Andrew Jackson was born and raised in Accrington and he has been fascinated by the story of the Accrington Pals since first visiting the battlefields of the Western Front in 1972, accompanied by Harry Bloor, one of the Pals who went over the top on 1 July 1916. He began researching the history of the Pals in 1980 and has been accumulating information about them ever since. He is the creator of the Accrington Pals website (www.pals.org.uk). From its inception in 1997, the website has grown to more than 280 pages. He has also created the one of the best Peninsular War websites: www.peninsularwar.org