A college project has been granted nearly £10,000 to build a monument to the Accrington Pals.

Accrington and Rossendale College has received £9,700 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to create a replica of the Serre Accrington Pals Monument as part of the HLF’s First World War then and now programme.

The project will focus on building a replica of the memorial, situated in the Sheffield Memorial Park in the Somme region of France, in Haworth Park, Accrington.

To mark the centenary of the First World War, the College and its partners; Hyndburn Borough Council, Hyndburn Homes, The Hollins Technology College and others will create a space in the Rose Garden of Haworth Park where the people of Hyndburn will be able to come together to commemorate the memory of the Accrington Pals and provide a distinctive link to the Somme area where the Pals fell in July 1916.

The project will allow young people of Accrington today to research and visit sites associated with the Pals and then create their own memorial to the young people of the early 20th century who gave so much to ensure the future of the country.

After its construction the new memorial will open to the public to allow quiet reflection on the First World War and its impact on the local community. Pupils from The Hollins Technlogical College will provide research work for information boards situated at the memorial.

Andy Armiger, of Accrington and Rossendale College, said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and are moving ahead with our project partners to provide something that will stand as a lasting tribute to the Pals.”