23977 Private Alexander Birtles was born in 1896 in Odd Rode; he was the second eldest of 7 children to Charles & Emma Birtles, at the age of 15 his occupation was a labourer, his father was a coal miner, on the 1911 census the family lived in Scholar Green. Alexander married Ethel Mottram in 1916, they had one child Richard Alan Birtles born 18^th July 1916.

Alexander enlisted in Congleton after 1916, there are no surviving Military records for him and his Medal Index Card doesn’t give a lot of details, only that he was entitled to the Victory Medal and the British War Medal, he died of wounds on the 7^th September 1918 age 22, he is buried in Terlincthun British Cemetery, France.