A PARISH council plans to honour seventeen "overlooked" World War One heroes in a ceremony to add their names to the Public War Memorial.

Investigations by Brian Renshall, of the Rainhill Civic Society, revealed that the names of Rainhill’s fallen listed in St Ann’s Church did not fully match those on the Public War Memorial.

The parish council launched a public appeal in March to discover any other residents who also had been overlooked.

The appeal uncovered six more names, five identified by Anne Slater, also of Rainhill Civic Society, and a sixth raised by the granddaughter of another of the fallen.

The parish council unanimously agreed to fund a total of 17 names to be added to the War Memorial at a ceremony on the July 3 to commemorate the

100 year anniversary of the first Battle of the Somme.

Rainhill Parish and West Park ward Councillor for St Helens Council, Derek Long, said: "By commemorating these lost names, we are, in a small way, bringing home the relatives and neighbours who never came home after the war. Their names are testimony to all those who have served on our behalf in the past 100 years.”

Details of all Rainhill’s fallen soldiers can be found on the Rainhill Remembered website at www.rainhillremembers.uk/fallen-soldiers.html.

All our welcome to attend the ceremony, which will take place on Sunday, July 3 at 2pm.

St Helens Mayor and Mayoress, Councillors Dave and Jeanette Banks will also be present.

The British Legion will give a roll call of the names to be added, together with a dedication to those Rainhill residents known to have died during the Battle of the Somme, followed by the last post.

The ceremony will also celebrate the twinning of Rainhill with Latour-en-Woëvre, a village in France whose residents buried, and have ever since tended the grave of a WW1 pilot from Rainhill, Thomas Jones, killed in conflict in 1918.

Each year a ceremony is held to confirm the gratitude to all those who fought for freedom, and to build new friendships for the future.

For further information please contact Gillian Pinder at rainhillpc@hotmail.co.uk or on 07565 524414.