The Tamworth Herald is celebrating further success in its campaign to get recognition for a local war hero.

Visitors to at the Tamworth Beer Festival couldn’t get enough of the new range of Colin Grazier ales and drank more than 4,000 pints of it over the weekend.

One brand, Two Gates Tributes, even carried off the prestigious title for best beer of the festival.

The range of beers was launched as part of the Colin Grazier Fund to honour the memory of a young sailor who made a vital contribution to the Allied war effort.

Colin Grazier is now recognised by historians as responsible for shortening the Second World War by a year after he retrieved vital Enigma codes from a German submarine. It was a mission that cost Grazier his life – but changed the course of history.

In recent months, the Tamworth Herald has been behind a number of projects aimed at honouring the young sailor’s achievements. A memorial sculpture is being built and the newspaper has commissioned a special commemorative plate.

The launch of Colin Grazier ales is a spin-off from these efforts and it seems to be the project which has captured the public’s imagination.

The range of tipples on offer include Enigma Variations, Grazier’s Glory, U-559 and Ale the Hero.

The Herald’s efforts to get greater recognition for Grazier also won them the Press Gazette Award for Best Campaign.

However, the newspaper aims to take it further. Reporter Linda Ram has already interviewed one of the survivors from the mission and now the Herald wants to track down the rest of the crew from that dramatic night.

Deputy editor Phil Shanahan has played a major part in the campaign and is chairman of the Memorial Committee.

He said: “The work of Colin Grazier is probably the greatest, but least-known, story of the Second World War. The Herald has been a driving force in getting recognition for a defining piece of world history.”

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