MEMBERS of a Lunesdale brewing family are toasting an ancestor’s service in the Great War by producing four new limited edition beers.

The Taylors, who own Kirkby Lonsdale Brewery, decided to brew their Lightfoot and Sarginson bottled ales to mark the WW1 contribution made by Basil Lightfoot Sarginson as a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps a century ago.

Basil, who was born in 1887, was orginally from Kent View in Kendal. He worked as a shoemaker and enlisted in the Territorials in 1908, six years before war was declared. He was called into action as soon as Britain entered the conflict 100 years ago this month. He served as a sergeant in the 3rd West Lancs Field Ambulance and survived the carnage, living to the age of 69.

To mark his war service, his great-grandson Stuart Taylor, who runs the family’s Kirkby Lonsdale Brewery operation, has produced two contrasting types of beer to reflect the second and third elements of Basil’s name.

He said: “Lightfoot naturally suggested to me a golden-coloured beer, while the Sarginson element of the name seemed to me to need a more sturdy beer so I went for a stout. It suggests a strong character and also reflects the fact that my great-grandfather achieved the rank of sergeant.”

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Each type is matured in two different ways, using malt whisky and bourbon casks, which adds up to four distinctive beers. The Lightfoot beers are 5.2 per cent strength while the Sarginson is an impressively strong ten per cent.

The four beers are available only in bottles. For further information visit www.kirkbylonsdalebrewery.com