A WAR hero who achieved one of Britain’s highest military honours is being remembered afresh in Burnley from November 8 to 19.
The selfless bravery of Thomas Whitham, one of only a handful of Victoria Cross winners from the town, led to the former Burnley Schools Sixth Form being renamed in his honour.
And now the life of the late Coldstream Guard is being immortalised in an exhibition at the nearby Burnley and Pendle Faith Centre.
Stuart Smith, the sixth form’s principal, has pulled the presentation together and invited students from several primary and secondary schools along to learn more about Mr Whitham’s First World War experiences.
He said: “There will also be a number of activities on Thomas Whitham’s life which we have set up for pupils.”
Surviving members of Mr Whitham’s family, who live around the country, have been invited to a ceremony to close the exhibition on Friday, November 19.
Education officials and the Mayor of Burnley, Coun Tony Lambert, will also be in attendance for the commemoration.
Mr Whitham, who grew up in Worsthorne, served with the Coldstream Guards’ 1st Battalion during the Great War and received his distinction in 1917 after storming a German machine-gun position during the third battle of Ypres.
He was said to have saved ‘many, many lives’ after capturing the post, which was laying siege to his fellow comrades.
Feted upon his return home, he received a gold watch from Burnley Borough Council and a clock from Worsthorne Parish Council.
But his final years were blighted by misfortune. He was refused a job by the former Burnley Corporation and was forced to leave the area to look for work.
Later he pawned his VC medal and the watch to make ends meet. He died in poverty in Oldham aged just 36.
His medal and the watch were later bought back by the borough council, which were then placed on display, with the clock, at Towneley Hall.
* The Thomas Whitham VC Exhibition is at Burnley and Pendle Faith Centre in Barden Lane from Monday, November 8 to Friday, November 19. It will be open to the public from 3.30pm till 6.30pm from November 9 to 12 and the same times November 15 to 18.
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