old Westfield memorial village photo

Call to re-create 100-year-old memorial photo People are being urged to help re-create a 100-year-old photograph to mark the centenary of the official opening of a village for veterans in Lancashire.

In 1924, Earl Douglas Haig - who led the British Expeditionary Force in World War One - officially opened the Westfield War Memorial Village in Lancaster, which had been built to provide care and accommodation to returning war heroes.

Hundreds of people turned out to enjoy the fanfare of moment and, on Saturday morning, there will be an attempt to recreate the very same scene at 10:00 GMT.

Historian Dr Martin Purdy said the idea is to try to make a "more modern representation" of "a pretty special place".

"You don't have to dress up in period costume, just put a warm coat on and come down and give us about an hour or so of your time so we can try and recreate this image to mark the centenary," he said.

The village, on West Road, is a charity and officially opened in 1924 to provide homes for disabled ex-servicemen. It still provides support to the armed forces community.

"The first residents had moved in about five years earlier, but they'd really struggled to get someone to come of any national consequence," Dr Purdy said.

"Haig had a long-standing relationship with this village. He'd written the foreword for the book about the need for settlement for disabled men, so he was the one who saved the day."

Kevin White, who served in the Royal Artillery and served on tours in Northern Ireland and the Falklands, has lived at the village for 22 years described it as a "wonderful" place.

He said: "When you drive through the gate it's like driving into another world. A wonderful world where you get help and support.

"Everyone knows each other and if somebody needs help, there will be people there.

"I think most soldiers, if they've done that long service, will go through very sad times, but you learn, with the help of others, to support yourself and support each other and continue to live a life."

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