STOURBRIDGE war heroes are being remembered after a town history fan painstakingly researched the lives and service history of 54 men from the Old Quarter who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Old Quarter resident Karl Jones has devoted the last six months to finding out about the brave servicemen who lived in the area and went off to fight for their country during the First Word War.

Mr Jones came up with the idea for the Window on World War One project when he started thinking about whether anyone who lost their life in the war could have lived in his own house in Western Road.

He said: "I have a keen interest for local history and with the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One approaching I was really interested to research the lives of local men who had lived in the houses we live in today and went off to war.

"I focused my research on the Old Quarter as this is where I call home. Many of the streets are unchanged and it doesn’t take much imagination to visualise the streets as the men would have seen them.

"In researching all 54 men, I was amazed at how much information was available. Suddenly, they became real people who had lived in our houses and I wanted to do all I could to honour them as part of the 100th anniversary.”

Although Mr Jones did not find a fallen hero linked to his own house he did discover that a young man who lived across the street was killed at the age of 19 just before Armistice. More details about him and the other 53 men Mr Jones researched can be found online at https://karlosfandango.wixsite.com/oqww1.

As part of the project Mr Jones enlisted the help of borough artist Steve Field who has designed a poster to be placed in the windows of the homes where the men lived or where that's not possible in homes nearby - to help commemorate the war efforts of the brave soldiers as part of the 100th anniversary and share their stories with residents in the area.

Mr Jones said: "Most of the posters have now been distributed and the remainder will be out in the next few days.

"I would like to thank all the local residents who are supporting this project and agreed to place a sign in their window in honour of our local heroes.”

His project has even received praise from the Mayor of Dudley - councillor Alan Taylor - who said: "I would like to commend Karl in his efforts to honour some of the local men who went off to fight in the war.

"Their bravery should be remembered and Karl has done a wonderful job to ensure this is the case for future generations.

"People can come and pay their respects to all those who have lost their lives in war at our annual Remembrance Sunday service, which this year falls on the exact day that marks 100 years since the war came to an end.”