Bygone Burnley, with DENIS OTTER

ON November 11, 1918, the people of Burnley breathed a sigh of relief as an armistice was declared to end World War One.

The town and surrounding district had suffered one of the highest casualty rates in the country with almost 4,000 men killed -- about 15 per cent of men between 16 and 50 died in the war. Interest in the individuals who took part is widespread, especially from their descendants; this has been reflected in the number of people who have attended special events and exhibitions at Towneley Hall (which are to continue for several weeks) and the Central Library (where the exhibition of material on local men has been extended to the end of the year).

Finding out about what happened to members of the forces during their tours of duty can often be difficult and time consuming, but this task will soon be much easier with the forthcoming launch of a website, the "Burnley Roll of Honour".

This can be found by putting "Burnley War memorials" in a search engine, or at the web address http//mysite.wanadoo members.co.uk/burnley_ww1/index.htm

Work on this website has been undertaken in memory of these Burnley men by the "East Lancashire Medals and Militaria Society".

The information which has been included in the first stage of the website has been input by David Ingham and has been available for some time on paper and computer database.

This has followed many years of painstaking research by Alan Mackay and Andrew Gill, with recent assistance from other members of the society.

The second stage will involve the addition of details of the 4,000 casualties and this will eventually form the world's largest "Roll of Honour" on the internet.

Initially, it will feature name, regimental number, battalion, date of death and where commemorated.

There is also a specialist World War 1 collection in Accrington Reference Library. In stage three, photographs of the men will be added to the website.

Burnley was the base for several Territorial units (part time soldiers) and there were so many recruits that more territorial units were created following Lord Kitchener's appeal for more men.

"New Army Units," such as the Burnley Howitzer Brigade, were formed. Harry Riley, the founder of the Burnley Lads Club, enlisted with 70 club members to form part of the Burnley Company of the "Accrington Pals: (11th Battalion East Lancashire Regiment).

One hundred men from the town were killed in 1914 and, in 1915, another 250 died in the ill-fated attempt to capture the Dardanelles (the entrance to the Black Sea in Turkey) in the Gallipoli campaign. During this campaign on December 22, Lieutenant Alfred Victor Smith, the son of Burnley's Chief Constable, won Burnley's first Victoria Cross.

The VC citation read "A grenade slipped from his hands -- seeing that officers and men were unable to get into cover and knowing it was timed to explode he flung himself down on it. He was killed instantly by the explosion. His magnificent act of self sacrifice undoubtedly saved many lives."

A second VC was won by Thomas Whitham on the Western Front in 1917 for "attacking single-handed an enemy machine gun post which, with enfilading fire, was holding up an advance.

"He captured the gun and the crew and so enabled the advance to continue."

Both VCs are on display in Towneley Hall.

In the sinking of the "Royal Edward" troopship on August 13, 1915, 38 Burnley men were drowned.

The battle of Loos in France resulted in the death of over 50 Burnley men on September 25/26, 1915.

The first day of the Somme, when 20,000 British soldiers were killed and 40,000 wounded, was the worst day ever not only for the British Army but also for Burnley which lost over 100 dead and countless wounded.

The "Burnley Pals" including Harry Riley, and the 1st and 2nd battalions of the East Lancashire Regiment were decimated. The casualty lists for the other battles on the Somme were unbelievably high. 76,000 men with no known grave are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial -- a new visitors' centre was opened this autumn and features detailed information on the 300 men from Burnley commemorated on the Memorial. The sorrow created by the war lingers today. For example, Tom Jackson who lived at 128 Sandygate, Burnley was killed on July 15, 1916, whilst serving in the 8th Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. Tom's wife died just before the battle and he left behind a five-year-old orphan son, Wilfrid, who is now 93 years of age. Wilf's uncle, Joe Jackson, who lived at 48a Clarence Street with his seven children, was killed on March 27, 1918.

Wilf and his daughter, Jean Farnworth, have never had contact with any of Joe's descendants or with those of his aunt, Tamara Harker, who lived at 29 Norton Street. Her son, James, was killed and a nephew, Ben Slater, who had emigrated to Canada, died of wounds.

Wilf and Jean would love to make contact with their relatives. If you can help or can provide information on any of the men who died in the war, please contact Denis Otter on 01282 451342.