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Pte William Taylor (centre back) at the start of the war.

Saved by pictures of his loving family...

An amazing tale of a heroes lucky survival through the entire First World War has been uncovered after his family revealed his remarkable tale to a local history group.

Photos of loved ones that saved a soldier's life by stopping a piece of shrapnel aimed for his heart have come to light - complete with the holes the fragment left behind.

Private William Taylor kept the nine pictures of his family in his wallet in his breast pocket during the entire four years of World War One.

In a remarkable quirk of fate he survived a battle which left three quarters of his regiment dead or injured thanks to the stack of photos which took the impact of a shell blast.

The projectile pierced the outer layer of his leather wallet and perforated eight of the nine photos.

Luckily, the last picture of his younger sister Lilly stopped the fragment from going any further.