A PETERSFIELD historian and author says the “fluke” discovery of a relatives World War One grave a 100 years after his wife was only told he was missing in action has laid to rest a family mystery.

Iain Leighton (65) of St Peters Court says the unexpected news the grave of his great uncle Sergeant Charles Leighton had been found had been very emotional.

Iain said: “For all these decades we heard about how brave Charles had been, and we have all always been immensely proud to have a relative who gave his life for our country.

“For 30 years after his death and until she moved in 1946, my great grandmother kept her son’s bedroom as he had left it.

“She never got over his death, and his name is engraved on her own grave stone, and reads: ‘Also remembering our son, Sergeant Charles Leighton who was killed 1st July 1916’.

“And now to find we can go an pay our respects and learn more about him and who his friends were that he died alongside, it was very emotional.”

Sergeant Leighton of the Gordon Highlanders died in action on July 1, 1926, near the small French village of Mametz during the infamous Battle of the Somme.

His parents on the family farm at Banchory near Aberdeen were told he was missing presumed dead, and as a consequence it was likely he would never receive a final resting place.

The surprising news his grave had been found came after Iain learned friends were planning to visit the cemetery where about 100 Gordon Highlanders are buried.

Hoping to learn more about those who fought on the Somme, Mr Leighton asked if they could find out anything about the regiment his great uncle had enlisted in as a 21-year-old.

Their response was completely unexpected; they had found Charles headstone in the small well-tended cemetery.

Iain said: “It was all a bit of a fluke really. None of us thought to look for him, as it’s not known where thousands of Allied soldiers who fought in the Battle of Somme are buried, we assumed he was one of them.”

Mr Leighton also plans to visit the Gordon Highlanders Museum in Scotland - which he will present with a small watercolour in his great uncle’s memory which he painted after viewing the “inspiring” poppy installation held at the Tower of London.

He said: "It’s not just about my great uncle, it’s about all those men who died on that day in that horrific bloodbath, that massacre.

"They must never be forgotten."