New Gravestone Erected for WWI Soldier Who Died from War-Related Illnesses

A newly installed gravestone commemorates a World War One soldier whose death resulted from the lingering effects of a gas attack and heart disease, the latter caused by infections contracted in the trenches. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) reported that it had “unfortunately” been unable to locate any descendants of Private Edward Price, who was from Atherton, Greater Manchester. Private Price, 32, whose service number was 24560, was interred in Leigh Cemetery following his death on 26 December 1918, just over a month after the war concluded. A spokesperson for the CWGC stated: “Private Price has now been recognised as a Commonwealth war casualty and the commission will now care for his grave in perpetuity.” The spokesman further added: “Unfortunately there was no response to an appeal for relatives.” Prior to World War One, Private Price, a member of the Manchester Regiment, worked as a coal hewer—a miner who extracted coal from a coal seam using hand tools such as a pick and shovel. He served with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. Like many other soldiers in the conflict, he experienced gas attacks in March and May 1918. Following these attacks, he was sent back to England in June and admitted to Middlesex War Hospital for treatment. There, he was diagnosed with “trench fever” and valvular disease of the heart. Both were common conditions for soldiers returning from the front lines, stemming from the appalling living conditions they endured in the trenches. So-called “trench fever” was caused by the transmission of body lice, which infected armies across the Western and Eastern fronts. The heart condition, described as a form of cardiac malfunction that also affected soldiers, led to Private Price’s discharge from the Army in October 1918. He was awarded the 1915 Star, Victory, and British War Medals in recognition of his overseas service. The soldier was survived by his wife, Martha, and their four children.