SOLDIERS of the First World War from the Lower Darwen area have been commemorated at their local church.

St James’s Church in Stopes Brow hosted an exhibition based on research done on victims of the war who were buried in the graveyard and named on the war memorial.

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They have also held a number of events in the graveyard to have it tidied up, with the help of the local Community Payback team.

Alan Reid, a governor at St James’s Lower Darwen Primary School, who helps out in church, said: “The graveyard had got very overgrown.

“There are about 1,100 graves in there and it is difficult to keep the grass short.

“Over the past few months the Community Payback team has been in several times and have been in with strimmers and rakes and they have cut the grass all the way around.

“You can now see all the graves and walk around safely, which was previously a concern, and all the paths have been cleared.”

Mr Reid said the work in the graveyard had all been linked to the church’s First World War commemorations.

He said: “We wanted to have all this done with it being the 100th anniversary of the start of the war and there being four years of commemorations coming up.

“We always try to keep the war graves clear of grass and clean.

“Parishioner Ruth Bell has spent a lot of time researching a lot of the soldiers and sailors to try to find out some of the history.

“We were able to trace five or six families who came from places as far as Yorkshire and Barrow and came to a couple of services.

“It was a nice thing to do and we had some research on display throughout all of our Remembrance services.”

Mr Reid also urged anyone with links to the area and the church who may have relatives in the graveyard and wants to learn more to get in touch.

He said: “We have built up a big chunk of information about people who served and are in the church graveyard and if anyone thinks they have relatives they should definitely get in touch.”

The church is now gearing up for its annual Christmas tree festival, which gets under way on Thursday and Friday, December 11 and 12, before an official opening ceremony on the Saturday.

There will be events right through to the following Sunday including entertainment from singer Steve Burrows and magician Paul Brown.