Rolls of Honour are generally records of servicemen and women and in many cases, civilians who have died as a result of conflicts throughout the World. They can be produced by a variety of organisations both military and non-military in order to honour their members who died in Wars or in the line of duty.
The distinction between the term Roll of Honour and War Memorial can sometimes be confusing. A War Memorial tends to list or honour those who died whilst a Roll of Honour may well be a list of those who served and survived as well as those men and women who served and who did not survive a particular conflict.
There are two sources of information on soldiers from Blackburn who fought in World War I.
The first is a printed list, commemorating the men and women of Blackburn who gave their lives in the Great War, together with any medals that they won. It does not give any dates of death. It was published in 1929, when Blackburn's Roll of Honour memorial was unveiled by Sir John Rutherford, in the Town Hall. The memorial contains a Book of Remembrance; the pages are turned every day so that the names of all the casualties who died on that particular date can be read. The Book of Remembrance can be viewed in the entrance hall of the old Town Hall. Additionally, a printed copy of all the names in the Book of Remembrance was published in 1929 and contains the names of 3,117 men who died. See below for a copy of this list but please note that there were errors and corrections made to this list after compilation. A couple of men are listed who did not die. At the time, it was noted in the local papers that it was almost an impossible task to compile a completely accurate record of those people from Blackburn who died during the War.
The second is a series of cuttings from local newspapers, mounted on cards. This was compiled by Library staff and differs from the printed list as in addition to casualties, it also includes soldiers who did not die during the War, but were honoured for their service. Most of the cards include a photograph, together with details of the soldier and his family, the date of death and the name of the newspaper from which it was taken.
During 2015 – 2016, it is hoped to publish the results of more research into Blackburn’s Roll of Honour. Nothing similar, as yet, has been provided for Blackburn soldiers of World War II The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website at www.cwgc.org/ maintains a "Debt of Honour Register" listing the casualties of both World Wars. Names written Into the Addenda of the Blackburn Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Anderson, Alfred
Barrett, William
Bond, Fred
Grime, Arthur
Harbour, Walter
Jarmany, Herbert
Klemm, Alfred
Livesey, Thomas
Peel Harry
Robinson, Arthur
Southworth, A.
Toole, J.W.
Toole, Patrick
Whalley Thomas
Whipple Arthur
Worthington, A.
Deletions.
Turton J.T.
Brett W[illiam]
The above two names should not be included in the Roll.
