SEVEN icons from the pre-Northern Union history of the club to a modern-day great will be honoured by being inducted into Barrow Raiders' Hall of Fame next month.

It is hoped the Hall of Fame dinner at Abbey House on Friday, April 5 will become an annual event with the Raiders recognising the achievements of famous names throughout their history.

To date, 16 individuals plus the 1983 Lancashire Cup-winning team have had the honour bestowed upon them.

Now they will be joined by two players from Barrow's rugby union days, two from the first half of the 20th Century, two from the second half and one from the modern era.

Johnny Atkinson and John Harley are the two 19th Century pioneers who will be inducted, with Wilf Spencer and Val Cumberbatch representing the interwar years, Frank Castle and Malcolm Flynn the latter half of the 20th Century and Phil Atkinson representing the recent history.

Ulverstonian Atkinson is perhaps the most recognisable name for many current Raiders supporters, having spent his entire professional career at Craven Park from 1993 to 2007 after a spell playing for Widnes' academy team.

A try-scoring debut against Doncaster in September 1993 was an early portent of what was to follow and by the time he came to hang up his boots, centre Atkinson had racked up 349 appearances. They included 125 tries, 246 goals and seven drop-goals for a total of 1,035 points.

Full-back Spencer was another one who spent his entire career with Barrow, joining from Holker Street Old Boys junior club in 1913 and playing until 1927 when he was still first-choice.

He only scored eight tries and five goals in 275 games, but was renowned as a superb defender in a career interrupted by the First World War in which he served.

Liverpool-born Cumberbatch, whose brother Jim played professionally as well, was one of Barrow's star three-quarters of the 1930s.

Playing from 1933 to 1945, he made 253 appearances and holds the joint-record of six tries in a single game for Barrow, which came against Batley in November 1936.

Winger Castle was part of the great Barrow team of the 1950s, playing in three Challenge Cup finals and scoring in the 1955 triumph over Workington Town at Wembley, along with being capped five times by Great Britain and scoring 281 tries in 366 games.

Signed from amateurs Wath Brow in 1976, hard-nosed forward Flynn proved to be a tackling machine during an 11-year spell at Craven Park and was unfortunate to have the latter years of his career dogged by injury.

Tickets for this year's Hall of Fame dinner cost £35, with former Great Britain head coach Brian Noble as guest speaker and comedian Zach Stevens providing entertainment as well. To book tickets, call 01229 824454.