A RARE glimpse of men relaxing on the Home Front during the Great War is causing local historian Bill Lees a headache.

Mr Lees is trying to trace the men in the photograph so he can use it in his forthcoming history of the village of No Place, near Stanley, County Durham.

The group is posing outside the Red Robin Inn for the snap, thought to have been taken in the village at about 1916.

Mr Lees said: "We know the man on the right, mein host, was Patrick O'Grady.

"He was the landlord of the pub from 1915 to 1917, so that narrows it down a bit, but other than that, we have no idea who is with him. The men were almost definitely miners and would have worked the pits of Beamish Mary, Beamish Second and Twizell Gate."

The picture is one of 450 sent in by people from across the North-East, after The Northern Echo printed an appeal by Mr Lees.

He is trying to squeeze them all into his book, which has so far taken four years' research.

It concentrates on the history of No Place from about 1790 onwards and is expected to be in print early next year.

Anyone with anecdotes or photographs of interest for the book can contact Mr Lees on 0191-385 2641.