A De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) project is hoping to identify hundreds of Leicestershire soldiers who fought and died in a ferocious First World War battle.
The ambitious scheme aims to preserve the memory of nearly 500 men from the Royal Leicestershire Regiment who were tragically killed at the Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt on 13 October 1915 - 100 years ago this year.
Based on a collaborative web page called Historypin, the project allows people to upload photographs, documents or any information about the soldiers, building a detailed portfolio of the men.
The webpage also features a map, which is slowly filled with pins as the addresses of each soldier are added to the site, allowing visitors to see the geographic area from which the regiment drew.
So far, the project leaders have added biographical details to around a dozen soldiers on the site but are appealing to the public to get in touch with their information to help identify other members of the regiment.
Nick Higgett, Course Leader in MA Digital Design, who helped put the project together, said: "This was one of the fiercest battles in WW1 and it had a major impact on Leicester with around 500 soldiers and officers killed in one day.
"Many of these soldiers were recruited at barracks I believe that used to exist on what is now the Hugh Aston Building on the DMU campus.
"We want to make sure the memories of who these soldiers were is preserved and this site is a really collaborative approach: we need people to come forward and help fill in the blanks to create a record of the bravery of these men."
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The Hohenzollern Redoubt was a small hillock on the German front line defended with machine guns and affording good views and a strategic advantage
Over two days, the redoubt was fought over by German and British forces, with little resulting strategic advantage gained by either side.
For Leicester, however, the events were devastating. On one day nearly 500 young men were killed. The majority served in the 1st/4th Battalion, a territorial battalion with an average age of 21.
The battalion consisted mainly of local boys between the ages of 17 and 23, many of whom were recruited at the city centre Magazine barracks (now part of the De Montfort University campus on the site of what is now the Hugh Aston Building).
The project is a collaboration between DMU, the Royal Leicester Regiment and the Leicester Mercury.
Can you help identify any of the fallen heroes? Or do you know anything about the battle or those who fought in it? Contact Nick Higgett at nph@dmu.ac.uk
Posted on Tuesday 20 October 2015