Bolton Council is looking to enlist support for a major project to commemorate the First World War.

The library and museum service is appealing for budding historians to help them create a lasting online war memorial to the fallen.

The aim is to record the details of as many of the civic, religious, public, private and commercial war memorials in the borough as possible and list every casualty of the war.

There are hundreds of war memorials dotted around the borough that the council is aware of – on cenotaphs, in churches and at schools – yet there are many more which still have to be officially researched and recorded, and some even lie undiscovered in private houses, businesses or clubs.

Members of the public can help by doing their own research and recording their findings, such as location and description of the memorial, any inscriptions plus the names listed. Photographs of the memorials are also welcome and can be submitted in either digital or hard copy format.

Full guidance and a downloadable recording form can be accessed via the museum’s website

Bolton Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Councillor John Byrne, said: “This is a major undertaking by the library and museum service, and is likely to be a long term project as there are so many memorials in Bolton that need researching and even discovering.

“However, when completed we will have a comprehensive online resource that will last for years to come. The online war memorial database is just one of a number of projects, activities and events that the council is overseeing to mark the centenary of the First World War.

“We know that Bolton is bursting with budding historians and we really need them to come forward, get involved and help us to create a piece of history.”

The search for unknown memorials also includes districts historically linked to Bolton, such as Turton, Edgworth, Ainsworth, Adlington and Little Hulton and all details will be logged with the Imperial War Museum as part of their national inventory of war memorials.

More details about the project can be found on the GM1914 blog on June 19