A NEW exhibition will highlight the tragic toll two world wars took on the owners of one of Lancashire most historic stately homes.

It will tell how the Kay-Shuttleworths lost two sons in both the 194/1018 and 1939/1945 conflicts.

Despite the eldest son holding the title Lord Shuttleworth - still held by Lancashire's Lord Lieutenant Charles - and the family owning Gawthorpe Hall (built between 1600 and 1605) they suffered the death of loved ones like the ordinary people of Burnley and Padiham.

The story of their contribution to and losses from World Wars One and Two will be showcased in the 'Brothers in Arms' exhibition.

Running from from Saturday (June 30) until Sunday November 4 at Padiham's Gawthorpe Hall, it will also highlight how one of the family women Freydis Sharland flow Spitfires and Lancaster bombers round Britain to get the crucial warplanes to their airfields.

The display will tell the story of the lives and the tragic deaths of two main heirs of the Kay-Shuttleworth family, and sons of the first Lord Shuttleworth Sir Ughtred (CORR) and his wife Lady Blanche both died in 1917.

Lawrence was killed in the Battle of Vimy Ridge in Northern France and Edward in traffic accident while on leave.

He had just visited his wife Sibell son and new-born son Charles and was on his way back to service on the Western Front across the English Channel. while serving in 1917.

The launch of the exhibition will coincide with the Padiham on Parade military event taking place nearby that day to link the suffering World War inflicted on both on the aristocrats in the 'Big House' and the residents of the town in which it is located.

The impact that the Second World War had on the family will also be showcased when once again two brothers were lost.

Lawrence's son Richard died on the first day the Battle of Britain in 1940 flying a Hawker Hurricane escorting the famous Peewit Convoy.

He was the only Lord killed in the historic aerial dogfight to protect Britain's shores from the German Luftwaffe.

His younger brother Ronald, who inherited the title to become the third Lord Shuttleworth died as a 'Desert Rat' in North Africa in 1942.

The exhibition will also feature the remarkable story of Freydis Sharland, nee Leaf, a granddaughter of Ughtred who was one of the few women who flew Spitfires and Lancaster Bombers as part of the Air Transport Auxiliary.

With minimal training and no maps she flew the iconic planes between airfields using roads and rivers to navigate her way through unknown airspace and territory.

Freydis later got her 'Wings' to join the Royal Air Force proper before a career as a commercial pilot. She died in 2014.

Personal archives from the Kay-Shuttleworth family will be displayed for the first time in the exhibition.

Community workshops during the summer will explore the involvement of the people of Padiham in World War One, providing information to be added in September.

Local history and military groups will contribute to the exhibition, partly funded by a grant of £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund's (HLF) 'First World War: Then and Now' programme.

The HLF funding will also include workshops for pupils at local secondary schools.

Schools will be able to visit the Hall, owned by the National Trust and managed by Lancashire County Council, to see the exhibition.

Cllr Peter Buckley, county council culture boss, said: "The exhibition will convey the impact of war on the Kay-Shuttleworth family. Just like hundreds of other families across the country, they sadly suffered the loss of sons.

"It is important to hold this exhibition now, the final commemorative year for the end of the First World War.

"The links of many other people who lived in Padiham at the time to Gawthorpe Hall demonstrate the effects of the First World War on everyone."

A commemorative community event will take place at the Hall at the end of the year.

A free vintage bus will take people from Padiham to Gawthorpe Hall throughout the day on Saturday (June 30).

Entrance to the exhibition will included in the normal admission price of £6 for adults and £4 for concessions. National Trust members and children go free.