THE IDENTITY of an unknown soldier who died at the Somme has been uncovered almost 100 years later with the help of a North Yorkshire museum.

Staff at the Green Howards Museum in Richmond have been involved in the investigation to find out more about the soldier since October 2015 when they were contacted by the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre of the Ministry of Defence.

Human remains had been found in a field to the north-east of Martinpuich on the Somme, and the exhumation team believed the soldier was lying where he fell rather than a field burial; perhaps blown onto the side of a shell hole.

With the remains were three sets of Yorks shoulder titles and a very distinctive Territorial 5th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment shoulder badge.

Museum director Lynda Powell said: “So began a research quest that engrossed and compelled staff and volunteers. After all, what could be more worthwhile than giving our energy to giving a man a grave? We looked at events around Martinpuich between September 25 and 27, 1916. At first the task seemed nigh on impossible. Records showed some 34 men who were officially declared missing during these operations.”

The initial sift reduced the number of candidates to 12, and finally the JCCC could collect DNA from the femur of the remains to be compared to samples from next of kin of missing soldiers – and finally a match was found.

Private Henry Parker was born 1893 at Weaverthorpe near Scarborough. He was a pre-war territorial soldier and crossed to France to join the 5th Battalion on November 1, 1915 joining his colleagues at Armentieres. The Battalion continued to serve in the Salient until it moved to the Somme.

Steve Erskine, the Green Howards Museum’s assistant curator, said: "To be able to have played some small part in being able to give this soldier a decent burial, and his name on a headstone after a century is incredible. We are extremely proud to have been involved in this process."