PEOPLE in Nelson came together to commemorate 100 years since one of the largest naval battles in history.

The Nelson and District Branch of the Royal British Legion organised a service to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland at Cenotaph Memorial Square.

Mayor of Pendle, Cllr Rosemary Carroll, was one of the first to lay a wreath in memory of those who lost their lives.

She said: “It all went very well and I was very proud to be there.

“We should never forget those who gave their lives. We would not be here right now if it weren’t for the people in the forces.”

The battle was fought by the British Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe against the Imperial German Navy’s High Seas Fleet under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer during the First World War from May 31 to June 1 1916.

It was the largest naval battle of the war and the only full-scale clash of battleships.

The British lost more ships and twice as many sailors as the Germans, and the British press criticised the Grand Fleet’s failure to force a decisive outcome, but Vice-Admiral Scheer’s plan of destroying a substantial portion of the British fleet also failed, so both sides claimed victory.