History group wants help to identify soldiers (From York Press)

History group wants help to identify soldiers

7:35am Saturday 12th January 2013 in News By Kate Liptrot, kate.liptrot@thepress.co.uk

Do you know anything about these men or this photograph, which was found inside a book in a York shop?

COULD you solve the mystery of the identity of these men?

The image – which was taken at a York photographic studio – was found inside a book in a city shop and has stirred the interest of a local history group who believe it could be of local men.

As the anniversary of the First World War approaches, the Tang Hall Local History Group is gathering information on the servicemen of Tang Hall, Heworth and Hull Road who lost their lives during the 1914 to 1918 war.

It is now asking for anyone who may hold clues to the identity of these men or any information about servicemen from the area to get in touch in order to help it build an archive and for a 2014 exhibition.

Ralph Peacock, who is helping to collate information for the group, said it was important to create such records.

He said: “It was one of the major wars in the history of the world and left a lasting impression. The repercussions resulted in the Second World War.

“I think in the months approaching August 4, 2014 (the 100-year anniversary of Britain declaring war on Germany), there will be even more interest in this kind of thing.”

An estimated 1,500 servicemen and women from York died while fighting in the First World War, hundreds of whom could have been from the Tang Hall, Heworth and Hull Road area, Mr Peacock said.

The group said that as well as appealing to local people for information, it will also consult the King’s Book in York Minster which lists 1,441 servicemen who died in the war. Six from the area are also known to have been buried in York Cemetery and one in Fulford Cemetery in Commonwealth War Grave Commission burial places.

The soldier in the centre of the picture is understood to have belonged to the West Yorkshire Regiment. It is thought the man on left was a member of the Royal Horse Artillery and the man on the right a member of the Duke Of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment. Initials written on the back of the picture are: AR, AP and TA.

People with information about residents of Tang Hall, Heworth and Hull Road who died while fighting in the First World War should contact Jane Burrows, 17 Oakland Avenue, Stockton Lane, Heworth, York, YO31 1BY or phone 01904 345942 or email tanghallhistory@gmail.com

Information about those who died during the Second World War would also be welcomed.