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Trustees Steve Williams, John M. Garwood and Stuart Clewlow laid a wreath at the memorial in Chorley this morning. They were watched by Cllr Alistair Morwood (representing the Chorley in The Great War group), Cllr Roy Lees, and Cllr Margaret Lees, the granddaughter of a Chorley Pal. With thanks to Paul Crone at ITV Granada for the video.
Congratulations to our Chairman Sir Lindsay Hoyle, MP for Chorley since 1997, on being elected to the post of Speaker of the House Commons in December 2019.
On Saturday 22nd September we are staging a parade from near the ‘Inspire’ Youth Zone through the town centre to the Army Reserve Centre on Devonshire Road. It will form up on nearby Railway Street at 10.15am and depart at 10.30am down Chapel Street, along Market Street, up Gillibrand Street on to Devonshire Road. Street and roads will be closed for a short while as the parade travels along its pre-arranged route; when it reaches Devonshire Road a section of the road between Hamilton Road and Regent Road will be closed from around 10.55am for about an hour. The event is to commemorate the Chorley Pals and Chorley Terriers, retracing their steps from the Drill Hall (as it was known back then) to the railway station and off to war. The parade will be led by the Band of the King’s Division and the Chairman of the Chorley Pals Memorial Trust, Rt. Hon. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, MP for Chorley. Joining him will be the Mayor of Chorley, Cllr Margaret Lees who is a granddaughter of a Chorley Pal killed on the Somme in July 1916. Also in the parade will be uniformed organisations, invited guest and relatives of those who formed the two units in 1914. Two plaques will be unveiled by Sir Lindsay Hoyle at around 11.00am. They are located on the outside of the Army building and the ceremony can be viewed from Devonshire Road. The route the parade will take is illustrated on the map below, and further information about the event and others planned for October and November can be found here.
We are staging a concert in Chorley Town Hall on Sunday 11th November to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended hostilities in the First World War. Providing the music will be the popular Leyland Band, and the evening will also have monologues and poetry readings. The concert starts at 7.00pm and tickets are just £10. They can be purchased from Malcolm’s Musicland on Chapel Street at Chorley, from the ‘Chorley 100’ exhibition in the Coach House at Astley Hall (open Saturday & Sunday 12 noon until 4.00pm) or by calling us on 0300 201 1916.
Corporal 18971 Joseph Thompson died in captivity on the 7th September 1918 from wounds received whist on patrol in No Man’s Land at Oosthove Farm near Nieppe, on the Ypres Salient in Belgium, on the night of the 5th. A Police Officer in the Lancashire Constabulary before joining the Pals, he was also wounded serving in the unit’s machine gun section at Serre on the 1st July. Corporal Thompson was born in County Londonderry in 1893 and his last resting place is appropriately in New Irish Farm Cemetery just north of Ypres.
Congratulations to our Chairman, Rt. Hon. Lindsay Hoyle MP on being awarded a Knighthood in the 2018 New Years Honours List. Lindsay has been the Member of Parliament for Chorley since 1997 and Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons since 2010. He co-founded the Chorley Pals Memorial Trust with local historian Steve Williams in January 2007, serving as Chairman ever since. Trustees of the charity were amongst many to congratulate Lindsay on his well deserved honour.
The full schedule of events commemorating 100 years since the start of the Battle of The Somme on 1st July 1916 has been published. Highlights include a Act of Remembrance on Friday 1st July, a concert by the Leyland Band on Saturday 2nd July, and a major family event as Astley Park on Sunday 3rd July entitled ‘Pals in the Park, Full details are available on our ‘Somme 100‘ page.
We are pleased to announce that the Chorley Remembers Experience will re-open on Friday 1st of July as part of our Somme 100 events with a brand new ‘WW1 Somme experience’. Keep checking the Chorley Remembers website and our social media channels for further updates.
The Chorley Pals were remembered this morning at 7.30 am with a simple act of remembrance at their memorial in Chorley. It was attended by 25 people, including six Chorley Councillors, several descendants of Chorley Pals, Trustees of the Chorley Pals Memorial charity, representatives of the Chorley in The Great War group and Chorley & District Ex-Services Association. The Chorley Pals suffered 34 killed or died of wounds soon after, with another 57 being wounded in the attack on the 1st July 1916. Commenting on the turnout, Chorley Pals Memorial Secretary & Co-Founder Steve Williams said: “This is the sixth time we have had an act for remembrance at the memorial on the 1st July. No doubt there will be many more people here next year at the 100th anniversary of when the Pals went over the top on the Somme.” The town’s MP and Chairman & Co-Founder of the Chorley Pals Memorial Trust Lindsay Hoyle said: “It is right that we remember the sacrifice of the Chorley Pals on this day, along with many others from the Borough who fought on the Somme 99 years ago.”  The Chorley Pals Memorial on 1st July 2015  Ceremony held on 1st July 2015  A wreath was laid at the memorial |
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