RESIDENTS of all generations in a town are working on an exhibition which will show the lasting effect the First World War had on their community.

The event in Stokesley will mark the centenary of the war and will chart the social impact of the conflict on the town, as well as the fate of local residents sent to fight.

Stokesley Society History Group will run its exhibition at the town hall on May 16 and 17.

Local schools and current and former residents in the town are also contributing.

Community archaeologist Kevin Cale has been working with Stokesley Primary School, linking in the events of the First World War with events in the town.

Other students are helping create a digital map which will enable people to plot exactly where the Stokesley soldiers came from, where they fought and where they fell.

There will be a bring and tell area where people from Stokesley and surrounding villages can retell their families’ stories and bring in items from the era.

Kevin Burton, from the group, said: “We think it’s very important that Stokesley heritage looks beyond the end of the project. We must attract the interest and involvement of younger people as well.”

He said the exhibition will also show how the war shaped the town, which was little more than a village before the First World War.

Mr Burton said the Wynne Finch family, from The Manor House Stokesley donated land to the people of Stokesley in recognition of the sacrifice they had made. The manorial lands on which much of the town now stands are managed today by trustees on the parish council.

He said: “It’s not just a matter of loss. More than 50 people from such a small town actually died. Somewhere in the region of more than 200 people actually served and when they returned, they were the people who built the modern town.

“Very often the focus in World War One is about soldiers in trenches. I’m not going to decry that aspect at all – it’s a unique aspect of history.

"There’s been nothing like it before or since – but the social aspect of the war and the way it changed ordinary lives at home before and after is something we’re going to get across.”

He added: “The idea is not a glorification of the war; it’s a commemoration of an incredibly important historical event and the impact it had on ordinary people in an ordinary country town.”

Anyone wishing to get involved with the exhibition can leave a message on 01642-321253.