Exhibition commemorates the 86 men (and boys) from Fishergate and Fulford who made the ultimate sacrifice in the First World War

The son of a York painter and decorator, he grew up on Grange Crescent - a 'new' housing estate off Fulford Road between Grange Street and New Walk Terrace. A photo shows a serious-looking lad in a sailor's hat.

The year was 1917. Edward was assigned as a Signal Boy to HMS Kirkland, a trawler converted for use as a minesweeper in the North Sea. In August 1917, the Kirkland was assigned to escort the oil tanker Kremlin on a voyage to Lerwick. And during the night of August 20th it was struck by a mine from a German submarine in the waters off Shetland.

The little warship quickly sank, and 11 of its crew were killed - among them young Edward.

At an inquest, the Kirkland's sole survivor, deck hand Robert Weymouth, was asked whether the crew could swim.

"The Chief Engineer could not," he replied, "nor the Second Hand, the Signal Boy, and I do not think the Skipper could himself."

Edward's death was officially recorded as "killed by mine explosion at sea, 20th August 1917."

That stark description cannot begin to capture the horror and anguish his parents George and Mary Jane must have felt when a telegraph boy arrived at their door in Grange Crescent bearing the little slip of paper every parent dreaded.

During the four years of the First World War, there were an awful lot of those telegrams delivered to families in the Fulford and Fishergate area.

York in the First World War........5th battalion York and Lancaster soldiers in York

No fewer than 86 names are recorded on the war memorial at St Oswald's Church commemorating men (and boys) who gave their lives during the war. Fifty of the men whose names are recorded there came from a tight cluster of streets between the Fulford Road barracks and the River Ouse.

The Fishergate, Fulford & Heslington local history society, which has spent two years researching the lives of all 86 men on the war memorial, has produced a map, with a red poppy marking where every man who died had lived.

There are ten of those red poppies on Frances Street; six on Alma Terrace; five on Ambrose Street; three each on Farndale Street and Hartoft Street. That's a lot of tragedy, a lot of anguish and heartbreak.

"It must have been terrible seeing the telegraph boy coming," says Chris Rainger, the local history group's chairman.

Over months of painstaking research, members of the group have put together accounts of the lives of all 86 men on the St Oswald's Church memorial. They have used army records, family histories and memories, the Kings Book of Heroes at York Minster, and any other sources they can think of, to compile as much information about each of the men as they could. The result is a series of short biographies that have been gathered together in three volumes, one covering Fulford, one Fishergate, and one the Alma Terrace area.

Chris Rainger

The aim of the project, says Chris, was to try to ensure that these men, who gave their lives in the service of their country 100 years ago, are remembered not just as names on a memorial, but as real people.

"They weren't just names," Chris says. "They were people, who had families, and homes, and jobs."

All three volumes are now available from the history group (see details below).

And tomorrow there will be a special, all-day exhibition at the York Cemetery chapel on Cemetery Road, Fishergate, which draws upon the history group's researches, together with old photographs and maps, to tell the story the men of Fulford and Fishergate who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Great War of 1914-1918.

The day will also include two talks - one about the men of Fishergate, and one about the Zeppelin raid on York in 1916, when death literally fell from the skies. The Clements Hall local history group will also have material on show during the day, the Friends of York Cemetery Trust will have an exhibition about Commonwealth War Graves at the cemetery, and there will be displays from the York Oral History Society, the Tang Hall local history group and by pupils from the Mount School.

Entry is just £1 on the day. And there's no need to book in advance, says Chris Rainger. "Just drop in, and stay for as long as you want."

• Exhibition commemorating the men of Fishergate and Fulford who gave their lives in the 1914-18 war, York Cemetery Chapel, 10am-4pm tomorrow.

