What's in a street name?

But do the people who live in the homes that line those streets have any idea where the names come from?

The post-war years saw housing estates pop up in scores of communities – and conflicts were a popular choice of name for council planners. The Express & Star has visited some of these streets and asked the residents whether they are aware of the significance of the names of the streets where they live.

Even if they did not know exactly how the road got its name, had they at least heard of Churchill, or Arnhem, or Waterloo?

The investigation has thrown up some interesting results – and shows that some people's grasp of Britain's history is stronger than others'.

While some were baffled by our questions, there was evidence that the majority of residents have at least given some thought to the name of the street where they live. Many councils have struggled to explain how and why streets within their towns and cities were named – saying decisions either pre-date their records or would have been 'generic' names given in the years after the Second World War.

However in Wolverhampton it has emerged that at least one estate included names relating to battles that men from the area had fought in, with road names including Arnhem Road, Alamein Road and Tobruk Walk.

Dudley's association with Oliver Cromwell is well documented, with the commander's troops said to have stormed the town's castle during the Civil War. However, this seems to have passed many residents by, though, and it appears historical tales such as this are not being passed down the generations.

Send pictures of your street names to Star Witness and let us know the meaning in the caption.

Dudley has famously named one of its busiest roads after iconic footballer Duncan Edwards, and council bosses say they are always keen to celebrate historical figures.

Councillor Khurshid Ahmed, cabinet member for transportation, said: "We go to great lengths to ensure that wherever possible leading figures from the borough and their work are celebrated, to highlight their place in history.

One of the ways we can do this is to name roads after them as a permanent reminder to their work and also their connections to the area.

"Many of the street names used are suggested to us by developers or they come as suggestions from our elected members, which we then consider against a set of criteria before agreeing to them.

"We hope that road names such as Duncan Edwards Way, John Corbett Drive and Shenstone Avenue and many others can go some way to help in celebrating our important historical figures."

Historians say that traditionally there is little significance behind the names chosen by town planners, with thousands of homes being built in the post-war years. But our investigation uncovers a concerning lack of awareness of this country's history, with many residents admitting they were not even curious about the origin of titles like 'Tobruk' or 'Arnhem' that were found in their street names.

In Walsall, people even thought the name Churchill came from a church being on top of a hill nearby.

It could be argued that there is a logic in this, but just weeks after the 50th anniversary of the death of the man who led Britain to victory over Hitler, many will be shocked by the responses that we got from people.

Sandwell

In the Second World War, Allied soldiers were evacuated from the beaches and harbour at Dunkirk in an operation since hailed as a 'miracle of deliverance'

A total of 338,226 soldiers had been rescued by a hastily-assembled fleet of over 800 boats.

Dunkirk Avenue in West Bromwich, a 1950s street populated with terraced and semi-detached houses, is thought to have been one of numerous streets in the Midlands named after battles without there being any particular significance.

But George Welch, 82, who served in the Royal Engineers, claims it has the name for a very different reason: "It is nothing to do with the war. It is because of the brewery that used to be here which was called Dunkirk. A lot of people think the name is because of the war but the brewery was here before that."

French commander Napoleon's defeat by the Duke of Wellington's men in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 is an iconic event in world history.

And it seems residents in Waterloo Street, Tipton, have heard of it – although they do not know why their road is named after it.

There was once a Waterloo Tavern there, but it is believed that took its name from the road itself.

Dudley

Legend has it that Oliver Cromwell fired cannons at Dudley Castle from the surrounding streets – which gave Cromwell Drive its name.

Historians have subsequently disputed this, arguing the guns at the time were incapable of causing damage from such a distance.

But it is true that Cromwell was locked in a battle in Cawney Hill in 1644, and used Kates Hill as his base against King Charles I.

Resident Tony Cartwright, aged 68, said: "I have heard the stories that this is where Cromwell cannoned the castle. That is why there are roads around here named after him."

The 18th century Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire was the birthplace of Winston Churchill, and has become a popular tourist destination. It was built as a reward to John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, for his military triumphs against the French and Bavarians during the War of the Spanish Succession, culminating in the 1704 Battle of Blenheim.

So is this where the name of Blenheim Road in Kingswinford came from?

Staffordshire

Oliver Cromwell may have a notorious role in Dudley's history, but his links to Staffordshire are less clear.

A tale was passed down the generations that two sisters were buried alive by Cromwell in the 1690s, next to St Augustine's Church on the edge of Cannock Chase.

But Cromwell had died in 1658.

Residents were unable to shed any light on the street name origins. Jane Rushton, 57, said: "We've only lived here for around a year or so but I'm not sure who Oliver Cromwell is to be honest."

Wolverhampton

The Battle of Arnhem was one of the Second World War's most famous conflicts, fought out in the Dutch town and its surrounding countryside between Allied forces and their German counterparts from September 17 to 26, 1944.

Resulting in a German victory, the battle is often cited as the last great failure of the British Army and has been immortalised in popular culture thanks to Cornelius Ryan's book A Bridge Too Far and Richard Attenborough's 1977 film of the same name. But despite all this some residents in Arnhem Road, Willenhall, are blissfully unaware of the significance of the name of the street where they live.

Lesley Briddle, who lives in the adjoining Moseley Road, said: "I grew up in Hill Road and now live just around the corner in Moseley Road.

"I knew growing up about the road being named after the battle of Arnhem.

"There are a lot of roads named after historical war events and figures around here, such as Alamein Road and Tobruk Walk" she added.

Splitting Arnhem Road and Alamein Road is Tobruk Walk, named in honour of the 241-day Siege of Tobruk that took place between April and November 1941.

It is perhaps the lesser known of the three conflicts name checked in Willenhall, but resident Jason Moran, 42, is fully aware of the historical significance of the street's name.

"I know Rommel was involved; the Desert Rats. History was my favourite subject at school, so I've always had a bit of an interest in that sort of thing."

Wolverhampton City Council spokesman Paul Brown said the roads were laid out some time after 1937, on land previously been mined for coal. Records show they were named in 1945 after 'enquiry as to the battles in which Willenhall men had won military honours', he said.

Walsall

All but one of 12 people who were approached knew of Winston Churchill, but some believed the street could get its name from Emmanuel Church which sits on a hill just off Churchill Road.