THE names of 15 men who died in the Great War could be added onto Rawdon war memorial after it was discovered they had never been included.

The additional names were found during research to produce a memorial book - and now the parish council is planning to rectify the omission.

As part of its Great War commemoration, Rawdon Parish Council is producing a Memorial Book containing the names of the men of the village who were killed and those who served.

During his research parish council chairman and historian John Davies found a further fifteen men who were born or resident in the village but who were not named on the memorial.

He said: "Researching the names has been an interesting experience and we have discovered a number of revealing facts. I am very grateful to those people who have helped me in a number of ways with the research.

"The names of these men ought to be considered for inclusion on the War Memorial and the Parish Council will give consideration to doing this in the near future. Unfortunately we won’t be able to achieve that in time for this year’s Remembrance Sunday but we will include them in the list of names that are read out every year."

Rawdon had one of the first officer casualties of the war. Captain Jonathan Knowles of the 4th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment was killed on August 23, 1914 during the Battle of Mons. He was 32 years old. He was the son of Edward Sugden Knowles and Frances Mary Knowles, of Rawdon and the husband of Viva Brabazon Knowles. He is buried in Cement House Cemetery near Ypres in Belgium.

The missing names are, Charles Edward Burborough; Herbert Butterworth; Stanley Crowther Crosthwaite; Henry Cunliffe; Sam Emmott; Joseph Grant; William Arnold Greenwood Greaves; James Whitworth Harling; Alfred John Hill; Albert Ibbetson; Albert Lee; Wilfred Lee; Frederick Parkinson Long; Thomas Edward Rushworth; Alfred Wharton.

A total of 99 men from Rawdon lost their lives during the First World War and a further 512 served in some capacity in the forces. This is out of a total village population at the time, according to the 1911 census of 3,198.

Rawdon Parish Council is planning a number of events over the four year centenary of the Great War. The Remembrance Sunday service this year will take place at Rawdon War Memorial at 3pm on Sunday, November 9.

Anyone who has further information or interesting stories about any of the men of Rawdon who were killed or served in the war is asked to contact Coun Davies via the Rawdon Parish Council website, www.rawdonparishcouncil.gov.uk.