THE STORIES behind unique artefacts made by soldiers in the First World War trenches are being brought together for the first time.

Researchers at Newcastle University are working with Beamish Museum to compile the history of dozens of pieces of trench art – decorative items made from such materials as artillery shells and bullet casings.

Although there are examples of trench art from as far back as the Napoleonic Wars to the present day but it is more commonly associated with the First World War, the first industrialised conflict waged on a massive scale.

As a result, there was an increase in the amount of war-related debris and materials available.

These were then turned into decorative objects such as vases and rings, or items with a specific purpose such as clocks, cigarette lighters and matchbox holders, using whatever was to hand.

In the lead up to the centenary of the 1918 armistice, researchers want to know more about these items, the men who created them and the stories of what happened to them after the war, when many pieces of trench art were brought back from the front line and into homes across the region.

It is being carried out by Andrew Marriott, from the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at Newcastle University.

He said: “We want to find out how much trench art exists in the North-East, especially items that have a family story to tell. We want to know what happened to these items when the war was over.”

The information gathered will be used to create an online database of trench art.

More information visit http://www.beamish.org.uk/ww1-trench-art/.

Anyone who owns trench art that is associated with the North-East and would like to have it recorded as part of this project, should email trenchart@ncl.ac.uk