SCORES of East Lancashire schoolchildren have helped produce a book on the Jullundur Brigade of British and Indian soldiers who fought and died together in some of the bloodiest battles of the First World War.

The youngsters were among 600 pupils from 14 Lancashire County Council primary schools to attend a youth conference, building on a visit to Neuve Chapelle in northern France in October last year.

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That saw saw 100 soldiers, 90 Lancashire schoolchildren, 30 Army cadets and local religious leaders commemorate the centenary of the first action of the multi-national force.

After that visit, the children worked on a project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, to research, write and design a teacher’s resource book about the role of the Jullundur Brigade and the wider Indian Army during the First World War.

Among the pupils involved in the scheme were some from Wheatley Lane School, Fence; Nelson St Philip’s CE Primary School; Stoneyholme Primary School, Burnley; and Barrowford Primary.

The children gave presentations on their research into the Jullundur Brigade, on subjects including the histories of the three battalions which made up the brigade, an overview of the Indian Army and even the types of food eaten in the trenches by British and Indian soldiers.

The book will be available digitally for all primary schools.

The Jullundur Brigade went to war on October 23, 1914 and fought at the First Battle of Ypres, Neuve Chapelle, Givenchy, capture of Neuve Chapelle, the second Ypres, Festubert and the Loos offensive.

Padiham and Burnley West county councillor Marcus Johnstone, responsible for LCC cultural services, said: “This project is a really important reminder of the common heritage shared by so many of our communities, regardless of where our origins may lie.

“The teachers’ resource book that the children are producing will provide a lasting legacy for the project and bring the lessons of the Jullundur Brigade’s story of shared sacrifice to a much wider audience.”

Brigadier PS Rafferty, Colonel of The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, said: “The Jullundur Brigade’s history and its experiences of people from different backgrounds, races and religions living and fighting alongside each other have real lessons for us all today, not just the children involved in the project.

“The multicultural element of the war is often overlooked.”