Southport refurbished grave unveiled for Victoria Cross hero

Volunteers, dignitaries and family gathered for the unveiling in Southport

Volunteers have unveiled the refurbished grave of a Victoria Cross war hero who helped saved the lives of 200 soldiers in World War One.

Pte Richard George Masters was awarded the honour for driving an ambulance under heavy fire to rescue the injured.

He died in 1963 at the age of 86 but his grave in Southport, Merseyside, had become dilapidated over the years.

Former soldiers Edward Byrne and Roland Sutton said he deserved a headstone "to reflect the heroism of our local hero".

The two men have worked alongside his surviving relatives to raise funds to transform the gravestone at St Cuthbert's Church Cemetery.

Pte Richard George Masters drove an ambulance under heavy fire to rescue wounded soldiers

Pte Masters' great-niece Joanne Rich, who attended the service, said the headstone looked "fantastic".

"I think it's a really fitting memorial to somebody who did such a fantastic act in World War One," she said.

Pte Masters was 41 when he helped save about 200 wounded soldiers in a place known as Hell Fire Corner near Bethune in France in 1918.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross "for conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty".

Pte Masters was buried in St Cuthbert's Church Cemetery

The citation for the honour read: "On 9 April 1918 near Bethune, France, owing to an enemy attack, communications were cut off and the wounded could not be evacuated. 

"The road was reported impassable but Pte Masters volunteered to try to get through and after great difficulty succeeded, although he had to clear the road of all sorts of debris.

"He made journey after journey throughout the afternoon over a road which was being shelled and swept by machine-gun fire and once he was bombed by an aeroplane. 

"The greater number of wounded (approximately 200 men) were evacuated by him as his was the only car (motorised ambulance) which got through."Pte Masters returned to civilian life following the war and was buried with his wife Alice.