THE oldest First World War memorial in Britain is in Rossendale -- and that's official.

It stands tucked away in Rawtenstall Cemetery and contains the names of more than 430 Rawtenstall men who gave their lives for their country during the 1914-18 war.

The facts have been unearthed by historian and author Bill Turner, of Bamford Crescent, Accrington.

The Imperial War Museum in London confirmed to Bill that it is the country's oldest First World War memorial and now he is trying to get the information entered in the Guinness Book of Records.

Bill said: "It all started when I was doing some research on war memorials in Rossendale for a talk I was giving and I came across this old memorial inside Rawtenstall Cemetery.

"I discovered that in June 1915, Councillor Miss Carrie Whitehead, a member of the cotton mill-owning family in Rawtenstall, decided to have the memorial erected to honour the Rawtenstall men from her ward, Central Ward, who had died early in the war."

By September 1915, 13 months after the outbreak of war, the memorial was erected with nine names on it.

Bill added: "A further 21 names were added in 1916 and after the war the old Rawtenstall Council took over and added the names of more than 400 who had lost their lives."

After the official Rawtensall War Memorial was erected in the 1920s outside St Mary's Church, the one in the cemetery was forgotten.

Thanks to Bill's efforts Rossendale Council recently spent about £2,000 on repairing the memorial and it is now in excellent condition.

Bill is a well known East Lancs historian and has written three books about the Accrington Pals and one about the East Lancs hand loom weavers' riots in 1826.

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