ONE hundred years and a day after the brave men of the Accrington Pals attended a valedictory service before going off to train for war, their sacrifice was remembered at the exact same place.

Hundreds of veterans, residents, cadets, and local leaders piled into St John’s Church in Accrington yesterday as part of the First World War commemorations.

MORE TOP STORIES:

They were joined by relatives of the Pals, who travelled to Caernarvon on February 23, 1915, two days after a service also held at St John’s Church.

On February 21, 1915, in addition to the 700 soldiers, a large congregation filled the aisles for the occasion, which was led by the vicar, Reverend JW Wilkinson.

During his sermon, he called for the Pals to ‘live up to the fair name and reputation of Accrington’.

Yesterday, the congregation heard how they did just that.

Hyndburn MP, Graham Jones, attended the service and said: “These events serve as a good teacher and a reminder as to what happened 100 years ago.

“It’s to commemorate those brave people that made the ultimate sacrifice and it’s helped us remember what that sacrifice was for.

“It’s right that they should be honoured. The turnout was amazing, with people coming from right across the borough to pay their respects in what was a moving occasion.”

Hyndburn mayor, Cllr Munsif Dad, was also in the congregation.

He said: “Whenever the Pals are mentioned, we must stand up and salute them.

“We have already done a number of events in the town centre and, despite everything that is happening throughout my mayoral year, these are the events that I will always remember.

“The Pals are part and parcel of Hyndburn but also part of being mayor, because it was the mayor 100 years ago who gave the call to sign up.”

On July 1, 1916, the 720 men of the Pals went over the top of their trenches on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

It was there 720 men, the fighting strength of the Pals, headed across No Man’s Land towards Serre, only to be met by a hail of bullets from German trenches.

Fewer than 150 men answered their name at roll-call that evening – 584 were killed, wounded, or missing.