FIRST World War heroes have been honoured in the street names on a new housing estate.

Soldiers from West Oxfordshire are commemorated on the signs at the new Brize Meadow development in the village.

The plates were unveiled in a ceremony on Remembrance Sunday attended by parish councillors and some of the descendants of the men who lost their lives.

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Parish council chairman Wendy Way said: “Brize Norton Parish Council and our village community are very proud to be able to honour the memories of the 18 Brize Norton men and boys – I say boys because two of them were just 19 years old – who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Oxford Mail:

"We are extremely grateful to West Oxfordshire District Council and Bloor Homes for allowing us to approach the descendants of these men to obtain permission to use their family names to identify the streets in Brize Meadow.

"We hope the new residents of Brize Norton will be proud to have these street names as a permanent memorial which will become part of our village heritage."

The new streets are:

• Castle Mews – in memory of Private Harold Castle, who died 22/6/1917, aged 23

• Garratt Place – in memory of Private William Joseph Garratt, who died 6/8/1915, aged 22

• Upstone Way – in memory of Private Jack S Upstone, who died 10/9/1917, aged 23

• Blackwell Drive – in memory of Private Albert Edward Blackwell, who died 25/4/1917, aged 23

• Godwin Row – in memory of Private Henry Frederick Godwin, who died 15/9/1915, aged 19

• Wilkins Close – in memory of Private Albert J Wilkins, who died 28/4/1917, aged 24

Oxford Mail:

• Timms Lane – in memory of Private Percival L Timms and Lance Corporal Marcus John Timms, who died on 28/5/1918 and 27/4/1916, aged 19 and 24 respectively

• Faulkner Place – in memory of Private Albert Faulkner and Acting Bombardier Arthur Faulkner, who died on 3/5/1917 and 8/8/1917, aged 25 and 22 respectively

• Parker Close – in memory or Leading Seaman William Parker, who died on 15/8/1918, aged 29

• Bellenger Way – in memory of Lance Corporal Ernest Bellenger, who died 5/7/1916, aged 26

• Archer Place – in memory of Private Charles Henry Archer, who died 16/5/1915, aged 36

Andrew Winstone, planning manager at Bloor Homes, added: "We are very pleased to be able to play a part in helping to honour the young men from Brize Norton who died in the Great War.

"The naming of our streets after those soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice is a wonderful initiative by the parish council and one that we are delighted to support.

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"In due course we will see more street names appear within the next phase of the development as a permanent tribute to these young men.

"In the spirit of building communities, we would very much like to encourage people to visit the village to see the war memorial outside the church and the recreation ground to see the commemorative plaque.

"This would be a nice way to help connect our residents to the wider Brize Norton community."