Cpl. Gilbert Stringfellow MM

Details and a photograph of a Chorley Pal who fought on the Somme battlefield have been sent from Australia, courtesy of the internet.

His details were spotted on our website by his grandson, 57 year old Peter Stringfellow in Melbourne, who forwarded a photograph of him from 1915.

Corporal Gilbert Stringfellow was wounded at Serre on the 1st July 1916 with the Chorley Pals, and won a Military Medal on Easter Monday 1917 for single-handedly capturing nine Germans at Feuchy, near Arras in northern France.

The Chorley born solider was a miner at Chorley Colliery and lived on Moor Road, before joining the Pals; he worshipped at St. George’s Church. He didn’t return to live in Chorley after the war, marrying a girl from Gt. Yarmouth in 1918 and raising a family of five in the nearby Caister-on-Sea.

His page under our A – Z section has updated accordingly.

Lindsay Hoyle and Steve Williams with new Project Manager Nikki Davidson-Kerr

Mrs. Kerr lives on Astley Village and has experience of similar Lottery projects, having worked with The Wildlife Trust in two spells since 2002.  A Honours Graduate from the University of Salford, she also holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, something the Chorley Pals Trustees feel will be invaluable when dealing with local schools and the educational side of the two year project.

Mrs. Davidson-Kerr starts work on the 16th August and will be based from the Chorley Building Society Head Office in Chorley, developing the Heritage Lottery funded project with a remembrance theme.

The Chorley Pals Memorial were at the Lancashire Family History event at Astley Hall last Saturday, where Mrs. Davidson-Kerr had the opportunity to meet a groups and individuals keen to be involved in the project. Commenting on the appointment, Chairman of the Chorley Pals Memorial, Chorley MP Lindsay Hoyle, said “we are delighted that Nikki is to manage the project which will have benefits across the whole of the Borough”, a sentiment echoed by Chorley Pals Memorial Co-Founder, Steve Williams, who devised and wrote the successful funding application.

A new website, www.chorleyremembers.org.uk will go online shortly.

Steve Williams leads the ceremony to remember the Chorley Pals who went over the top exactly 94 years ago.

As the Town Hall clock struck 7.30am, a wreath was laid at the base of the Chorley Pals Memorial to remember the men from Chorley who went over the top at the start of the Battle of the Somme exactly 94 years ago.

Chorley Pals Memorial Secretary Steve Williams led a short ceremony attended by people from Chorley, relatives of the Chorley Pals and representatives of the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment, where the Last Post was sounded and prayers said.

The statue was erected in February this year as a permanent memorial to the 222 soldiers of the Chorley Pals – Y Company, 11th (Service) Battalion East Lancashire Regiment who served during World War One.

More pictures of the ceremony can be found on our new Flickr page.

The four day trip from Lancashire will visit all the major sites and memorials on the Somme, including the front-line trenches held by the Chorley Pals near the village of Serre during 1916.

A PDF brochure about the trip, including details on how to book a place, can be downloaded here.

The landscaping around the Chorley Pals Memorial is now complete

Chorley Council recently landscaped the area around the Pals memorial on the Flat Iron in the town.

Turf has been laid and flowers planted around the base of the statue, adding a splash of colour to Chorley’s new landmark.

In addition, Pals Co-Founder & Secretary Steve Williams has been short-listed for the Mayor’s ‘Citizen of the Year Award’.

The awards are presented annually by Chorley Council and the results will be announced at a ceremony to be held in Astley Park in Chorley on Sunday, 4th July.

Lindsay Hoyle

Chairman & Co-Founder of the Chorley Pals Memorial, Lindsay Hoyle MP, has been elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons.

The role is for the term of the Parliament and also involves him being Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee.

Lindsay will be in the Speaker’s Chair during the forthcoming Budget debate on Thursday, 22nd June.

The thirty minute DVD, narrated by Gerald Jackson, highlights the history of the Chorley Pals Company from the First World War, as well as a behind the scenes look at the three year project that came to fruition in February this year. Also on the DVD is the unveiling ceremony, attended by over 1,500 local people.

All proceeds from the sale of the DVD will go to the Chorley Pals Memorial charity to maintain the memorial in the town, and can be bought at branches of Chorley Building Society or direct from the charity by telephoning 01254 854298 or by requesting further information via our Contact Us page.

The Memorial Arch at the entrance to Astley Park

A major feature of the two-year project will be researching and placing the names of the fallen from Chorley onto the town’s Cenotaph in Astley Park. Once initial research has been completed, an application will be made for a further £250,000 of funding to pay for the work, as well as work on preserving the 1914 -1918 Memorial Arch at the entrance to the park, improving access and interpretation around the Chorley Pals memorial site and up-grading facilities at Astley Hall where the small memorial room only features the First World War.

Other works will include encouraging individuals and groups to research their military history, stage workshops and exhibitions, and provide an education / teaching resource pack for the 56 primary and secondary schools in the town; a heritage trail, a ‘drop-in’ desk at the main library and a dedicated website. There are plans to have a Festival of Remembrance in the town during November 2011, publish a book about the men and women from the town who died in conflicts – ranging from the Boer War in Victorian times to Afghanistan today, as well as recording people’s memories on video and audio formats.

The Cenotaph in Astley Park

The official launch of the project will be in May, after the General Election. In the meantime, Project Co-ordinator Steve Williams will begin work setting up the infrastructure for the project including a working group that will include local organisations and individuals key to the project’s success. Chorley Council, who manage and maintain many of the remembrance related assets in the town, are fully supportive of the project, as are staff from Chorley Library, local teachers and volunteers from the Chorley branch of the Lancashire Family History Society, the British Legion and Chorley Ex-Services Association.

The Memorial Room in Astley Hall

Commenting on the award, Lindsay Hoyle said “I said at the Pals Memorial unveiling in February that our work will continue and we are pleased to keep that promise. The Pals statue created so much interest in the town and I know this new project will capitalise on that interest and put Chorley to the forefront in understanding and preserving its heritage”.

Echoing those sentiments, Steve Williams said “We want more people in the town, young and old, to have a greater understanding what local men and women, and their families, went through in the numerous conflicts over the years. During the last three years Chorley people have supported the Pals memorial and this new heritage project will enable them to find out more and, importantly, encourage them to get involved in learning about the town’s social and military history”.

Details can be found on a new website, www.chorleyremembers.org.uk, which will go on-line next week.

Left to right : Sarah Brown, Stephanie Driver from Lindsay Hoyle’s Parliamentary Office, Raymond Smith, Steve Williams, Pam Williams and Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

The Brindle-based First World War historian and author was invited to 10 Downing Street recently. He and his wife, Pam, spent time in the Prime Minister’s residence along with fifty other specially invited guests from across the country – all there because of their charity and community work.

Steve Williams said “I was absolutely shocked and delighted to be invited – my wife and I had a fabulous time”.

Whilst at No. 10, Steve invited the Prime Minister to visit Chorley and see the memorial for himself. Commenting on the invitation, Steve said “Just like a politician – he didn’t say ‘yes’, but he didn’t say ‘no’ and I hope he takes up the invitation, perhaps when he is on the election trail”.

Whilst in London they were entertained at the House of Lords by Lord Hoyle, the father of Lindsay Hoyle, the Member of Parliament for Chorley.  Of the invitation, Lindsay Hoyle said “Steve deserves to be recognised for what he does within the community and for all his hard work with the Chorley Pals Memorial over the last three years”.