Children's stage performance rekindles memories of father's frontline anguish.

WHEN soldier Henry Taylor Clark said goodbye to his infant son, before he boarded a troop ship bound for the Mediterranean, he knew it was for the last time.

Private Clark, back on leave from the front, had spent a few precious days at home in Consett, County Durham, with his only child, William, consoling the boy after the sudden death of his mother.

When the time came to return, he entrusted the care of his son to his sister, Annie Dent, and begged her to raise the boy as her own, knowing deep in his heart that he would not be coming back.

His grim prediction came true on November 26, 1916, when he was killed in action during the bloody Gallipoli landings. He is buried near where he fell, in the war cemetery at Suvla Bay.

Pte Clark's story will form part of an exhibition revealing tales of wartime tragedy and acts of heroism by County Durham soldiers.

His granddaughter, Audrey Richardson, of Ebchester, said: "He knew in his heart he wasn't coming back from Gallipoli.

"He asked my aunt to take care of the boy and he left. That was the last he saw of his son."

A soldier with the Eighth Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers, he was part of the British Mediterranean Expeditionary Force that fought with the Anzacs against the Ottoman Empire in the First World War.

He had married his sweetheart, Margaret Dimmick, in Consett Parish Church in 1908 and his son, William, was born the year after.

But during his first spell with the expeditionary force, Margaret became ill and died, leaving William to cope on his own.

Pte Clark was eventually granted leave and spent a few days with the young boy, before returning to the battleground that claimed his life.

His deep love for his only child is revealed in his one surviving letter home, possibly the last sent before he died.

In it he writes: "Dear sister, we have not slept nor been under any roof since we landed . . . we are back in the firing line, in fact, we are hardly any place else, as there is no other place to go.

"I expect you will be making a cake for Willie's birthday, so I will slip over and have tea with you all!

"Please tell my little son he will have to wait for his birthday present - I may be able to send it later if we go some place for a rest."

Mrs Richardson dug out the story to tell youngsters taking part in Consett Junior Theatre Workshop. The 45 children, aged seven to 18, have today won a grant of £4,999 from the National Lottery Awards for All scheme.

The money will help pay for their production of Oh What a Lovely War, running at Consett's Empire Theatre from Monday to Wednesday, June 16 to 18.

It will also fund an exhibition of this and other wartime tales by the Derwentside Family History Society, to run alongside the show.

The society is appealing for any more wartime stories or memorabilia for the exhibition. Anyone interested is asked to contact Michael Curran on (01207) 506566.

For tickets, or further details about the performances, contact the theatre box office, on (01207) 218171.