‘WESTHOUGHTON’S War’ will be explored in a major Armistice Centenary exhibition.

Members of Westhoughton Local History Group have spent months working on the exhibition, Westhoughton in the Wake of World War I.

Group chairman, Mr David Kaye said: “A particularly novel aspect of the exhibition is a visual/textual ‘reconstruction’ of Market Street, the town’s principal shopping thoroughfare, as it was a century ago, and today’s citizens visiting the exhibition may be particularly fascinated and amused by the collages of contemporary advertisements placed by local traders in days long gone.

He added: “Another noteworthy aspect of the group’s Armistice commemorations is the publication of a souvenir card, based on a superb and evocative water-colour collage of World War I scenes, painted by the group’s in-house artist, Tom Newton MBE, whose manifold images have vividly enhanced so many aspects of the organisation’s projects over the years.”

The exhibition is likely to be as popular as the group’s 2014 exhibition, Westhoughton at War, which commemorated the centenary of the outbreak of hostilities, and proved hugely popular and memorable.

Mr Kaye said: “Whilst the 2018 exhibition will again pay tribute to the 221 men from Westhoughton known to have lost their lives in The Great War, further research in the meantime has resulted in a substantial list of names of men from the town who also served their country, but were fortunate to survive, and continued to play a part in the life of Westhoughton in post-war years.

“A number of these have been identified as having been Prisoners of War, with a segment of the exhibition devoted to this poignant aspect. Within the ‘Remembrance’ element of the exhibition, many of the town’s war are also featured.”

The exhibition has also expanded its scope beyond 1918 and will profile aspects of life in the town following the cessation of hostilities, and through the tough times of the 1920s.

Several segments of the exhibition feature insights into daily life in Westhoughton from the end of the war, through to the 1926 General Strike.

These elements comprise portraits of the industrial and commercial, housing, employment, religious, political, sporting, cultural and leisure-time activities during the years in focus.

The exhibition can be visited on November 10 (10am to 3pm) and November 11 (11am to 2pm) in Westhoughton’s Carnegie Hall, within the town hall complex.

Performing the opening ceremony will be Mr Wilf Dillon, 96, one of the town’s best-known and much-loved citizens. Mr Dillon is still very active in a number of the town’s community groups, and he is also a noted veteran of World War II.

Following Remembrance weekend, the exhibition will be transferred to the upper level of Westhoughton Library, where it will remain until the end of the year.