Introduction
This list refers to men and women who died during 1939-1947. The criteria for inclusion embraces those who were born, lived or worked in Blackburn and surrounding areas.
N.B. Using the criteria selected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission the list covers those who died from 3rd September 1939 to 31 December 1947.
View the Roll of Honour: The list has been compiled in alphabetical order of surname. Please select a letter (above) in order to see the names recorded on the Roll of Honour.
Format:
The Roll of Honour is presented in alphabetical order and the format chosen to record the names is as follows:
Surname, First name
(Image if available)
Rank, Service Number, Regiment/Squadron, Ship or Naval Base
Date of Death and age (if known)
Grave or Memorial
How the List Was Compiled:
Stephen Irwin (Education Officer), Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery worked with a student from a local school, Ryan Baron, in order to compile the initial list. Stephen and Ryan researched and retrieved information from newspaper reports in “The Northern Daily Telegraph”.
Each person found during the search was then cross referenced and checked against the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website and added to an Excel Database. Subsequent research was undertaken in 2017 by the late Ray Smith. From 2021 onwards, Community History Volunteers, Stephen Smith and Hayley Wells have collaborated on the task of checking
'The Blackburn Times'. The majority of images used in the Roll of Honour have been taken from 'The Blackburn Times'.
Glossary of Abbreviations used throughout the Roll of Honour:
A & AEE
| Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment
|
AA
| Anti-Aircraft
|
C/E
| Church of England
|
DEMS
| Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship
|
DFC
| Distinguished Flying Cross
|
DFM
| Distinguished Flying Medal
|
ELR
| East Lancashire Regiment
|
FAA
| Fleet Air Arm
|
HAC
| Honourable Artillery Company
|
HCU
| Heavy Conversion Unit
|
| HM LCT | His Majesty’s Landing Craft (Tank)
|
HM
| His Majesty’s
|
HMS
| His Majesty’s Ship
|
MGB
| Motor Gun Boat
|
MiD
| Mentioned in Dispatches
|
MM
| Military Medal
|
MTB
| Motor Torpedo Boat
|
MV
| Motor Vessel
|
N/C
| Non Conformist
|
NAS
| Naval Air Squadron
|
R/C
| Roman Catholic
|
RAC
| Royal Armoured Corps
|
RAF
| Royal Air Force
|
RAAF
| Royal Australian Air Force
|
RCAF
| Royal Canadian Air Force
|
RNZAF
| Royal New Zealand Air Force
|
SLAIS
| Specialised Low Attack Insructors School
|
SS
| Steam Ship
|
Grateful Thanks
Blackburn with Darwen Library & Information Service would particularly like to thank and acknowledge Stephen Irwin for sharing the initial Roll of Honour which he compiled with Ryan. Stephen’s compilation of the "Glossary" above plus his guidance and assistance in reviewing the entries prior to publication on Cotton Town has been invaluable.
Ray Smith’s valiant research during the latter half of 2017 was greatly appreciated and he uncovered additional names for inclusion. Further research has also been undertaken by Community History Volunteer, Fran Stevenson. The time and skill of another Community History Volunteer, Stephen Smith, in creating the online version of Blackburn’s Roll of Honour for Cotton Town deserves our thanks. Thank-you also to Hayley Wells, Community History Volunteer, for reading through 'The Blackburn Times' and for capturing the information and images which were available.
Thank-you also to Carol Curphey, Blackburn with Darwen Library & Information Service.
Further Information
The Roll of Honour published on Cotton Town is by no means definitive. There must be dozens of memorials in churches, schools, sporting clubs, community venues such as political, social groups and work memorials, plus others, which may offer other names for consideration.
The Cotton Town team would warmly welcome any further information especially additional names for inclusion and photographs as well as any potential amendments.
Please check the Roll of Honour and contact the Library on the following email if you think you can help: library@blackburn.gov.uk
Darwen Roll of Honour
Darwen Library holds a Roll of Honour compiled from the local newspapers by Graham Groom in the early 1990s. Please contact Darwen Library for more information: darwen.library@blackburn.gov.uk
The website run by Darwen Heritage Centre contains the World War 2 Roll of Honour plus a section devoted to life in Darwen during World War 2
