Soldiers behind World War One graffiti in King's Lynn traced

A "wonderful" record left on the tower of King's Lynn Library during World War One has attracted the interest of researchers.

Soldiers posted to the Norfolk town as look-outs for Zeppelins engraved their names and service numbers on the sides of the bricks and stones at the top of the crenellated tower of the-then newly-built library.

Most of the men were from the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars (QOOH) and the Royal Bucks Hussars (RBH).

After the summer of 1916, the two regiments were posted to France, with most of the men fighting in the Battle of the Somme.

Librarian Kevin Hitchcock, who has researched the stories behind some of the names, said he wanted to preserve the wall for future generations.

He said: "In conjunction with the Oxfordshire Yeomanry Association, the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum and the Buckinghamshire Military Museum, we're hoping to make a joint bid for lottery funding to record the names and recreate the wall to make it accessible for museums and libraries everywhere.

"`This is their only memorial. It's a wonderful record of those men."