PRIVATE GEORGE PARRY
SOUTH LANCASHIRE REGIMENT
6TH OCTOBER 1917 AGE 19
BURIED: BAILLEUL COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION NORD, FRANCE
George Parry's inscription comes from a popular Sunday School hymn, 'Jesus wants me for a sunbeam' of which this is the first verse and the chorus:
Jesus wants me for a sunbeam,
To shine for Him each day;
In every way try to please Him,
At home, at school, at play.
A sunbeam, a sunbeam,
Jesus wants me for a sunbeam;
A sunbeam, a sunbeam,
I'll be a sunbeam for Him.
Parry joined up in February 1917 when he was 18. He served with the 7th Battalion South Lancashire Regiment, joining them in France at the end of August 1917. Seven weeks later the sister-in-charge of the Casualty Clearing Station in Bailleul wrote to tell his parents that their son -
"was admitted severely wounded in the abdomen and although everything possible was done to relieve his condition he could not respond to his treatment and passed away on October 6, a few hours after admission".
His parents, sister and brother 'in France', and uncle and aunt all put notices announcing his death in the Liverpool Daily Post on both Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th October. His parents' announcement concluded with a line from another hymn - 'Safe in the arms of Jesus'.
Safe in the arms of Jesus
Safe from corroding care,
Safe from the world's temptations;
Sin cannot harm me there.
Free from the blight of sorrow,
Free from my doubts and fears;
Only a few more trials,
Only a few more tears.