A parade and service will be held in Smethwick for First World War Victoria Cross recipient Sergeant Harold Colley – 100 years to the day since his heroic sacrifice on the Western Front.

Everyone is welcome to join the event on Saturday 25 August at Victoria Park, Smethwick, where a commemorative paving stone will be unveiled in Sergeant Colley’s memory.

The event runs from 10am to 11.30am, with the parade in the park starting at 10.30am and a service at 11am. Everyone is welcome at the event, which is being co-ordinated by the Royal British Legion and Sandwell Council.

Sergeant Colley – who was living in Cheshire Road, Smethwick, when he joined the army – was killed defending against a German attack at Martinpuich, France, on 25 August 1918

He is the last of the three Sandwell-born Victoria Cross recipients from the Great War to be honoured with one of the government’s commemorative VC paving stones. Colley was also posthumously awarded the Military Medal for his bravery under fire earlier in 1918.

Smethwick Heritage Centre will be open for the event, where people can find out more about Sergeant Colley’s life and service. The centre will also provide refreshments after the service.

Sergeant Colley’s great nephew Ian West, who will be attending the service, said: “We are very pleased that Smethwick is remembering a local lad wrought of the iron, stone and coal of the Black Country who, before he was 25, gave his life for England in a war not of his making.

“He showed this grit enough to win both the Military Medal and the Victoria Cross, but he should be remembered as a representative of all those who died in those dark days. It is sad that my Uncle Norman, who did more than anyone to keep Harold's memory alive, did not himself live to see this day.”

Sandwell Council leader Councillor Steve Eling said: “Sergeant Colley was a brave son of Smethwick who paid the ultimate price for our country and, like so many others, did not return home. This service and the commemorative stone at Victoria Park will help ensure his story and his sacrifice are remembered by people in Smethwick now and by future generations.”

Councillor Steve Melia, chair of the Sandwell Armed Forces and Veterans Parades' Committee, said: “We are very proud to be supporting this special event for Sergeant Colley. These parades and services are important as we commemorate military events from the past and show our support for our armed forces today. We will also be honouring the fallen of the Great War when we mark the centenary of the end of the war in November with services and parades across Sandwell.”