HISTORIAN Steve Williams was moved to explore the effects of the Great War on Blackburn families left to mourn after reading one soldier’s obituary.

It read: ‘Lance-Corporal Fred Abbott (27) of the Lancashire Fusiliers died of wounds in hospital on January 2, 1918. He had a brother killed last September, another is in hospital suffering from wounds, and a third is serving in the army.’ Mr Williams will give a talk, ‘A Mother’s Tears’, based on his research, at Blackburn Library, on Wednesday, January 23, at 2pm. Admission is £1.