THEY went missing in the heat of battle and never returned.

But the men who made the ultimate sacrifice in the battlefields of the Somme between July 1915 and March 1918 will never be forgotten.

Now the stories of over 200 of those brave men, including several from Tynedale, have been told in a fascinating new book.

Haydon Bridge authors Ken and Pam Linge have spent the past decade researching many of the 72,000 names on the Thiepval Memorial in Northern France, which commemorates those whose final resting places were never identified.

Missing But Not Forgotten is an insight into the men behind the names, the lives they once lived, and the thoughts they shared in letters written to loved ones from the front line.

It reminds us that they were not just hardened soldiers, but fathers, husbands, sportsmen, artists, labourers and gentry; who lived and fought in horrendous conditons.

The book recalls talented rugby player William Richard Thew, the only child of Philip and Dorothy Thew of Hexham.

Educated at the town’s Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, he was assistant Scout master of the Hexham Troop of Boy Scouts. He joined Lloyds Bank in April 1913 and worked in the branch at Collingwood Street in Newcastle.

William also played rugby for Tynedale, and is one of 49 members of the club who fell during the First World War, all of whom are commemorated on the club’s roll of honour. He is one of four Tynedale RFC members commemorated on the Thiepval memorial.

Others include John Wilfred ‘Wilf’ Robinson, a promising young solicitor who was studying for his final examination at the outbreak of war.

Having joined the 4th Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers in 1914, he became lieutenant and captain. He was shot dead while carrying out military observations in the trenches.

His eldest brother Francis, a major and second in command of the same regiment, wrote: “Wilf died today. He died in a way most of our lads have died, leading his men on to what we hear has been a victorious attack on the German trenches.”

William Braidford, a prominent member of the Tynedale rugby team for three seasons, died as a result of shellfire.

Weeks before his death, he wrote: “At present I am at a farm not far from the firing line.

“Our artillery was peppering away at the Huns and giving them a hot time.

“You would be surprised at the thousands of birds here which whistle all day long in spite of the guns roaring nearly all day.”

Last year, the Courant featured Ken and Pam’s research of the 56 men and one woman, named on Haydon Bridge’s war memorial.

Four of those Haydon Bridge casualties are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, killed during an attack on September 15, 1916; sergeant Benjamin Cuffe, lance sergeant Norman Charlton, private John Pearson Hutchinson and private James Edward Robinson.

On July 1, 1916, the Tyneside Scottish Battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers were played into action at La Boisselle by the pipers of the Tyneside Scottish Battalions.

The pipers were exposed to heavy fire, and were either killed or wounded as they took part in the fighting as bombers.

Those pipers, who proved an “inspiration to the men who followed them” included father-of-six Alexander Findley, of High Mickley.

More than 160,000 people each year visit the memorial at Thiepval, which was a peaceful village, boasting a sugar refinery and a fine chateau, before the German Army took advantage of its dominant high ground to control surrounding areas.

The Thiepval area was subject to sustained attack during a war which left the village in ruins. It was gradually rebuilt and is now occupied by about 200 people.

Ken and Pam have worked on many remembrance projects over the past 15 years, and are responsible for the creation and maintenance of a unique and ever-growing archive at the Thiepval Visitor Centre.

In 2012, they curated an exhibition on the Missing of the Somme at the Museum of the Great War, in Peronne, France.

Last year, they hosted an exhibition about Haydon Bridge’s fallen war heroes, as part of the village’s perfoming arts festival.

The authors’ royalties are being equally divided between The Royal British Legion and ABF The Soldiers’ Charity.

For more information visit www.pen-and-sword.co.uk