At 11am on November 11, 1918, the guns of the Great War were at last silenced.

But they still echo across Oxfordshire and the rest of the world to this day. In a series of special reports for the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day next week, Debbie Waite tells the stories of some of the men who fought for King and Country.

We begin with the story of 18-year-old William Godfrey, who kept diaries throughout the conflict – even while in German hands as a prisoner.

In 1914, the Godfrey family of Fairacres Road, Oxford, were like many other people of their time – hard-working, loyal to their family and by no means warriors.

William, Frank and Harold, the three oldest of four sons, had no thoughts of the horrors to come.

But when Great Britain went to war in August 1914, to defend neutral Belgium from German invasion, they, like millions of others, were ready to do their bit.

The second oldest son, William, upon leaving school, had taken a job as a grocer's assistant at Smart & Faulkner's in Magdalen Road.

William's son, Ray, 84, who lives in Iffley, said: "My father could not enlist for active service until he was 18. But he did this as soon as he could, in February 1916.

"My father and his brothers believed, like most, that the war would be over by Christmas, but they were all to serve their country for many years in the conflict."

William Godfrey became a signaller with the Royal Warwick-shire Regiment. His job involved going over the top of the trenches to mend broken telephone wires.

In 1917 he was captured, and forced to live on meagre rations until the German surrender a year later.

Despite the hardships, the young soldier managed to record his thoughts in a diary.

After the war, William was transferred to the reserve force.

Like all those who served in the war, he received a personal letter from King George VI, thanking him for his service.

But William was one of the lucky ones.

More than 12,000 young men, from the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, the Oxfordshire Hussars and the Berkshire Regiment never returned home, leaving their loved ones with only postcards and posthumous medals to mark their sacrifice.

Those who did return often refused to talk of what they had seen.

Ray Godfrey said: "My father and his brothers would never discuss what they saw or did during the war. I believe they saw such horror that they could not and would not bring themselves to talk about it, and I suppose I respected that.

"When I prepared to fight in the Second World War, I know my father would have stopped me if he could and when I was eventually put on reserved occupation, I knew he was relieved.

"I didn't get to read his diaries until they became mine after his death. It was only then that I knew what had kept him silent about what he had seen for all those years."

Mr Godfrey has written a book called The Oxford Kid and Family, about his father’s exploits.

It costs £5.99 and is available by calling 01865 716859.