By Kirklees Armed Forces TV –

As the nation marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, one powerful local project continues to resonate with the community in Kirklees.

Photos on the Wall, a moving tribute to 34 young men from New Mill, Holmfirth, who never returned from the First World War.

Originally captured in a short documentary released in 2015, the film follows author Tom Ashworth as he shares the inspiration behind his book Photos on the Wall, named after the solemn display in the Memorial Room at New Mill Club.

These 34 framed photographs, largely unknown beyond local circles, depict the faces of young soldiers who died serving their country over a century ago.

The video brought together relatives, residents, and members of the Royal British Legion, some of whom made emotional discoveries about their own family links to the fallen.

One highlight featured a couple who found a photograph in a loft, a First World War portrait with no name, and were able to match it to one of the young men on the memorial wall.

Tom Ashworth’s mission goes beyond storytelling. He’s issued a heartfelt appeal to the public: Can you help trace the families of these 34 men?

By identifying relatives, Tom hoped to preserve their legacies and deepen the community’s understanding of its own wartime history.

“This is the First World War in a microcosm,” Tom reflects in the film. “It’s about individual stories. Every photograph here meant a house full of tears.”

The Memorial Room itself, quietly preserved since the early 1920s, has become a sacred space — a living archive of New Mill’s sacrifice.

As we commemorate the 80th Anniversary of VEDay, projects like Photos on the Wall remind us that remembrance is not just about global history, but about the lives lived and lost on our own doorsteps.