Copies of the three books published by the Fishergate, Fulford and Heslington local history group, detailing the lives of all 86 men from the Fishergate and Fulford area who died in the war, will be available priced £7 each, or £20 for all three. The books can also be ordered via the history group's website www.FFHYork.weebly.com

The Fishergate and Fulford heroes of 1914-1918

The men of Fulford and Fishergate who gave their lives in 1914-18 included brothers, husbands, sons, fathers; shopkeepers, pub landlords, rope makers and linotype operators.

Here we have room to pay tribute to just a few of them, courtesy of the Fishergate, Fulford & Heslington local history society. Images of the men come from the King's Book of Heroes at York Minster...

The Addy Brothers

Arthur Addy and his brother Joseph. From the King's Book of Heroes at York Minster

Arthur Addy and his younger brother Joseph grew up in Alma Terrace. When he was 23, Arthur married Mary Elizzie Earnshaw, and the couple went to live in Bolton on Dearne, near Rotherham. Arthur, a miner and father of four, enlisted with the York and Lancaster Regiment on September 21, 1914, aged 32. He was killed in action at Ypres on July 7, 1917 - just six days after his brother, Joseph, was killed Vermelles, probably during the ferocious battle for Hill 70.

Joseph, who was 32 when he died, had worked at Rowntree before the war, and lived with his wife Ada first in Alma Terrace, in a home near the one where he grew up, and later in Union Terrace.

Arthur and Joseph's father William survived his sons by many years, dying on December 13, 1932, aged 80.

George and Ernest Britton

George Britton. From The King's Book of York Heroes at York Minster

George and Ernest were half-brothers. George was born in Naburn, the son of market gardener William Britton and his first wife Charlotte. Ernest was William's son by his second wife Helena, and grew up in Main Street, Fulford, where the family had moved by 1901. He was 11 years younger than his half brother.

George, an electric tram driver, married Edith Thornton in 1907 and the couple went to live in Levisham Street, York, then later Alma Terrace. He enlisted with the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1914. His battalion was involved in some of the earliest battles of the war, at Le Cateau, Marne and Messines. We don't know exactly when he was injured, but he died of his wounds on December 13, 1914, at the age of 32, and is buried at a military cemetery in Armentieres.

Ernest, who was much younger than his half brother, enlisted with the 27 Field Ambulance of the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was wounded during the Battle of the Somme, and died on July 19, 1916, aged 21. He is buried at Dive Copse cemetery, Sailly-le-Sec.

Herbert Hick

Herbert Hick. From the King's Book of Heroes at York Minster

Herbert was born in 1895, the son of blacksmith Frederick Hick and grandson of veterinary surgeon William Hick. He grew up in Main Street, Fulford, and later lived at Prospect View.

By 1911, aged 16, he was working as a linotype operator. He enlisted in York as a Gunner with the Royal Garrison Artillery, and was posted to the front with his unit in June, 1916. A photograph of him in uniform shows a fresh-faced young man with a hint of cheekiness in his features.

He was killed at Poperinge in Belgium, dying of his wounds on February 11, 1917, aged just 20 (or possibly 22, depending on the source). He is buried at the Lijssenthoek military cemetery in Poperinge.

Reginald Bell

Reginald Bell. From the King's Book of Heroes at York Minster

Reginald was born on April 20, 1895, at 17 Cemetery Road, York. He was the son of York policeman Alfred Bell and his wife Margaret Ann.

The family moved to Skipsea for a while, but by 1911 were living at the police station in Heslington Lane, Fulford, where Alfred was now a police sergeant.

Reginald joined the Royal Navy and became an Able Seaman. He saw active service on the battleship HMS Canada, which took part in the famous Battle of Jutland. Reginald survived active service, but tragically died of a 'disease' at the HMS Victory Royal Navy barracks in Portsmouth on June 1, 1918, aged 23. The history society's researches haven't turned up what this mysterious disease was, but it is surely not impossible that it may have been the Spanish Flu, which claimed so many millions of lives between 1918 and 1920.

Reginald is buried in Fulford Cemetery. The inscription on his headstone reads: "Reginald Alfred Bell, Able Seaman RN... HMS Victory and HMS Canada."