Islington Council received £85,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to create the online map containing the names and addresses of those with an Islington connection.

The map continues the borough’s unique contribution to the memory of those who lost their lives in the First World War, following the innovative The Streets They Left Behind heritage project – where the names of Islington soldiers are marked with plaques on the borough streets where they lived.

Users will see the soldiers’ former homes marked by a poppy on the map, and can access details about their military action during the war, and their last resting places.

Whereas the devastation on the front lines is well documented, the aim of the project is to highlight the impact on the communities back home, and remember the soldiers’ great sacrifice.

It will be an invaluable resource for schools and other groups wishing to study the impact of the First World War on their immediate localities.

Cllr Janet Burgess, Islington Council’s executive member for health and wellbeing, said: “Whole communities were tragically ripped apart by the War. This poignant project will be a lasting, online legacy for residents to engage with the stories of the people who left Finsbury and Islington to serve in the First World War and did not return home.”

John Shepherd, Project Manager of The Streets They Left Behind, says: “There is no doubt that the stories of the loss of these men in so many theatres of war around the world is a terrible thing to consider, and should be remembered, but the real impact of their loss was felt in their homes in Finsbury and Islington.”

The Streets They Left Behind plaques were launched on 4 August 2014. These are in the process of being installed, to be completed by June 2015. One hundred plaques are currently in position.

Islington has marked the First World War centenary with a series of walks and talks about the conflict, and will be holding a new Islington during the First World War exhibition at Central Library. This documents the events in the borough during the four-year conflict and tells the story of how residents experienced life on the home front.

The interactive map can be accessed at The Streets They Left Behind page on Islington Council's website.

Notes to editors 

• Details of Islington’s First World War centenary commemoration events can be found at Islington Council's First World War Centenary page
• Islington's long association with the armed forces goes back over 500 years when the British Army's oldest serving regiment, The Honorary Artillery Company, arrived in the borough
• It continues today with Islington's Community Covenant, setting out the highest standards of welfare and support afforded to returning personnel and their families
• Islington teamed up with University of Osnabruck's Professor Christoph Rass for its First World War heritage project, using a 'street-by street' based research methodology to learn about the affect recording the history and heritage of the First World War in Islington