Seventy men from a North-East village lost their lives in the First World War. A book tells about their battles, their deaths and the families they left behind. Jim McTaggart reports.

HISTORIAN Kevin Richardson spent three years tracing the backgrounds and resting places of all the troops from Evenwood, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, who died during the First World War.

He covered more than 6,000 miles on trips to Norway, Italy, France and Belgium to study battle sites and military cemeteries. He visited regimental offices in London, York, Lincoln, Richmond, Carlisle, Doncaster, Durham and Manchester to inspect records.

Mr Richardson said his 338- page book, Evenwood Remembers, is a tribute to the 67 soldiers and three sailors who died, as well as all the others who served their country.

The youngest casualty was Ralph Heaviside, a former colliery worker who was 18 and in the Northumberland Fusiliers when he was killed at Flanders in September 1918. He signed up soon after his uncle, William Heaviside, 31, a hairdresser, died while in the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) attacking German lines near Loos, armed only with a trench club.

The oldest victim was William Gray, an Evenwood councillor and secretary of a troops’ welfare fund before he joined the Royal Field Artillery at the age of 38. He was married with four children.

“He did not have to go to war, but felt he should volunteer,”

said Mr Richardson.

Mr Gray was 40 when he was gassed and sustained fatal wounds at Flanders in July 1918. He was described at a church service as “a great man – far greater than he ever realised”.

His grandson, John Deighton, became deputy head of Staindrop Comprehensive School.

The first Evenwood man reported killed was Corporal Herbert Dixon, 32, a painter at Randolph Colliery before he joined the Border Regiment.

He was shot by a sniper at Armentieres in October 1915, leaving a wife, Rose, and two sons.

Mrs Dixon received a letter saying her husband was respected by all his comrades and died quickly after being hit. He was buried in France, near the Belgian border.

The last to die in action was Private Thomas Davis, who was 20 and with the Northumberland Fusiliers when killed in the Battle of Sambre, France, on November 4, 1918, only a week before the Armistice. Another soldier who fell there that day was Wilfred Owen, the poet.

Two Evenwood troops who died after the Armistice were Private Fred Purvis, 25, who passed away in a German prison camp that December; and Private John Maughan, 30, of the DLI, who succumbed to wounds in January 1919 and was buried in his home village.

The only officer among the 70 victims was Lieutenant Thomas Applegarth, son of a farm worker, who went to Darlington Grammar School and then gained a BA degree at Cambridge University before becoming a schoolmaster.

He was serving in the DLI when he was wounded and captured. He died aged 24 in a German prison camp.

Mr Richardson, a planner with a building firm and a former member of Teesdale District Council, spent thousands of pounds on his book.

“The money does not matter,”

he said. “I felt all these men should be remembered.

They were all heroes.”

The three Royal Navy men who died were serving on ships sunk during the Battle of Jutland in the summer of 1916. Able Seaman John Wren was on HMS Black Prince, while Ordinary Seamen Andrew Lynas and William Carrick were aboard HMS Ardent.

Four of those who died were awarded the Military Medal for Gallantry. They were Sapper Arthur Atkinson, 22, Sapper Herbert Wardle, 20, Sergeant Thomas Simpson, 27, and Private Oliver Rushford, 24.

A fifth soldier, Sergeant John Richardson, 28, was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

The book was launched at the weekend at a function at which the Reverend Jane Grieve, of Cockfield, read out all 70 names.

Evenwood Remembers is on sale at £12.99 at the newspaper shop in the centre of Evenwood, or from Mr Richardson at 10 Alexandra Terrace, Evenwood, DL14 9QN, or call 01388- 832060, or email kevinrichardson205@btinternet.com