left, which resulted in six grandchildren,  On my family side, from William, there are  seven great granchildren .  My daughter and her two children  have also visited the grave and  the children were distressed to see the ages  of those who died .  The  tragedy of war became very personal to them.

Mary Johnson