THE grandson of a First World War soldier killed in Northern France has spoken of his moving trip to visit his grave.

Arthur Wheeler, from Richmond, travelled to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery at Merville to pay tribute to his grandfather Charles F Wheeler of Tower Street, Richmond, who died in March 1915.

He had been serving with the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment in Merville which was the scene of fighting between the Germans, French and British cavalry early in October 1914, before becoming the headquarters of the India Corps in 1915 and later a billeting and hospital centre.

Mr Wheeler said the cemetery now contains 1,268 Commonwealth graves from the First World War, as well as 12 French war graves.

He said:”It was a moving experience to see all of the headstones, perfectly lined up, the grass cut and smartly trimmed. We took about five minutes to locate my grandfather, we had an idea where it was from a printout we took with us.

“We placed a small plant pot of white roses in front of the headstone.

"The graves of the soldiers were from many different county regiments, not just the Yorkshire Regiment.

"For anyone with a relative lying in a 'foreign field' we would recommend a visit."