WW1 commemorations across region

During the First World War many industries were driven by a new female workforce. As men went to fight, women operated factories providing the essentials to keep the war effort going.

One of those women put a secret note into a box of shells.

Little did she know the soldier who opened those shells would track her down and marry her on his return.

Victoria Whittam has more:

A remembrance service has been held at Ripon Racecourse to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War.

The service was especially poignant Ripon was one of three racecourses which raced on the day war was declared - and was a base for training pilots.

The day was also the course's annual Children’s Day, allowing younger generations to be educated about the historic event.

While there are no remaining veterans of the Great War on the centenary, the families and ancestors of those who fought and died have been remembering their sacrifice.

Two historians from the University of Hull were inspired to dig deeper into their family histories when they found out the role their ancestors played in the war.

James Webster reports:

Lights at hundreds of landmarks have been turned off to commemorate the moment Britain joined the First World War.

See more: Britain commemorates WW1 100 years on

The First World War had a profound impact across the globe, not least in Western Europe and Britain.

Yorkshire played its part too, providing soldiers and munitions but also on the receiving end of bombing raids.

Around 7,500 people are named on the Yorkshire Regiment Roll of Honour kept in Richmond, North Yorkshire, but it is thought that when the number of men transferred to other regiments is counted, the Yorkshire casualty count is around 9,100.

Here are a few things you might not have known about the War in Yorkshire:

• The Bradford Pals were one of the first such groups of soldiers who were kept together in the army as they were close friends or colleagues at home. Barnsley, Sheffield, Scarborough, Hull, Grimsby and Leeds all had groups of Pals. When the Bradford Pals marched through the city on 16 September 1914, more than 40,000 people lined the streets to cheer them on.
• Howden in East Yorkshire laid claim to the biggest airbase in the UK, home to 1,000 staff and 80 airships.
• 2Lt Donald Bell of the Yorkshire Regiment was the only English professional footballer to earn the Victoria Cross medal. He was on the books of Bradford Park Avenue. He charged down a German machine gunner at the Somme, saving his comrades to win the medal but was killed a few days later.
• Scarborough was the site of the first attack on British soil on 16 December 1914. Two German battlecruisers opened fire on the town, hitting the castle and the Grand Hotel in a 30-minute bombardment. They continued north, firing on Whitby and Hartlepool killing 137 people and injuring 592.
• One of the UK's largest troop training camps was just outside Ripon with a capacity of around 30,000.
• Crossgates, outside Leeds, was the location of the first national shell filling factory and employed 16,000 women from across Yorkshire.
• An elephant called Lizzie was employed by a Sheffield factory owned by Thomas Ward and became a popular cult figure in the city.

The lights will go out at Mosborough Rugby Club in South Yorkshire tonight to commemorate the centenary of the start of World War 1.

The unique night of remembrance, being staged by the Royal British Legion, is to remember the fallen heroes of the Great War.

Candles will be lit and then extinguished to symbolise those killed in action.

The Prime Minister has visited a memorial to his great, great uncle Captain Francis Mount, who died on the last day of the Battle of Loos in 1915.

Almost 60,000 British servicemen are thought to have lost their lives during the two-and-a-half week battle.