IT is August 13, 1914. It is 7am.

Outside, on the lawn of our Town Hall more than 40 men, all members of the Warrington Territorials, are preparing to leave for Bank Quay station.

Long before Warrington had awoken to normal business activity, the battalion was on parade getting ready to leave for the first train, getting ready for war.

“Obeying their countries call” was our headline at the time.

On that Thursday morning, a generation of our town was ready to stand apart.

They were willing to put on the uniform and put their lives on the line.

The early departure of the Warrington Territorials took the town by surprise.

As the first train was leaving, what were their mums thinking and loved ones saying as the train started to depart?

Some of these men left home barely even boys, they became men and they returned home heroes.

That same week, we reported upon Miss Evelyn May Clarke who was delayed in Germany.

Her father, Mr J.H. Clarke was a director at Greenall, Whitley and Co. Ltd and she had travelled from Rugby on July 27 in order to ‘perfect the German language’.

Accompanied by a ‘lady friend’ she had been staying in Neckargemünd, a short distance from Heidelberg.

And, after numerous attempts, there had been no success in contacting her and there was anxiety across the town.