Report: John Herbert, Scarisbrick parish councillor

“Suddenly a gun, like the mighty slamming of a door in a sleeping house, broke the stillness. The hour arranged by friend and man had come and Hell stepped up on to the earth. Every one of the myriad of guns crowding the area behind took up the signal and belched forth fire and noise. The battle had begun.”

This eyewitness account surely dispels the myth that a picture is worth a thousand words. It is from the opening encounter of the second Battle of the Somme at which Scarisbrick man Walter Mayor fought and died with the Coldstream Guards, and one of numerous accounts in a memorial book to the Fallen of Scarisbrick which marks the conclusion of an ambitious parish project commemorating the centenary of the Great War.

In 2016 a new memorial was installed in the grounds of Scarisbrick Village Hall and the book tells the stories of the men remembered on the monument; copies are to be kept in local churches and will be donated to the main libraries of Ormskirk and Southport.

Scarisbrick men fought in many of the major battles of the war. Some were early volunteers who helped halt the enemy advance on Paris and found themselves entrenched in a bitter war of attrition. They were caught up in the slaughter of the Somme and the tragedy of Passchendaele. They fought at major engagements including Ypres, Loos, Arras, and Messines. They were embroiled in desperate fighting to halt the enemy’s Spring Offensive of 1918 and subsequently helped to breach the heavily fortified Hindenburg Line, driving the foe back in actions that resulted in the Armistice.

The book highlights the human costs of warfare. The age of the Fallen ranges from teenagers to middle-aged men with young families who were under no obligation to enlist. Remains were often unfound and families with local names that we recognise today were devastated by loss, sometimes accounting for multiple family members. Importantly, we are reminded of the debt of honour owed to our local men for their gallantry and extra-ordinary sacrifice.

Scarisbrick will be holding an ecumenical Service of Remembrance to mark the centenary of the Armistice and there will be a small exhibition dedicated to the Fallen. The service is to be held at Scarisbrick Village Hall commencing at 10.45am on Sunday 11th November, and all are welcome.