Hello
Yes, the photo is in the Accrington Pals book as I just had a look at my copy. It may well also be on the website. My grandfather was an Accrington Pal and so I have already had the pleasure at looking through their extensive website and hence the reason we also have the book. My grandfather is mentioned a couple of times in the book as he was interviewed about his experiences. We also sent copies of some of my grandfather's documents to be placed on the website. My grandfather was one of many going 'over the top' on the first day of the battle of the Somme, finding himself standing alone and wounded whilst everyone else around him had been decimated so I have a family interest in this area. My grandfather is supposed to have joined the Pals because a relative (Richard Sharples) was part of it, but quite how they are related is not yet known or confirmed and maybe we will never know what the connection is. My great aunt remembers Richard Sharples making regular visits with a companion to the family home to make payments to the family, from where or from whom or for what reason are unclear, but it has something to do with them being linked by family or so the story goes - those relatives are sadly no longer with us, so all we have to go on are their notes. Some day I must go to Lancashire to look out the many boxes of archived records that are held which relate to the Sharples Solicitor's business to see if I can glean any answers from there, but that is for another time another day.
