THE remains of a World War One soldier that were discovered in a shallow grave in Hallu, France nine years ago have been traced back to a Weymouth family.

In 2006, a 14-year-old boy discovered shell cases in his back garden and started to dig and exposed a shallow grave containing the remains of eight Canadian soldiers.

In September 2014 Canadian researchers announced they had successfully identified four of the eight bodies.

Anne Johnson, who lived on Portland until her move to France 16 years ago, received a phone call earlier this year informing her she was a living descendent of Private Lachlan McKinnon, one of the four bodies identified.

The four identified soldiers are to be given a military burial in France next month and will be buried alongside their comrades of the 78th battalion at the cemetery in Caix.

Mrs Johnson, who is now in her 70s, her daughter Andrea Hawkins, and her 13-year-old grandson Ethan Hawkins will be attending the burial.

Mrs Johnson has also been asked to provide words for the tomb of Private McKinnon

Andrea, 50, who lives in Weymouth said: "I have found the whole thing to be quite amazing - after all this time - and that the Canadians have gone to so much trouble to find the descendants.

"My mother was very surprised when she found out. I think it became a bit surreal as only a few months ago I had asked her if we had any relatives who fought in the war, as my youngest is currently learning about it all in school.

"I find myself surprisingly emotionally attached. I think it's just the magnitude of everything.

"It's not something that happens every day."

In August 1918, Hallu was a key village in the Battle of Amiens, which marked the beginning of the end of the First World War.

Five days of intense combat saw the death toll swell into the thousands.

Many of the fallen were never recovered and lay is shallow graves scattered across France.

Thousands of missing Canadian soldiers are listed at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, including Private McKinnon.

Private McKinnon was a Scottish butcher by trade, married to a woman from Glasgow and died on August 11, 1918.

What helped scientists identify Private McKinnon, alongside DNA, was the fact he had damaged his leg in a previous battle.

Andrea said: "The burial will also be an opportunity to speak to other families who have gone through what we have.

"It's incredible to think that we are going to the burial of someone, my great great uncle, who died nearly 100 years ago."

The four soldiers who have been identified will be given a military burial in May, while scientists do their best to solve the other half of the mystery and identify the other four men that shared their shallow grave for nearly 100 years.

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