A two-year series of events is being planned to celebrate the centenary anniversary of the Accrington Pals.
The newly formed Accrington Pals Centenary Commemorations Group has come up with a range of ideas to commemorate the historic occasion, including a Pals Trail, exhibition and the creation of a new piece of music.
Deputy council leader Clare Pritchard, who chairs the group, said they want to create a ‘lasting legacy’.
She said: "It is something that is really important for the borough and something we are taking really seriously.
"We want to create a programme of events and not just one day.
"You can’t pin it down to one day because there are different dates of when people enlisted, when they left and when they went to battle.
"We are looking at lots of ideas and we have got a good selection of people in the group ranging from historians, local craftsmen, drama people and local voluntary groups. It is something our borough and town is famous for and we want to celebrate that. It is something the whole borough can get excited about."
Over 700 men from the Accrington area signed up and formed the Pals group to fight in the First World War.
But in 1916, on the fateful first day of the Battle of the Somme, they suffered severe losses when 235 men were killed and a further 350 were wounded.
Accrington Civic Trust is proposing to set up a Pals Trail around the borough with possible funding from the Heritage Lottery and area council budgets.
An exhibition on the Pals is also scheduled to be unveiled at the Haworth Art Gallery in April or May 2014.
A piece of music could be commissioned and played for the first time at the Last Night of the Proms concert in Oakhill Park in 2016.
A permanent memorial could also be erected on the Coppice featuring a sculpture of an oak tree with leaves or acorns to represent the fallen soldiers.
There are also plans to invite the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment for a ‘march past’ on July 1, 2016 and a mural to be created for the Broadway offices.
Sixth form and college children will also be able to join in the celebrations by competing to create a logo.
Other ideas include holding a commemoration service at St John’s Church in Accrington, visiting France for a roll of honour presentation and twinning the town with a community near the battlefield.
