HUNDREDS of people across Darlington have supported a special project to remember the town’s fallen heroes of World War One.

More than 1,100 young men from the town died on the battlefields during the First World War and ‘A Poppy for a Soldier’ invited local people to find out more about an individual soldier and label a poppy in his memory.

Launched at Darlington Library’s Centre for Local Studies in October, the project saw hundreds of knitted and crocheted poppies donated by local crafters, while local historian Stephen Nicholson has played a key role in developing the project.

Using resources at the Centre for Local Studies and the National Archives, Mr Nicholson has recorded the names, addresses and occupations of each of the men who died.

Wherever possible, he has also included a photograph of the man and an extract from the relevant battalion’s war diary written on the day of his death.

Already hundreds of people have taken part, ‘naming’ a poppy to go on display in the library – many of them remembering family members others just choosing a soldier’s name at random.

The poppies will then remain on display until the end of November and Mandy Fay, senior library officer, said:

“It’s wonderful that so many people have already taken part in the project – it’s a wonderful way to remember those who died.

“We’ve heard some poignant stories and memories from people who have come to remember family members; it’s really been quite moving.

“We’ve also had a lot of people take part who had no personal connection to the soldiers, but who wanted to pay their respects.”