A ROLL of honour listing the names of all the men and women from Kidderminster who died in combat since the late 19th century has been created.

Kidderminster War Memorials Conservation Trust carried out the project, which details around 900 individuals who gave their lives in conflicts including the Second Anglo-Boer War, the Great War, the Second World War and fighting in Afghanistan.

The names have been preserved in a book, written in calligraphy and specially bound, at a cost of almost £5,000.

Ken Stokes, chairman of Kidderminster War Memorials Conservation Trust, said: “These heroes gave their all to protect and preserve what we have in our country today and they could not have done any more than that.

“Some of them went through hell before they were killed and we hope this project will show our respect and pay tribute to their names.”

The roll of honour will be blessed and dedicated at a special morning service at St Mary and All Saints’ Church in Kidderminster on Sunday, August 3 at 10.30am.

William Bennett, one of the conservation trust’s trustees who fought in Normandy, will carry the roll of honour to the altar during the service, while the Mayor of Kidderminster, Mike Price, and members of the Royal British Legion will also be present.

Mr Stokes added: “Members of the public are invited to attend and we would like to have a large congregation in order to pay our respects in a fitting manner.”

After the service the roll of honour will be displayed on an oak stand in the church and every day a page will be turned.

Kidderminster War Memorials Conservation Trust, a registered charity which was set up in 2002, exists to repair, maintain and restore war memorials in the town.

It raises money through grant funding and events such as bag-packing and has improved the war memorials at St Mary and All Saints’ Church, Kidderminster Cemetery and Hoobrook in the past.