Parades and services to mark 100th anniversary of end of First World War

Towns and villages in East Lancashire will fall silent today, Armistice Day, to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.
Parades and services to commemorate the FallenParades and services to commemorate the Fallen
Parades and services to commemorate the Fallen

A number of poignant services and events have been organised to remember the Fallen Soldiers.

Burnley and Padiham will once again pay its respects to the thousands of its townsfolk who served their country in the First World War and other conflicts. This year marks a landmark moment for commemorations, being the one hundredth year since the end of the First World War in which so many Burnley men served and lost their lives. Such was the scale of the sacrifice – some 3,467 Burnley men were killed and thousands more wounded – that not a street or workplace was untouched by the four years of horror from 1914 to 1918.

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The annual Service of Remembrance will be held in the Peace Garden, Croft Street, on Sunday shortly before 11am. It will be conducted by the Bishop of Burnley, the Rt Rev.Philip North, Fr Roger Parker, chaplain to the Royal British Legion and Fr David Featherstone. Members of the public attending are asked to be at the Peace Garden no later than 10-45am.

Meanwhile, the following parades are being held in Colne and the surrounding towns today and police are advising motorists to be patient or plan another route. Albert Road in Colne will be closed from 10-20am to 11-20am; Barnoldswick from 3pm (for a short while); Earby from 2 to 3pm and Trawden from 11 to 11-30am.

Clitheroe’s Remembrance Sunday events, organised by Clitheroe Town Council, will begin at 9-10am, with a procession, led by Clitheroe Town Crier Roland Hailwood and Clitheroe Town Band. The procession will start at Clitheroe Town Hall and weave its way down Church Street, Wellgate, Lowergate, King Lane, Market Place and then back up Church Street to Clitheroe Parish Church. The service will start at 9-30am in church finishing at 10-30am. There will then be a second procession from the church to Clitheroe war memorial in Clitheroe Castle grounds via Church Street, Market Place, Castle Street and Castlegate. The Service of Remembrance, conducted by the Rev. Andy Froud, will begin at 10-45am and will incorporate the two minutes’ silence at 11am.At the conclusion of the service there will then be a short procession down Parson Lane to Trinity Methodist Centre where refreshments will be served.A short service, including the two minutes’ silence, led by the Rev. Ian Humphreys, will also be held at Trinity Methodist Church beginning at 10am for those who are unable to or do not wish to attend the service at the war memorial.

A series of commemorations are being held as Whalley remembers those who fought in the Great War.A parade, lantern procession, heritage walk, exhibitions and many more workshops are being organised to mark the centenary of the Armistice which signalled the end of the First World War, meanwhile, poignant Remembrance services will be held in Billington this weekend. On Sunday, members of Whalley and District Royal British Legion will attend the Remembrance Service at 3pm at Billington War Memorial. Prior to this, at 2-45pm, there will be a parade leaving Billington Gardens lead by the Accington Pipe Band. A guard of honour will be formed by the Blackburn Sea Cadets at the war memorial. Everyone is invited to attend the service.