THEIR STORIES
Joseph Rowan
Joseph Rowan, killed in action on 14th July 1916 and later buried near to where he fell by his comrades, left a widow and [...]
John Edward Whittaker
Great–grandfather of our parishioner Catherine Wallwork (nee Ives), John Edward Whittaker was one of over a million men from Britain and Ireland who enlisted [...]
Benjamin Pooley
In September 1999, after many years of searching by family members and before First World War military records became accessible via the internet, our [...]
James Leslie Crossley
James Leslie Crossley, the Great-uncle of our present day parishioner, Maria Duckworth, was born in Rawtenstall in 1998. James was the only son in [...]
The Halstead Brothers
Thomas and Bridget Halstead were parents to six children, all born between 1888 and 1899 as the family moved around different towns across east [...]
Joshua Heys
Joshua’s last known relative in the parish passed away in 2015, not long after providing some information about him and his service in the [...]
John Robert Larner
John Robert Larner was born on 31st January 1890, the second child of Robert and Francis Larner. He was baptised soon after birth, at [...]
Samuel Evans
Samuel Evans was born in Burnley in 1891 to William and Isabella Evans, both of whom had moved to the town from Cheshire and [...]
Joseph Edward Ashworth
Joseph Edward Ashworth was born in Rawtenstall on 18th March 1895, the second child of Edward and Susannah Ashworth. It seems that Susannah died [...]
Ignatius Holloran
Ignatius Holloran was born on 1st February 1892, the eldest son of George and Margaret Holloran who lived at Springfield View, Clowbridge (the row [...]
James Nerney and Thomas Regan
On 5th September 1897, within four weeks of his birth, James Nerney was baptised into St James the Less church by the parish priest, [...]
Albert Hunt
Albert Hunt, the grand-father of our parishioner David Pilling, was a ‘Bury lad’. One of four children, after leaving school Albert quickly progressed from [...]
William Manning
William Manning was born on 13th January 1896, one of seventeen children to Michael and Annie, both of whom had settled in the town [...]
John and Joseph Lord
In the 25th August 1917 edition of the Rossendale Free Press, John and Mary Lord, of 41, York Street, Crawshawbooth, wrote a short poem [...]
William Cowell
At 19 years of age, William Cowell is one of the youngest of the 25 parishioners killed in the war. His military service lasted [...]
John James Ashworth
John James Ashworth, the oldest child of St James the Less parishioners John Ormerod and Mary Ashworth, was born at the family home in [...]
Thomas William O’Brien
Thomas William O’Brien, uncle of Tom Smith, currently St James the Less church’s oldest parishioner and himself a veteran of the Second World War, [...]