HISTORIC regimental flags carried to the front line by the famous Barnsley Pals soldiers 100 years ago are in need of repair if they are to survive, a local historian has warned.

Historian Jane Ainsworth is on a mission to make sure people know about the standards of the 13th and 14th York and Lancaster Regiment - the 1st and 2nd Barnsley Pals - which are in a glass display cabinet in St Mary’s Church in town.

Jane thinks it would be a fitting tribute to the Pals as Barnsley marks the centenary of the Battle of the Somme if they could be preserved to stop them crumbling to dust.

She would like to begin a campaign to raise funds to have them at least assessed by restoration specialists.

“This is about remembering the men who gave their lives,” said Jane, of Victoria Road, who has organised this afternoon’s Somme Centenary Commemoration at Silverwood Scout Camp where the Pals trained.

Read more in this weeks Barnsley Chronicle