EIGHTY years ago a sinister black shape moved silently into the skies about East Lancashire, carrying a deadly load.

The area was the target for huge Zeppelins - the pride of the Imperial German Naval Airship Service - which were to drop their bombs on a dark September night.

And although the First World War is a distant memory for most people, there is a grim reminder on display at the Whitaker Park Museum in Rawtenstall.

In a glass-fronted wooden box is a bomb dropped from one of a force of seven airships, commanded by Oberleutnant Kurt Frankenburg.

As the silent craft cruised over Rossendale on the night of September 25, the first bomb fell in the grounds of Heightside House, Newchurch.

Luckily, it failed to explode and today it can be seen - with its calico streamer used to keep its nose down in flight - at the museum. Rosemary Miller, who works at the museum, revealed that it caused a minor incident two years ago when the Duke of Gloucester opened a new kiosk at the park.

"The police had to carry out searches and when we told them we had a bomb in the museum they did get a bit excited," she said.

The amazing story of the airship raids over Lancashire is recounted in the new edition of Really Lancashire magazine by air historian Peter Smith.

He tells how the airship continued on its deadly mission, dropping a bomb behind Lea Bank House. This was dealt with and exploded the next day by soldiers from Bury.

Hall Carr Road was the next target and then the ship changed course over what are now approach roads to the M66. More bombs fell on Rossendale Golf Course, Ewood Bridge and Irwell Vale and there was some damage to the East Lancashire railway track. A row of cottages on Hardscough Lane, near to what is now Irwell Vale Station, were damaged.

Greenmount Congregational Church was set on fire but the flames were put out by neighbours. Whether Frankenburg had any sophisticated navigation equipment is not known, but on seeing a glow from furnaces at Bolton he set a course for that area.

It was on this part of the raid that 13 people were killed and nine seriously injured.

Really Lancashire is available quarterly at £1.50 a copy.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.