WAR graves in Hyndburn are set to be remembered as part of the programme of activity to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) honours the 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth who died in the two world wars, and cares for cemeteries and memorials at 23,000 locations in 153 countries.

The CWGC has now started a project to identify cemeteries that contain war graves in the UK – of which there are believed to be 23,000 commemorating around 300,000 war dead.

In Hyndburn, there are war graves in Accrington, Dill Hall and Great Harwood cemeteries.

The council are set to discuss publicising the graves as part of the Accrington Pals commemorations. Last week, Hyndburn MP Graham Jones gave a speech on the Pals in the House of Commons.

Later, he said: “The memory of the Pals is one of many things that binds the community in Hyndburn and East Lancashire and it is absolutely right that they are properly commemorated.

“The Pals mean so much to the community because they were all part of the community – they were formed so that young men would have the chance to fight alongside their friends, but the tragedy was that in less than an hour in a field in France, the community was cut to the core.”