FALLEN soldiers from the First World War have been commemorated after students carried out detailed research into their stories for a Book of Remembrance.

Some 350 Old Boys from Sir William Turner’s School fought in the war, with 48 of them killed in service. During World War Two, there were 650 Old Boys who fought, 55 of them never returning home.

Now, each of them has a page dedicated to them, giving details of their home life before they left for war, their role in battle and how and when they died.

Among them is Old Boy John Duncan Stubbs, from Nunthorpe, who was a 15-year-old midshipman in the Royal Navy when war broke out.

In September 1914 his ship, HMS Aboukir, was torpedoed by a German U-Boat and, despite his own efforts to save other sailors’ lives, he himself was lost. He was the first and youngest of the Old Boys from the school to be killed.

Peter Chester, who is a trustee of the Sir William Turner Foundation and co-ordinator of the Remembrance Day service, worked alongside the students.

He said: “A lot of work has gone into producing the books so far, and although they look finished, this is really just the beginning.

“We have collated a great amount of information, but there is still so much more we would like to find out and new detail is coming to us all the time. We have even managed to make contact with some of the soldiers’ surviving relatives, who are coming to the service on Friday.

“What we have learned is that these young men in many ways were just ordinary lads who were living lives like people today, but they found themselves in extraordinary circumstances and they paid the ultimate price.”

Alex Conway, 20, has just completed the BTEC Level 3 Public Services course at the College and was one of those researching the fallen soldiers.

He said: “It’s great to finally see these dedication books come together after all of the hard work that we have put in.

“I personally researched three soldiers and during that time I actually felt that I really got to know them. What they went through during their short lives was horrendous and they should be remembered forever. They were all special.”

A Remembrance Service will be held in the college’s Higher Education Centre at 10.30am on Friday, (November 7).Members of the public are welcome to attend.