THE story behind Burnley's war memorial is traced by local historian Steve Chapples.

The First World War claimed nearly a million British lives, including 3,000 Burnley Pals, among them 39 sailors who drowned when the "Royal Edward" sank in 1915.

A former mayor of Burnley, Mr Caleb Thornber, bequeathed £5,000 for the design and construction of a permanent memorial in Towneley Park.

Designed by Walter Gilbert of Birmingham, it depicts a soldier, sailor and an airman standing side by side and two bronze female figures in mourning on either side.

A grieving mother is placing a wreath of rosemary, symbolising remem-brance, in the shape of a heart, and there is also a cricket bat and ball as a further symbol of the lost youth of her fallen son.

It was unveiled by the Earl of Derby in 1926. The Bishop of Burnley, the Rt Rev Henry Henn, conducted the service and the music was provided by the combined bands of the 4th and 5th East Lancashire Regiment.

It is estimated that more than 30,000 people attended the opening ceremony and some waited over two hours to lay a wreath.

During the Second World War a further 1,000 soldiers from the town were killed and so an inscription was added in their honour.

On December 12, 2001, the 75th anniversary of its unveiling, the Mayor Mr J Alston, accompanied by the Rev Quentin Wilson, Padre to the British Legion, rededicated the monument.