Residents from an Abingdon street are paying a special poppy tribute to soldiers who fought in the First World War.

The town’s Poppy Appeal organiser Clare Oldfield invited members of the Army Cadet Force to find out about the young troops from Exbourne Road who enlisted to go to France.

The cadets conducted research about the soldiers from the street and then presented their findings.

They also gave residents giant plastic poppies to display in their windows in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday. “Doing the research was very interesting,” said Ewan Priscott, 18, from Radley.

“It was amazing to discover how the soldiers were so young when they went to fight.”

The Abingdon Army Cadet Force’s Detachment Commander Jayne Squire said cadets spent hours researching the project and first presented their findings at the Exbourne Road street party in the summer.

The youngest of the men to be killed from the street was 21-year-old Richard Thouless, a Private in the 6th Royal Berkshire Regiment, who was killed on July 1, 1916. He lived at Number 23.

At Number 13 five men signed up - Harry, Frank and Tom Payton and Arthur and William Westbrooke.

Harry, who was in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, did not return home.

The town’s Royal British Legion is on the corner of Exbourne Road and Spring Road.

Ms Oldfield said: “I thought it would be so powerful to focus on just one street – it was just a small part of the war but it made a massive contribution.”

Exbourne Road is a street of 31 houses and when the call came for men to sign up 34 came forward.

They joined the Royal Berkshire Regiment, The Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Fusiliers, the Royal Engineers, the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, field and Royal Garrison artilleries and Hampshire regiment.

Six were never to return, a further eight were wounded, and 20 made it back home.