A MONUMENT which recently turned 100 years old has received official recognition as the first recorded World War One War Memorial in the UK.

Prescot's memorial, which was unveiled in 1916, has been confirmed by the Imperial War Museum as the first in the country.

The memorial was commissioned by Cllr William John Lucas JP in 1915 during the First World War and was sculpted by Samuel Welsby, of Widnes.

Its official unveiling took place in September 1916 by Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry Webb MP, Commander of the Prescot Barracks, for the Earl of Derby in front of a crowd of approximately 4,000 people.

Earlier this month (September) hundreds turned out to commemorate the memorial's centenary anniversary.

The Earl of Derby and mayor of Knowsley Cllr Frank Walsh were among those in attendance at the ceremony.

The memorial now stands behind the parish church, where it was moved to as part of redevelopment after it had originally stood in Church Street, where it was unveiled in 1916.

Of the four commemorative panels, only the dedication panel was engraved in 1916 with the remaining three left blank to be engraved at the end of the Great War with the names of the fallen.

It was then rededicated on November 10, 1946 to commemorate those lost during the Second World War.

The memorial was given Grade II listed status having been included on the National Heritage List for England in May 2015.