Commemoration of the Battle of the Somme, Monday 1st July 2019, at 11am

A short service was held at the Accrington Pals Memorial on Church Street, Accrington, this morning at 11am (1^stJuly) to commemorate the Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.

The Accrington Pals are interweaved into the very fabric of our local history, famously forming as they did a Pals battalion to fight in the First World War, with many men from this area answering Kitchener’s call and joining up.

But on 1^stJuly 1916, on that fateful first day of the Battle of the Somme, they suffered severe losses and over 600 casualties, leaving the community back home shattered and hardly anyone untouched, with so many losing husbands, sons, brothers, uncles, friends and neighbours.

The Worshipful the Mayor of Hyndburn, Councillor June Harrison, said; “Thank you to everyone who attended this morning’s service at the Accrington Pals Memorial in Accrington, to commemorate the Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. This was to remember in particular the 11th (Service Battalion) (Accrington) East Lancashire Regiment, known as the Accrington Pals and to commemorate their bravery and sacrifice. We will remember them.”