What's in a name is a matter of huge importance to two local historians.

They are aiming to set up an online database in a bid to trace families who may be linked through time - but separated by spelling! And all with a famous connection.

The search is on for people whose surnames are 'Battye', 'Batty', 'Baty' or any other spelling of the name.

And for Ian Clegg and Peter Middleton it is all in memory of the man who started the project.

Years of research by John Hanson Battye have been taken over by Ian and Peter.

The pair have outlined an idea to have scores of paper-based records of the names updated and transferred to an online format to make the painstaking research easier to access for anyone with an affiliation with the name - of course made famous by battleaxe Nora Batty in the BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine.

The tireless studies date as far back as the 1500s, which cites the names in early registers of the parish of Almondbury and Kirkburton, which includes the family of Upperthong's Richard Battye, who was born in 1515.

John, who died in January last year, emigrated to Canada in 1957 and in his retirement researched his Yorkshire family history, publishing two editions
titled The Battye Families on The Ancient Graveship of Holme.

Ian, who is from Holmfirth , said: "John's work is extraordinary and we have thousands of pages of work regarding the name with the 'e' on the end as well as other spellings.

"A part of understanding who we are is knowing where we come from. It started with John's attempt to find his great-great grandfather.

"So far we have transcribed about three-and-a-half sections, but we believe he has collated about 10,000 names in a 550-page document.

"It's a long project, but the next step is to have a dedicated website.

"There were two large families, one originating in Upperthong and the other in Scholes, and at the time the research began, Henry VIII was on the throne.

"It's apparent that Battyes and Battys are now all over the world, but it's also a name that's inspired numerous spellings whether it's Batti, Batte and Battie.

"To continue John's work, we thought it would be fitting to try to create a database so the research, which spans years and years, can be made accessible, but we also want to hear from anyone interested in finding out more."

Contact can be made using the email address  jhb@bleakhousefamilyhistory.co.uk  or by telephoning 01924 917414 (Bleak House Research Centre) and leaving a message and a contact number for someone to call back.