Plaque for World War One soldier who returned from Canada

A plaque has been unveiled in tribute to a World War One soldier who returned from Canada to join the battle effort.

Born in Oxton, Merseyside, in 1887, George Schultz emigrated in 1911 but responded to the call for volunteers in 1914.

He died after being wounded while leading his battalion in Picardy, France, in August 1917.

Oxton Society chair Rhiannon Evans said the plaque outside his home was "an opportunity to pay tribute".

Mr Schulz was promoted to lieutenant in the Cheshire Regiment in 1908 after joining as a volunteer.

After his return from Canada, he lived with his family in Oxton and enlisted in the Birkenhead Bantams, for men under the regulation height of 5ft 3ins.

He was promoted to captain and battalion commanding officer, fighting in various battles before being fatally wounded while trying to capture a strategic hill known as The Knoll.

Mr Schulz was awarded the British War Medal and the Inter-Allied Victory Medal and his name is engraved on the Birkenhead Cenotaph.

Members of his family, veterans and current officers attended the ceremony at his birthplace in Silverside Road, Oxton.

Ms Evans said: "This is an opportunity to pay tribute to George Schultz and the important role all of the other soldiers of the Birkenhead Bantams played in the First World War."

It is the fifth plaque unveiled by the society, which has also honoured World War Two Brigadier Sir Philip Toosey, who formed the inspiration for Sir Alec Guinness's character in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai.

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