THE 23 men from a Ribble Valley village who died serving in both world wars have been honoured for the first time in their home village.

Residents in Ribchester helped to raise £20,000 to build a war memorial in the village.

Yesterday the memorial was dedicated in honour of the fallen as part of the centenary commemorations for the First World War.

The new memorial, on land next to Greenside car park, is the first monument in the village to pay homage to all of the fallen servicemen in the same place.

Until now, the Church of England soldiers were commemorated in St Wilfrid’s CE Church, with the Roman Catholic soldiers remembered on a plaque at St Peter and St Paul’s RC Church in the village.

Now that the memorial has been unveiled, volunteers are continuing to research the stories of the soldiers.

Liz Wilkins, secretary of Ribchester War Memorial Association, is looking into the lives of men from the village who died to ‘bring their stories to life’.

The association, which is made up of Ribchester residents, has recently been given charity status, and they have also researched the homes of the 23 men so that they can also be marked in remembrance.