First World War search

Most, if not all, of us will have a relative who fought for king and country in World War One. The sacrifices made by those men from towns and villages across Cumbria will never be forgotten. Now, a new archive is helping people in our region find their forefathers.

Sue Gallagher, of Port Carlisle and Sue Yardley, of Carlisle, spent almost two years compiling a list of about 22,000 names from editions of The Cumberland News between 1914 and 1919. With the help of history librarian Stephen White, they've compiled the first centralised index in the county. It lists the names of soldiers, sailors, airmen and medics who went to war mentioning those injured, missing or killed, prisoners of war and those who were given awards such as the Victoria Cross.

But this is just the start - and we need your help to improve and grow the searchable archive. We want to add in more names and details - and we really want to add the stories behind the names. Can you tell us what happened to a relative? Can you fill us in on the background of a serviceman from your town or village? Do you know people who have not been included? Send the details, together with your name and telephone number (which will not be published) and any images, to ian.brogden@cnmedia.co.uk and we'll add them. The archive is raw data and we'll clean it up as omissions and corrections are submitted.