Soldier's WWI sketches found at bottom of wardrobe

Sketches drawn by an army officer during World War One are being shown in an exhibition after his grandson found them in a carrier bag at the bottom of a wardrobe.

2nd Lieutenant Noel Whittles, of the Lancashire Fusiliers 19th Battalion, described the "rat-infested" trenches, with his drawings depicting life on the frontline of the Somme.

The pictures have been loaned to Trafford Local Studies & Archives Centre in Sale after David Burrows found them in his mother's flat in Didsbury after she died.

He said his grandfather had never shown them to anyone, adding: "He just kept his drawings to himself. They have never been published."

The sketches were found alongside some writing, all in perfect condition in a sealed shopping bag.

2nd Lt Whittles, from Altrincham, described the waist-deep mud conditions in the trenches at La Boisselle as vile.

He was shot in the arm in April 1918 and evacuated to London for surgery.

2nd Lt Whittles remained as an army officer training young soldiers in Warwickshire before serving in The Rhine area of Germany until Autumn 1919.

He returned to Withington, South Manchester, became a civil servant and married Lillian.

The couple had two children, Graham and Margaret, David Burrows' mother.

Graham Whittles died in service on patrol in Amfreville in World War Two in 1944.

Heartbroken, his father died later that year aged 54.

2nd Lt Noel Whittles, of the Lancashire Fusiliers 19th Battalion was awarded the Military Cross

Margaret kept hold of her father's sketches and Mr Burrows found them in 2014.

Mr Burrows said: "Like a lot of people of his generation, Noel enjoyed sketching but he wasn’t a professional artist."

Councillor Judith Lloyd, Armed Forces Champion at Trafford Council said: "We’re delighted to be able to work with David to bring these fascinating drawings to a wider audience.

"It’s hard for us to imagine what Noel went through and this is one way that his bravery and sacrifice lives on."

The Remembrance exhibition in Waterside House runs until 30 November.