Fermanagh Genealogy Centre are hosting a 'Bring and Tell' event for its community project about the Back Streets of Enniskillen, also known as the 'Dardanelles', with the hopes that people with family from the area will come along and share their history.

This Saturday (November 27), members of the public are invited to meet at Fermanagh House at 1.30pm and bring along any memorabilia; photos, medals etc related to the Back Streets.

Maurice Spillane, a member of the Spillane family who lived on the Back Streets, the Dardanelles, and lost young men during the First World War, will share his family's stories during the event and others are invited to do the same.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter this week, Frankie Roofe, Chair of Fermanagh Genealogy Centre said: "We are asking people to come along and bring their memorabilia attached to their family circle from the First World War period.

"We've already been in contact with quite a few families who have links to the old streets," he said

Frankie went on to explain that during the battle of the Dardanelles, 64 young men from the Back Streets lost their lives during that period in time.

"That's when the old streets of the town took on the then special name of the Dardanelles because of so many young men killed in it but it then became a bit of a derogatory name for the streets," he said, adding: "It really was about the amount of young men from that area of the town that were killed."

Therefore, Fermanagh Genealogy Centre, with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, are creating a memory map.

"We're identifying the houses that these families lived in during that period of time. Each of the soldiers war history will be put on to the dot on that house, for their memory," said Frankie, who himself grew up on the Back Streets, on Strand Street.

"My great grandfather, Edward Roofe fought in the First World War as well, he joined the Inniskilling Fusiliers to start with, and immediately transferred into the Engineers. He had boating experience so it must have had something to do with boating," he said.

Talking about the upcoming 'Bring and Tell' event, Frankie said: "There's a whole lot of stories about the different happenings and what happened after the war. What people done and what kind of employment they got into, if any employment at all, which was very difficult for them.

"They'll be talked about on Saturday with the people there on Saturday too," he added, noting that on the day there will be a display of medals, both of men who survived it and died in battles.

"We're really looking forward to the event, we're really looking forward to meeting people and sharing their stories and their history and their memorabilia so we'll be recording it and it will all play its part in this memory map."