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Nearly 2,000 men from the Tynemouth area died fighting in World War One. A huge group of volunteers came together to research each death in, what is possibly, the biggest project of its kind in Britain. Using a street plan of the area from 1915-1916, and by placing a yellow dot on each house where there had been a death, they created a startling image of loss. It’s thought the loss of life in the area was about twice the national average partly because of a strong historic link with the armed forces, and because so many men died serving in the navy or on merchant ships. Silkeys Lane pictured is typical. In that short street, 8 men died. They were killed in all the major battles, Arras, Somme, Gallipoli and two died in POW camps. That loss was replicated in dozens of streets across the borough; hardly a family would have been unaffected Location: Silkeys Lane, North Shields, Tynemouth NE29 0JT Image shows a map of Silkeys Lane in Tynemouth with yellow dots representing war fatalities in 1915-16, courtesy of Woodhorn Museum Tynemouth World War One Commemoration Project Report presented by Joanna Lonsdale