VILLAGERS have celebrated the completion of a hugely-successful research project into the lives of men from the community who served in the First World War.

Members of the Farnhill WW1 Volunteers Project spent two years studying details of the 68 men from the village who volunteered to serve their country in the conflict.

The initiative, which was supported with a £8,400 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, was sparked when a member of the local history group discovered a roll of honour in an old parish council minutes book.

The document – dating from February, 1916, just before the introduction of conscription – listed those villagers already serving with the forces or who had volunteered to join-up.

Project organisers then set about discovering what they could about the men’s lives before, during and after the war and how the village was affected by the conflict.

Graham Taylor, the project co-ordinator, said the scheme was a massive success and he stressed the importance of the lottery funding.

“It gave us the money we needed to carry out the research and bring the information together in one place,” he added.

“Thanks to the generosity of National Lottery players, our dedicated team has been able to produce a full set of detailed biographies and a range of articles about the village during the war and publish these on a dedicated website along with photographs, slide shows and family trees.”

The research included speaking to those volunteers’ family members who could be traced.

“It was immensely gratifying to find people who were willing to tell us about their family members and share information we could not have found elsewhere,” said Mr Taylor.

“Although some families continue to live locally, our search extended across the full length of the country and even abroad.

“We were fortunate enough to be able to exchange e-mails with the daughter of one of the WW1 volunteers who lives in Canada.

“Families showed us photographs and documents, as well as medals and artifacts, some of which they loaned to us for use in displays.”

One unexpected item that came to light during the venture was a First World War roll of honour which had been created by Farnhill Primitive Methodist Church.

The roll, long-feared lost or destroyed, was unearthed and given to the project as the chapel – which closed in 2015 – was about to be redeveloped.

Mr Taylor added: “The roll was in need of professional attention and we arranged for its conservation and digital restoration.

“The conserved original is now on permanent loan to the North Yorkshire county archive, in Northallerton, and a restored copy – showing how the roll would have looked at the end of the war – is on display at Kildwick and Farnhill Village Institute.

“From the very start, community involvement and sharing the information uncovered was an important aspect of the project.”

The initiative was launched with a Victorian lantern show, a type of entertainment which would have been familiar to the Great War volunteers. The village institute was packed for the event.

A range of displays and talks has since been held, and earlier this year project members helped out at Kildwick Primary School when it staged a WW1 study day.

The final public event was an exhibition, showing the results of the research, at the institute last month.

It was held on the eve of the Armistice Day centenary.

“Over 200 people attended and from feedback received on the day we know they found it very informative and moving and were appreciative of the amount of work behind it,” said Helen Moran, who helped organise the event.

“The exhibition was a great day for members of the project and we felt very privileged to be able to bring the stories of the WW1 volunteers back to the village.”

Findings of the project can be viewed at farnhill.co.uk/volunteers.

A digital archive is to be shared with libraries and a hard copy will be available at Keighley Local Studies Library.