BURY Archives is hoping that residents will keep the act of remembrance alive this November by using their vast online services.

The archives contain the details of countless soldiers from Bury who fought in the First World War and have created a huge library over the last few years.

The information, extracted from local newspapers as part of a Heritage Lottery-funded project in 2014, contains obituaries, photographs and the last known addresses of soldiers who served in the 1914-18 conflict.

Bury Archives are responsible for managing, caring for and providing access to the Bury borough’s historic archives, photographic and local studies collections. Their services are managed by Bury Council and they are part of Bury Libraries and Archives. The Archives Service is based in Bury Museum.

Now, Bury Archives is asking people across Bury to find a soldier to remember on November 11, in lieu of the usual ceremonies and memorial events which have had to be postponed due to the pandemic.

This may be a soldier who lived near you, on your street, or maybe even in your own home.

Adam Carter, an information and learning officer at Bury Libraries and Archives, said: “This year coronavirus will make remembering our fallen soldiers much more difficult with no parades or public acts of remembrance taking place in Bury.

“All those years ago when these soldiers left their homes they had no idea that they would never return. This year let’s bring them home and remember them in a very local way.”

The archive is asking residents to use the online map to find a soldier, from which they can then perform a suitable act of remembrance in one of several ways.

One way includes printing off the soldier’s image/ obituary and displaying it in your window.

This could be complemented by poppies, which the local Borough of Bury Veterans Association has been encouraging people to do.

Another method is by saving the image or images to your tablet or phone and putting them in the window for a short while.

A creative method could also be used - making your own window display with the resources you have at hand.

You can also put any information you have on your social media, for friends and families to read about and share.

Bury Archives have provided examples of what information they have at hand - including two obituaries for local soldiers who died in action in The Great War.

Private Edgar Button, who died in 1917, was the second son of Mr J E Button.

He was born in Hornby Street, Bury, and attended Brunswick Day and Sunday Schools. He was just 22 when he was killed in action serving with the Australian Expeditionary Force, after he emigratedDown Under.

According to his obituary, he was an “extremely popular” member of society both in England and Australia, as well as a proficient mandolinist, singer and mimic.

Lance Corporal W Duckworth, of Tentersfield House, Bury, died in April, 1918, from wounds he sustained in France.

He served in the Lancashire Fusiliers and was placed on the roll of honour at the Bury Ragged Sunday School and St Thomas’s Day School.

In civilian life, he had worked at a mill.

He had formerly been a staff sergeant in the Ragged School Boys’ Brigade and was a side drummer in the 3rd/5th Lancashire Fusiliers.

For more information on the archive service, visit buryarchivesonline.co.uk.