The Durham Times 12/09/2014 reports that he sent two poppies to his wife on which he had written his initials and the places where he had fought. The poppies survived all these years and was now to be used as a logo on the Durham at War website.
John Harkess is remembered at Birtley on B127.01 and B127.05 where his rank is given as Lance Corporal, which agrees with the entry in Soldiers Died in the Great War
