The centenary of the outbreak of World War One was commemorated in towns and villages across Kirklees and Calderdale over the weekend.

Service personnel – veteran and serving – joined civilians and dignitaries to remember the Great War in which thousands of young men lost their lives.

In Farnley Tyas, villagers gathered in the square for the unveiling of a new memorial to the young men from the village who died in service between 1914 and 1918.

The memorial, in honour of Pte W Johnsey, Pte W Lodge, Gunner E Price and others, was unveiled by Mayor of Kirklees Clr Ken Smith.

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It follows a campaign by Farnley Estates director, John Sykes, to discover the names of villagers who died serving their country.

Guests of honour included Colne Valley Tory MP Jason McCartney and Dewsbury Tory MP Simon Reevell.

Scapegoat Hill Baptist Church hosted a commemorative service which included a roll of honour with the names of those who died in the war, compiled by church member Judith Pattinson.

Churchgoers knitted hundreds of poppies – one for each soldier on the roll – and erected a commemorative cross outside the church.

White helium balloons – in lieu of doves – were released as a symbol of peace.

Upper Hopton, which lost 25 young men in the war, held an exhibition of the personal stories of the soldiers and life in the village between 1914 and 1918.

The event, which ran at Croft House over the weekend, featured stories drawn from local newspapers, military records, census information, parish magazines and relatives of the soldiers.

Organiser Roger Leedham said: “We’ve really tried to make it a local event and make it as relevant as possible to the local men who served.”

Elland, Greetland and District Royal British Legion held a memorial service at Elland War Memorial, on Sunday.

World War One service at Elland war memorial, Hullenedge.
World War One service at Elland war memorial, Hullenedge.

Legion chaplin Fr Philip Chadwick led the service.

Fr Chadwick said: “We need to make sure that the youth of today don’t forget what it’s all about.”

Holy Trinity Church, South Crosland, hosted a memorial service as well as an exhibition to the war dead.

The church holds an outdoor memorial service on Monday (10am) at the memorial garden in Church Lane.

Calderdale Council is taking part in the Royal British Legion’s Lights Out campaign to mark the centenary.

On Monday night (10pm-11pm) the council is turning off the lights in Halifax Town Hall, and lighting a candle to illuminate the Book of Remembrance which is kept in the building.

The book is a record of the people from the area who lost their lives during the First World War.

The Examiner's data team has now put together a device which allows you to search the full records of more than one million casualties of World War One.

You can search by any combination of first name  -or initial, surname, street or town/city. 

You don't have to fill in all the boxes - you can fill as many or as few as you like.

The database allows you, for example, to search for people with the same name as you, who came from the same city; or just to see who died from the street where you live.

However, be aware that not all names match with a particular street and using names will provide the most accurate results.

The information comes from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, who kindly allowed us to share the astonishingly-rich data that they have painstakingly put together over the years.