A FAMILY has discovered the grave of a long lost relative thanks to an initiative carried out by veterans.

Gunner Cecil Kershaw, from Stacksteads, died on August 17 1919 aged 22, 20 months after the hospital ship Rews, that was bringing him home, was torpedoed by the Germans in the Bristol Channel.

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He served in the Royal Marine Artillery and was being brought home after contracting exposure and pleurisy while in Northern Italy.

Peter Wood, his great nephew Peter, said: “I have been brought up hearing tales of my great uncle Cecil from my family and he is remembered on the war memorials in the cemetery in Bacup, at Waterbarn Baptist Church, at Tricketts Memorial in Waterfoot and the Mechanics Institute in Bacup.

“We knew he was buried in Bacup Cemetery but never knew where until now.”

The family were all very grateful to Haslingden-based charity Veterans In Communities who have worked throughout the year to locate and properly mark the graves of nearly 120 First World War soldiers.

Peter added: “This is a really moving project that the veterans have carried out and we are very grateful that there are people who care.”

Project co-ordinator was military musician Peter Webster who said he felt privileged to be able to reunite the Kershaw family with their relative’s last resting place.

He was contacted by Cecil’s great-nephew a month ago asking if his relative’s grave was on the list to be marked.

Peter said: “This is what this project is all about. It's a good feeling being able to reunite them and it was so nice being able to meet relatives of one of the soldiers.”

Many of the soldiers buried or remembered in Bacup Cemetery did not have gravestones, just a keystone bearing their initials and the number of their grave. Over time these had fallen, grass grown over and their last resting place left a mystery.

The project was funded by a Heritage Lottery Grant and has been carried out by volunteers from Veterans In Communities and the Prince’s Trust.