British army records relating to the 1916 Rising and the War of Independence have been opened to the world in one of the most ambitious online projects for family researchers and historians.

Carved into the simple obelisk commemorating the fallen are the names of five sons of Margaret and John McDowell Smith.

The youngest Briton to fight in the First World War was just 12 years old — but Sidney Lewis’ identity remained a secret for almost a century until the chance discovery of faded documents revealed his extraordinary story.

THE man who helpedto establish the BritishSecret Service and provided the inspiration for James Bond’s boss in Ian Fleming’s books is at last being honoured in the county of his birth.

I WISH to congratulate you on your anniversary review of the Battle of the Somme (Irish Examiner, June 27-29).