THE smiles on the faces of these young soldiers as they pose for the camera hides the horror that many of them were to witness in the trenches of the Somme.

The men were all members of the Royal Artillery who went on to serve in some of the fiercest fighting in the First World War including at Passchendaele. One of those who survived was Gunner Charles Mills from Darwen, who although being wounded on the Somme, was able to come home and make a living repairing clocks and watches.

He used to enthral his grandson, Sid Brown, with tales of life in the trenches and it is Mr Brown, of Haslingden Road, Guide, who has loaned us the photographs of his grandfather and his regiment. "My grandfather would often talk to me about the war," he said. "Some of the things he told me would turn your stomach.

"He was born in 1874 so he was 40 when he joined up making him one of the older soldiers in the regiment.

"A lot of the others were just young lads. He was very good with horses and that's what he ended up doing during the war."