A DECORATED war hero is to receive recognition in his home town - 87 years after his death.

Second Lieutenant Walter Hall served with distinction throughout the First World War.

The man who, in civilian life, worked as a reporter on a newspaper in his home town of Middlesbrough, was mentioned in despatches for his bravery, fighting on the Western Front.

Initially enlisting in the Durham Light Infantry, he switched to the Green Howards, tragically dying of his wounds in a field hospital only days after the signing of the armistice in November 1918.

Mementos of Mr Hall's wartime service were yesterday handed over by Anne Roberts, his great-niece, to the Dorman Museum in Middlesbrough.

The items presented to the museum included two bound books of official citations, letters home from the front and a cigarette holder that stopped an enemy bullet.

Mrs Roberts said: "I hope these artefacts, which were handed to me by my father, Robert Hall, who, in turn inherited them from his father, who was Walter Hall's executor, will be studied by future generations of people from Walter's home town and also my home town."

The man behind yesterday's handover, Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Ashok Kumar, said: "I was thrilled when Mrs Roberts approached me at a scientific convention and told me about this material.

"I put the wheels in motion, as I think it essential that the home town of Mr Hall possess this material, which puts a human and local face on the story of the First World War.''

The presentation was attended by Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon. The mementos will be displayed for a few months in a glass case dedicated to Mr Hall's memory, before they are included in a general exhibition at the museum about the war that was supposed to end all wars.

Published: 26/02/2005