AN ambitious scheme to plant oak trees in memory of the Ribble Valley’s First World War fallen will be topped off by a Royal visit next month.

Prince Edward, The Duke of Kent, will be at Clitheroe Castle in late November to dig in the final sapling.

The Queen’s first cousin will complete a programme of planting the young oaks in 36 Ribble Valley villages.

Four of the remaining five will be planted during Rem-embrance Weekend with the final year-old tree done by The Duke at the 12th Century castle on November 26.

Each bears a plaque in memory of the hundreds of young Ribble Valley men who lost their lives during the Great War.

From August 4, 2014, the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, until Nov-ember 11, 2018, the anniversary of the official ceasefire, ‘Armistice Day’, communities across the world are coming together to remember those who lived, fought and died in the First World War.

Ribble Valley Borough Mayor Michael Ranson said: “We are all connected to the First World War through our family history, the fallen in our local communities, or its long-term impact on society.

“I am delighted that so many parishes have supported the tree-planting campaign and helped to create a ‘living’ memorial to the borough’s brave young men and their loved ones.

“I am particularly delighted that this successfully comm-unity campaign will be completed by His Royal High-ness The Duke of Kent, a former professional soldier and honorary Field Marshal, who remains the Royal Colonel of a number of well-known reg-iments.”

The First World War claimed the lives of 16 million people across the world and had a huge impact on those who experienced it and the remainder of the 20th Century.

As Ribble Valley came into being in 1974, precise records of the number of fallen in the borough do not exist, but it is believed to be around 1,000.

The other remaining tree-plantings are at Simonstone on November 8 and Barrow, Wiswell, and Read on November 10.

The Duke’s visit follows the attendance of the Queen at the Royal Maundy Service at Blackburn Cathedral on April 17 where she distributed the historic Maundy money to 176 Lancashire ‘pensioners’ incl-uding a number from the Ribble Valley.