A FUNDRAISING appeal has been launched to restore a recently-rediscovered First World War roll of honour.

The piece, which originally hung in Farnhill’s former Methodist church, lists 60 servicemen from the community who fought in the Great War.

The roll had been ‘lost’, but recently resurfaced at an event organised by the Farnhill WW1 Volunteers Project.

Now members of the project, who are researching the lives of those villagers who served in the conflict and what life was like locally a century ago, are raising money to carry out restoration.

Part of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant is being used to cover most of the cost, but the remainder needs to be raised by the community.

The target is £260, and over half of that has already been coined-in through donations and pledges.

An appeal launch was held at a Methodist monthly coffee morning in the village and organisers were delighted with the response.

Committee member, Helen Moran, said: “We would like to thank local Methodists and residents for helping us get off to a good start.

“We hope we can raise the rest of the money needed so that the roll of honour can be saved for posterity.”

She said that once restoration was complete, the roll would be put on permanent display in the village.

“Not surprisingly it is showing signs of age and is currently in a poor condition,” she added.

“It has become warped and cannot be flattened out, the cardboard backing is crumbling away along the edges, the paper has signs of insect damage, paint splashes and surface deterioration and all the colours on the decorative borders have faded. Also, the men’s names written on it are barely legible.

“We have had it examined by an expert who has suggested that it could be conserved and then a digital copy created.”

Anyone wishing to make a donation can send a cheque – payable to Kildwick & Farnhill Institute – to the Farnhill WW1 Volunteers Project, Kildwick and Farnhill Institute, Main Street, Farnhill, Keighley BD20 9BJ.

For more details, visit farnhill.co.uk/volunteers.