York church aims to restore window painted in honour of Somme soldier

The huge stained window at St Lawrence Church, in York, will be restored

A North Yorkshire church is hoping to raise £80,000 to restore a window painted in honour of a man who died in the Battle of the Somme.

The window at St Lawrence Church, in York, was originally painted by Lt Robert Harpley's mother following his death in 1916.

So far, £8,000 has been raised by coffee mornings at the church.

Nick Beilby, from the York Normandy Veterans Association, said the window "needs some TLC".

He said: "It needs to be moved in sections, conservation clean, some of the glazing needs to be replaced and the support steel bars need to be replaced too and some of the stone work needs attention because at the moment the window buckles.

"It's safe but I would say only for another three to five years at the most."

Lt Robert Harpley was killed in the Battle of the Somme

'We will do it'

He added that the window formed part of the church's local history, with Lt Harpley's father a former vicar there.

The Somme was a significant World War One battle which saw 57,000 British soldiers injured or killed on the first day of the offensive in July.

By November, a total of a million men had been killed or injured in the battle.

Mr Beilby said: "It's also important that Lt Harpley, who represents many people who gave their lives in World War One, is remembered because without which we wouldn't be here."We estimate that it could cost about £80,000 and a large chunk of that is in scaffolding.

"We have raised about £8,000 so far through coffee mornings and a play about Normandy veterans and we will do it."

The church said it also wanted to hear from anyone who believed they were related to the Harpley family.