Crosses have been placed at Ramsey War Memorial in remembrance of two Ramsey men killed at the Battle of Passchendaele in Belgium during the First World War.

Private William Percy Kneale and Private Thomas Archer were remembered on the centenary of their deaths on Monday, July 31, the first day of the battle.

Four generations of Private Kneale’s family attended the commemoration. He was the son of Mrs J S Kneale, of Belvedere, Mooragh Promenade, and the late John Southward Kneale. He and his brother Thomas were partners in the firm Kneale Bros., the butchers based at May Hill, then at Bourne Place, in Ramsey. Private Kneale served in the 17th battalion of the King’s Liverpool Regiment.

Thomas Archer, a plumber by trade, was the son of Annie Archer, nee Kissack, of Bowring Road, and the late William Archer. He first went into the Royal Engineers before later being placed in an infantry regiment, The King’s Liverpool Regiment. He was a member of Ramsey Town Band. The Battle of Passchendaele was fought by the Allies against the Germans from July 31 to November 10, 1917.