ON SUNDAY the country will pause to remember British soldiers who gave their lives in conflict.

Remembrance Sunday was dedicated to the memory of those killed in the First World War and wars since, but the day will also mark the end of a woman’s 15-year project to research the lives behind the names etched on a war memorial.

Karen Dennis has just finished writing a book which tells the stories of the 122 names featured on Billericay’s First World War memorial.

Sparked by an interest in history, Karen was also inspired by her great uncle Ted Hodges, who fought for the Royal Sussex Regiment in the Great War.

She said: “I became interested in the First World War by researching my own family history.

“It led me to the war memorial, where no one seemed to know anything about the men. There was just a list of names. What I found very sad was there seemed to be nobody left locally.

“For a town of this size there doesn’t seem to be many descendents of the men here.”

Karen used newspaper archives, Government records and birth, marriage and death certificates to reveal the men behind the names.

She found men of courage on the battlefield, others who had joined the fight after emigrating abroad, and the sadness experienced by families at home after learning of their loved ones’ fate.

Robert Johnson, from Little Burstead, died at 21, just seven months after enlisting with the Essex Regiment, where he held the rank of second lieutenant.

A wealthy man, Mr Johnson was educated at St John’s College, Oxford. Had he lived, he would have been the fourth Robert Johnson to live in Hope House mansion, which remains in the village today.

He was killed just south of Ypres, Belgium, the scene of several bloody battles during the war, after a stray bullet richoched into him after his regiment had captured a cottage.

He was one of 80 men from his regiment buried beside each other after the battle. Charles Culley was born and raised in Grays, before his family moved to Jacksons Lane, in Billericay.

At 21, Charles left for Australia where he became engaged and worked as a painter and decorator.

When war broke out, he enlisted with Australian armed forces as a field ambulance man. He was killed, along with another serviceman, when a bomb exploded as they tried to help a casualty from the battlefield.

Remembered in Billericay, Charles is also not forgotten in Toowomba, Queensland, where he never returned to marry his fiance.

Mrs Dennis, of Newlands Road, Billericay, said: “What I found was people from all different classes whose lives were cut short.”

The author said she waited 14 years to discover the story behind J Martin. The name turned out to be Joseph Martin, but it wasn’t until this year that Mrs Dennis tracked him down in a newspaper cutting.

She said: “I found a short notice in a newspaper to Mrs J Martin, from Billericay, informing her that her husband had been killed in action.

“I had been looking for him for 14 years and when I found him, I had the urge to stand up and start shouting. I had a real sense of achievement.”

Mrs Dennis managed to put the book together, entitled A Book of Remembrance for Billericay, despite battling ME for the past 17 years.

The building society and banking worker was forced to give up work as a result of her illness, and has devoted her time to tracking the memorial men ever since.

She has been supported by husband Steve, 53, but never got round to hearing the first-hand account of the Great War from her great uncle Ted Hodges.

He served with the Royal Sussex Regiment and survived the third battle of Ypres which began on July 31, 1917. Mrs Dennis said: “He was a young man of 18 when he enlisted and I knew him up until 1983.

“He spoke very little about the war, but I had always hoped to sit down with him and speak to him about it. That day never came and it was only when I became older that I started to look at his life.”

Mrs Dennis has travelled regularly to Ypres since her research began to visit the graves not only her great uncle, but also of the many other men who laid down their lives for their country.

A Book of Remembrance for Billericay costs £10 and is available from Mrs Dennis by calling 01277 655871, or from Pat and Peter Miller, in Mountnessing Road, by calling 01277 659206.

The book will be distributed to schools and libraries in the local area and copies will also be kept at the Cater Museum, in High Street, Billericay, and at the Essex Regiment Museum. Any profits will go to the Royal British Legion.