THE CHRONICLE is backing a campaign to have a fitting tribute to the Barnsley Pals erected in France.
It is being spearheaded by Coun Joe Hayward and Barnsley Central MP Dan Jarvis, and though there is already an existing memorial in the Serre battlefields, the pair say the soldiers deserve better.
The Pals, the 13th and 14th (service) battalions of the York and Lancaster Regiment, were groups of men who enlisted with their friends and work colleague in 1914 after responding to Lord Kitchener's urge, 'Your Country Needs You'.
Of the 1,600 or so strong group, 545 of them lost their lives on July 1 1916, going over the top on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
A monument to their courage now stands in the wood outside the town of Serre in France where many of them perished. But after a trip the area in May, councillors and MPs have voiced their hopes to have a more prominent and fitting tribute installed.
The aim is for it to be unveiled in time for the 100th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Somme in 2016.
** The full story, with interviews, appears in the Barnsley Chronicle dated August 8. **
