Memorial to heroes of Gallipoli to be unveiled

Members of the 1/6th Lancashire Fusiliers, the Rochdale/Todmorden/Middleton Territorials in front of the town hall and practising

A permanent memorial will be unveiled in Rochdale this summer to honour the service of local men who fought inGallipoli, one of the bloodiest campaigns of the First World War, and the sacrifices made by their relatives at home.

The memorial stone, to mark the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of local soldiers, will be unveiled in Rochdale Memorial Gardens during a special Gallipoli Commemoration Event on Sunday 28 June.

The event, which will also include a military parade in the town centre will be part of the boroughs national Armed Forces Day celebrations.

Preparations for the afternoon, which will feature the Kings Division Band are well underway, with further details set to be announced in April.

In August 1914, 1,000 soldiers from the 6th Battalion of Lancashire Fusiliers gathered in Rochdale before being sent to Egypt and on to the killing fields of Turkey. Few came home alive or unscathed. Those who enlisted were remembered last summer with the recreation of a march made by more than 1,000 soldiers from the 6th Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers.