SUCH was the death toll in the First World War, that the names of 113 men can be found on two memorials in Little Harwood alone.

And after in-depth research, it’s clear that those names on the clock tower memorial , in the heart of the community and those on the memorial at St Stephen’s Church, are not a complete list of all those who gave their lives for their King and country one hundred years ago.

Their sacrifice has now been remembered once more, in a book compiled by Reg Smith, a reader and churchwarden at St Stephen’s, to mark this year’s Great War centenary.

And one story he has uncovered is that of the Taylor family, of 216, Whalley Old Road, which ironically overlooked the site of the future clock tower, which was to bear the names of three of their sons.

James and Ruth Taylor, who had a family of nine, lost their three eldest boys, affectionately known as The Lads in 1916, 1917 and 1918.

Henry Howarth, known as Harry; William Barton and James Edward, volunteered for military service, with a group of friends, during the opening stages of the war and practised arms drill at the rear of the Taylor house before heading for France.

It is believed that Harry signed on with a Sam Smith, as their army numbers were only six apart.

Both of them, along with William, Sam’s brother Gilbert and a Christopher Ainsworth , all served together in the 8th battalion of the East Surrey Regiment.

L Cpl Harry Taylor, 5664, was just 21 when he was killed in action on the first day of the Somme, July 1, 1916.

An amateur footballer, boxer and athlete, his experience of the world, prior to hostilities, was confined to his home town and his work as a weaver at Royal cotton mill.

He was captain of the St John’s Church football team, who were champions of Blackburn’s Sunday School League and also the town’s lightweight boxing champion, taking the title in a fight at the Palace Theatre.

He was killed 12 months after his arrival in France and a letter from his lieutenant said: “He was one our most useful NCOs. He will be properly buried and I will be at the cemetery.

His sergeant also wrote to the family, saying: “He was shot through the head and died at once “I was only a few yards away from him when it happened and he was firing away at the Hun, when he met his death.

“He was killed within 10 minutes of our going over the parapet and as he went over the top he had a football. He and I and a few others kicked the ball towards the German trenches – there were four of us who kicked that ball and the other three were all killed, including our company officer and platoon officer.

“Harry died fighting. He was a hero, he never flinched.”

Harry is buried in Dantzig Alley British cemetery at Mametz on the Somme.

Private William Barton Taylor, 5104, who enlisted on September 7, 1914, was the eldest of the brothers and the second to die.

He was seriously wounded in action in France in November 1915 and was transferred back to England and admitted to Nell Lane Hospital in Manchester, where he died aged 25 in June 1917.

He, too, had been employed at E and G Hindle’s Royal Mill in Little Harwood and was connected to St Stephen’s as a member of the Young Men’s Club.

His military funeral took place at St Stephen’s, his coffin borne by men from the East Lancashire Regiment. He was buried at Blackburn Cemetery, with a firing party selected from the 10th Battalion Lancashire Volunteers. A bugler of the East Lancashire Regiment sounded the Last Post.

James Taylor, 31352, was thus, fully aware of the consequences of war when he enlisted and joined the 2nd Battalion East Lancashire Regiment.

Not much is known of his life, as he was only 19, apart from the fact that just three days before the Armistice, he, too, was killed in action.

He has no known grave but is commemorated on Memorial 10 in Sarralbe British Military Cemetery in Moselle.

Their distraught mother and two other ladies assisted the Mayor of Blackburn at the unveiling and dedication service of Blackburn’s war memorial in Corporation Park.

She also pledged to pay for an Altar Cross for St Stephen’s, but she died, in 1931, aged 61, said to be from a broken heart, before she achieved her goal.

Her husband and surviving three sons and three daughters, however, completed the task and the cross is still in use today.