A VILLAGE will commemorate its First World War sacrifices with an exhibition and church service.

Members of St Peter’s Church, in Byers Green, near Spennymoor, will stage the three-day event to pay tribute to the men and boys who lost their lives in the conflict.

John Cartwright, a retired squadron leader who lived in Byers Green when his father Rev Richard Cartwright was rector from 1940 to 1949, researched the names on the village war memorial and compiled his findings on a DVD.

That inspired the church congregation, mostly members of its craft club, to find out more and to collate personal items for an exhibition.

One of the organisers, Hilary Dryden, said: “We wanted to do justice to John’s efforts and to the people affected by the war, the centenary is such a huge occasion that we have to mark it and don’t want their sacrifice forgotten.

“Once we started we discovered all sorts about people connected to the village and found people had all sorts of items that we’ve been able to learn about and include in the exhibition.”

Mrs Dryden and her sister, Jennifer Harbour, learnt that their great uncle John Tulip, of the Hampshire Regiment, was killed in action in France in 1981, aged just 31.

Through the research they unearthed details of his life and death, photographs and a sweetheart cushion he made while in hospital recovering from a shot to the wrist.

The exhibition will also feature a bronze medal, known as a Dead Man’s Penny, which was presented to the family of Henry Lightfoot Hetherington whose family still live in nearby Newfield.

The church will be open tomorrow (Saturday) from 10am to 4pm and on Sunday, noon to 4pm.

On Monday it will open at 10am until about 4pm when it will host a special service followed by an act of remembrance at the cenotaph.

Monday’s service will feature a parade of local standards and dignitaries, veterans and community groups have been invited.