I am looking for information regarding a relative of mine who was killed during the First World War.

Harold Robinson was a brother of my paternal grandmother (who in turn named one her own sons after him - Harold Coop).

Harold lived in Powys Street, Hindsford, and was a 22 year old private in the Lancashire Fusiliers and killed on October 10, 1917, at the ill fated Battle of Poelcapelle towards the end of the Battle of Passchendaele.

I've managed to piece together a lot of information about the movements of his Battalion (3rd/5th) leading up to the start of the battle on October 10, and even some of the events of the battle itself.

Unfortunately I have no pictures of Harold and know nothing of his life leading up to his entry into the army - and precious little of that.

It seems that the Battle of Poelcapelle is little but a footnote in the wider tragedy of Passchendaele and the war in general.

As such, scant information has ever been published about the events surrounding those two days in October 1917.

These were tragic days for the Lancashire Fusiliers though and Poelcapelle is widely considered an attack that simply should not have taken place given the conditions on the ground.

In fact, out popular image of the Western Front being a stinking quagmire into which countless thousands of young men literally disappeared comes not just from the Battle of Passchendaele, but specifically from the actions around Ypres during October and November 1917 - most notably the Battle of Poelcapelle.

As the 90th anniversary of Harold's death approaches, I was wondering if any of your readers may be able to help me find out more about Harold's life and death.

Being able to build an understanding of who he was will be some sort of memorial to him, if a very personal one.

Tel: 07714 672888.

rcoop@vio.com