AN appeal has been made to Lancashire Telegraph readers to track down details of two women who feature on Blackburn’s roll of honour.

Researchers volunteering at the town’s community history library are facing a race against time to unearth the life stories of the pair, who feature in the addendum to the historic list.

No biographical information has been traced for Isabella Cotton and Mary Counsell and members of the cottontown.org website have issued an 11th hour plea for help ahead of the centenary of the armistice.

Readers are also being urged to rummage in their attics to see whether they can locate a picture of a decorated nurse who survived the conflict.

Catherine Johnson, known as Katie, was even Mentioned in Dispatches by Field Marshal Douglas Haig in his last official bulletin.

She was the eldest daughter of James Johnson, a police inspector, of New Bank Road, according to Stephen Smith, a community history volunteer.

She volunteered for service locally before being shipped out to field hospitals in northern France. Her bravery under fire was also recognised by the Matron-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force.

In the first year of the war, nurses were not permitted on the frontline. But a desperate shortage forced the army to accept volunteers aged 23 or over.

Mary Painter, community history librarian, said: “We have a dedicated team here, who are still working on a number of names.

“We’ve managed to find something for nearly all of the names but there’s just these two women left outstanding. We would also love to trace a picture of Katie.”

The original roll of honour, for which the card index still exists, was compiled by the-then Borough Librarian, Mr Ashton, and first published in 1929. Then the official total stood at 3,117.

In 2014, the library was given access to the combined work of Alan Barry and his son, also called Alan, who had spent countless hours scouring local churches, workplaces and indexes to produce a revised list, showing nearer to 4,000 names.

This list was transcribed by Ray Smith, the chairman of Blackburn Local History Society, and Bryan and Marilyne Houghton.

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