Hornets Great War heroes recognised at climax of club's heritage festival

Walter 'Rattler' Roman (front right) - Rochdale Hornets c and aptain, England International and fallen war hero pictured as part of the all-conquering Hornets pack known as the 'Terrible Six'

To commemorate the centenary of the commencement of World War One Rochdale Hornets will recognise the bravery of the players who swapped their club's colours for regimental colours, as the culmination of their forthcoming heritage festival, a series of events taking place in December to celebrate the club's rich history.

The Annual Heroes of Hornets presentation - themed this year around Brothers in Arms - recognises individuals past and present who have made a heroic contribution to the club throughout its history. This year the club will proudly honour those who represented their club, their town and their country with distinction.

By 1915, 24 Rochdale Hornets players had joined-up to fight, four of whom made the ultimate sacrifice: club captain and England international Walter Roman, Sergeant Twigg, Private T West and Private C J Burton.

The club will also pay tribute to those at home who kept the spirit of the club alive, holding fundraisers to send footballs to our soldiers in France and continuing, against the odds, to field a team until December 1917.

As part of the evening, rugby league historian Victoria Dawson will present a showing of rare, recently discovered film footage of the famous 1914 'Rorke's Drift' Australia amd New Zealand, where Hornets' Walter Roman toured with England before being recalled to join his home Somerset regiment.

Rochdale Hornets Chairman, Mark Wynn said: "The word 'hero' gets used liberally these days, but what these representatives of our club did was genuinely heroic.

"Rugby league has always been a challenging, combative sport that requires the highest levels of commitment, bravery and team spirit.

"We think it's fitting, as our town commemorates the centenary of World War One, that we recognise that these lads who had bonded as team-mates also went into battle as brothers in arms."

Brothers in Arms, the 2014 Heroes of Hornets Induction Dinner takes place on Thursday 11 December at Spotland Stadium at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £10. For tickets or further information call Ryan Bradley at Rochdale Hornets on 01706 648004 or Ryan.Bradley@hornetsrugbyleague.com