A CANDLELIT vigil, a floral canalside display and the planting of one million poppies will feature in Burnley Council’s programme to mark 100 years since the beginning of the First World War.

All 17 public war memorials in the borough will be cleaned and re-lettered - at a cost of £25,000 - as part of the commemorations.

The series of events, which will bear the theme ‘We Will Remember Them’, will culminate in candlelit processions on August 4, the date in 1914 when Britain declared war on Germany.

Council leader Julie Cooper said the borough had ‘a stronger link than many others to the conflict’.

The Great War claimed the lives of 4,212 men and one woman from Burnley and Padiham.

Coun Cooper said: “Not only did that have a massive and dramatic impact on their families, it also affected the social fabric of the towns.

“Our borough has always had strong links to the Armed Forces and we have a moral duty to remember those who have fallen, not only in the First World War, but also in conflicts since then across the world.

“We’re determined to make sure that people of all ages have the opportunity to find out more about their borough’s contribution in the 1914-18 conflict and to remember those thousands of men who paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

A special event, including a military vehicle show, a parade, and drill displays, will be held in Burnley town centre on June 29.

The poppy seeds will be planted in Towneley Park, while the floral display will become a feature on the embankment of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, along The Straight Mile opposite the bus station.

A leaflet detailing all events has been produced by the council and can be viewed on the authority’s website.

In January, the council revealed that wooden crosses bearing the names of those from the borough who lost their lives in the conflict would be planted by schoolchildren in Towneley Park and Padiham Memorial Park.

Further details have been released after consultation with groups who are signed up to the town’s Armed Forces Covenant.