KEIGHLEY paid tribute today to the men from the town who marched off to fight at the start of the First World War.

At least 150 people attended a half-hour ceremony this morning at the cenotaph, in Town Hall Square, to honour those men from the district who were part of the British Expeditionary Force to France and Belgium in August 1914.

The standard of the Keighley branch of the Old Contemptibles Association was paraded, as a mark of respect to the members of this organisation.

The association was formed after the war to represent the men who were part of the early stages of the bloody conflict on the Western Front.

During the ceremony the names of 77 local members of the Keighley branch were read out.

Keighley mayor Councillor Graham Mitchell and Andy Wade of the Men of Worth military history project delivered speeches explaining the background of the association and the meaning of its standard.

Coun Mitchell said: "We are not here today to remember fallen comrades, that is for another day. This is to remember and give thanks to the brave men from Keighley who answered the call to arms on that day 100 years ago."

http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/mylocalpaper