BLACKBURN Cathedral’s reconstructed First World War memorial honouring 72 fallen Lancashire soldiers will be re-dedicated at a special ceremony on Sunday.

The service, on the eve of the centenary of the start of the conflict, will see the ornate monument blessed by the Bishop of Blackburn Julian Henderson.

Bishop Henderson said: “This is a solemn and important event for the Diocese of Blackburn and County of Lancashire as we remember the events which led to the tragedy of the First World War.

“We will think of those many servicemen and women who left our towns and villages for the fields of France, so many of whom did not return.”

Cathedral Canon Andrew Hindley said the memorial was placed in the then Blackburn Parish Church in November 1920.

He said: “Sadly it was dismantled in 1965 when the cathedral was undergoing massive internal changes.

“Much of the frame and carvings were lost. Only the four bronze panels bearing the names of the fallen and five wood carvings of angels survived.

“We discovered photographs from the Lancashire Telegraph and, although no drawings survived, we then explored remaking the memorial.”

The restoration was put in the hands of a Blackburn’s Cooper Bespoke Joinery.

Canon Hindley said the obelisk, moved from the former St Michael and All Angels’ Church, in Bastwell in the 1980s, had been put into storage before renovation.

He added: “We hope to rededicate it when the new Cathedral grounds are completed in 2015 with the full restored list of names. It will have a prominent place in the new public realm.”