A HISTORIAN has traced three soldiers who served in the 10th Essex Regiment who will be honoured at the unveiling of a war memorial.

A new memorial to honour the regiment is set to be revealed for this year's Remembrance Day in France.

Many of the men who served in the 10th Essex Regiment were from Harwich and its surrounding villages in Tendring.

It was formed in Brentwood, in 1914 and was part of Kitchener’s Second New Army formed from volunteers and known as a fighting battalion.

The regiment fought in a range of battles between 1916 and 1918 including the Battle of the Somme and the Third Battle of the Scarpe.

Preux-au-Bois has been selected as an appropriate place to remember their losses and their success.

With this memorial to be inaugurated on November 11, exactly 100 years after the Armistice, there will be four Essex Regiment memorials in Northern France.

Barrie Sears, said: "I have identified some local men on local memorials that were killed serving with the 10th.

"There may be family members locally that may like to attend but did not know their relatives served in the 10th."

The three soldiers' names he found engraved on local war memorials included John Westrip, whose name is on the Dovercourt Co-op War memorial - which is now placed in the Redoubt Fort, in Harwich.

He also found Charles Lucas, and Alfred B Lucas' names engraved on Little Bromley's War Memorial.

If you had a relative serve in the 10th Essex Regiment or would like more information on the new memorial email Barrie Sears on bazsears@hotmail.com.