AN APPEAL has been made to find the relatives of a Wrexham soldier who died during the Cyprus Emergency in the 1950s.

Joseph Edgar Price was one of 372 British Servicemen who lost their lives during the four-year engagement in crisis-torn Cyprus and is buried at Wayne's Keep, a British military cemetery near Nicosia.

Veteran Les Smith has spent the last three years searching for the loved ones of fellow comrades who perished fighting the terrorist organisation EOKO during a largely forgotten conflict that lasted from April 1955 to April 1959.

Most of the relatives he has found have been awarded the Elizabeth Cross in recognition of their family's sacrifice and were unaware they were entitled to receive the military honour.

Many of the soldiers were undertaking National Service and were some of the last conscripts to lose their lives in the service of their country.

Les says he has been handed some information from a Facebook posting with records showing that a Joseph Edgar Price, who was born in 1904, lived at Trafalgar Road in Wrexham, an address which is likely to be a service one near to Hightown Barracks.

He says he is convinced he is the man he is looking for, although there is a discrepancy with the REME serviceman's age (48) at the date of his death on August 17, 1956.

"No-one seemed to know much about Cyprus and I thought it was important that the next of kin of these soldiers knew their loved ones have never been forgotten by their comrades and that they are entitled to receive the Elizabeth Cross," outlined Les.

"I started the project in 2016 and so far I have found the relatives of 170 of the servicemen.

"Joseph Edgar Price came from Wrexham and it is quite probable that he had children and there are grandchildren perhaps still in the area who might like to get in touch with me. He is buried at Wayne's Keep in Plot 23 Row A Grave 2."

The Cyprus Emergency was triggered by the Greek Cypriots' demand to be reunited with mainland Greece while Turkish Cypriots clamoured for union with Turkey.

EOKA backed the former and waged a guerilla campaign and a state of emergency was declared by the British Governor General John Harding. Cyprus gained independence in August 1960, but the country is still partitioned between the two ethnic groups.

The Cyprus Emergency is viewed with controversy in some quarters, but Les added: "These British soldiers were shot at, had mines laid and wires placed across roads to kill and maim them.

"No-one wanted the British to be there, but we were there to keep law and order between the factions.

"It's often called "The Forgotten War" and it was brushed under the carpet for years for various political reasons."

A Service of Remembrance will be held at The National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire, where the names of those who died in Cyprus are inscribed on August 18.

*Anyone with information about Joseph Edgar Price can contact Les at cyprusveterans@gmail.com