DOZENS of events are taking place during East Lancashire the next ten days to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme.

The 100 year anniversary will be particularly poignant in this area due to the losses incurred by the 'Accrington Pals', the 11th (Service) Battalion of the East Lancashire regiment.

Formed by the Mayor of of Accrington, captain John Harwood in 10 days, men joined from the towns and surrounding villages of Accrington, Blackburn, Burnley and Chorley.

700 men from the battalion fought on the first day of the Somme battle.

Within 30 minutes on July 1, 1914, 600 of them were either killed, wounded or captured.

On Armed Forces Day, (Saturday, June 25) the bandstand in Accrington's Oakhill Park will host the first ever 'Accrington Pals Prom'.

There will be a day of family activities in the park starting at 11 am, followed later by the first ever 'Pals Prom', featuring performances by the East Lancashire Concert Band at 6pm.

Hyndburn's Mayor, Cllr Tim O'Kane, said: "The Pals Prom event is the first to be organised by the Accrington Pals Prom Group, in partnership with the Royal British Legion, so please go along and show your support."

On June 30, a 'March to the Front' event will take place, replicating the march of the Accrington Pals to the front a hundred years earlier featuring community walks from townships in the borough, meeting at Oakhill Park.

Part of this event is 'Falling', a visual art performance which will take place at 7pm in the park.

On Friday, July 1, there are a number of events planned to mark the Pals going 'over the top' on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

A Civic Commemoration will take place at the Pals Memorial, Accrington, and a roll call for the Accrington Pals will run from 8am to mid-afternoon in Accrington town centre.

On Monday, June 27 at 2pm there will be a talk by Steve Williams, 'The Battle of the Somme' at Darwen Library.

Admission is £1.

In Burnley relatives of those who served and died in the Battle of the Somme will join ex-servicemen and others to mark the centenary

More than 100 soldiers from the town were among the 57,000 British Army casualties suffered on the first day of the battle alone.

A memorial service at the Cenotaph in Towneley Park will begin at 7.30am, the exact moment the whistle went and soldiers left the trenches.

The Mayor of Burnley, Councillor Jeff Sumner, said: "The boys and men from Burnley and East Lancashire who gave their lives, or who were injured and maimed, on that bloody first day of battle deserve to be remembered.

"This service gives today’s generation the opportunity to pay their respects and commemorate the sacrifice of those who travelled from the comfort of their homes to the horrors of the trenches.”

Children from Rosewood Primary School, Burnley, will lay named crosses and wreaths at the Cenotaph.

A RARE screening of a famous film marking the Battle of the Somme during will be shown at Clitheroe Castle.

The UNESCO-listed documentary was filmed in the build-up to and on first day of the battle and was subsequently viewed by 20million people across the UK.

A century later the unique film will be screened on Thursday, June 30, in a collaboration between Ribble Valley Borough Council, Lancashire County Council and the Imperial War Museum.

The film was released on August 21, 1916, and was the first film to record war in action and show images which have come to represent the Western Front in popular memory.

The showing at Atrium Café, Clitheroe Castle starts at 6pm and entrance is free.

Booking is essential, and can be done by calling Clitheroe Castle Museum on 01200 424568.