Chapel Street: 'The Bravest Little Street in England'

by Sheila Brady

Chapel Street was a row of old Georgian terraced lodging houses in Altrincham, home to some 400 Irish, English, Welsh and Italian lodgers. From this tight-knit community of just sixty houses, 161 men volunteered for the First World War. They fought in all the campaigns of the war, with twenty-nine men killed in action and twenty dying from injuries soon after the war; more men were lost in action from Chapel Street than any other street in England. As a result, King George V called Chapel Street 'the Bravest Little Street in England'. The men that came home returned to a society unfamiliar with the processes of rehabilitation. Fiercely proud, they organised their own Roll of Honour, which recorded all the names of those brave men who volunteered. This book highlights their journeys through war and peace. Royalties from the sale of this book will help support the vital work of the charity Walking With the Wounded and its housing, health, employment and training programmes for ex-service personnel.

258 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 20, 2017

About the author

Creative writing first grabbed me when I won a national poetry competition at school, although accepting the prize in a dress Mum insisted on me wearing, made me wish I'd come last! Now, living in central Italy, I write most days at my desk overlooking the splendiferous Maiella mountain range - and wear shorts!

I am the creator of the gossiping ladies 'Dahling Do Tell!' and the 'Yer 'Avin a Larf' cartoons, (normally found at Bing/Yahoo #1), cult Cartoon Humour Blog - Commytooper. I am also one of the main contributors to the funny, sideways, and (if I might say so), insightful) posts for which we are rightly famous and popular.

My first novel,'The Great British Date Off', is a funny romantic comedy, which is far from serious, has a mix of characters for which the word eclectic could have been invented and a proper plot!

I am shortly launching 'The Trouble with Relationships', the first in a new series of six non fiction humour books, which will bring together cartoons and musings from Commytooper. Each one will be packed full of anything and everything which life gets to throw at us all and you'll recognise yourself somewhere in there. Ideal for the coffee table, bed or the loo, but not necessarily in that order, each book is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.