In search of Private John Thomas Matthews

Up to 900,000 British soldiers died in the Great War and, in the Stockton-on-Tees area alone, the figure stands at 1,245.

In memory of those local soldiers, Stockton has launched a community project to grow 1,245 sunflowers which will form a "memory garden" at the parish gardens in August.

I feel privileged to be taking part. I planted my seeds at the weekend and I look forward to my sunflower blossoming.

Those taking part in the sunflower project are asked to find out about their soldiers so today I went in search of John Thomas Matthews.

I started at Stockton Library, where Hannah Lincoln helped me establish that he was a private (number 3371), serving in the 5th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry. He died, aged 31, on May 5, 1919, and is buried in Durham Road Cemetery on Stockton's outskirts. The date of his death - six months after the war ended - suggests he died of his wounds.

Hannah put me in touch with the equally-helpful Neil Gibson at Stockton Borough Council's Bereavement Service who was able to give me the plot number of Private Matthews' grave - B3/32Q.

On this cold, damp morning - the first day of May - I drove to the cemetery and a friendly young groundsman guided me to the plot. It lies behind the old chapel but, sadly, there is no headstone. Just a bare piece of grass alongside a white headstone marking the grave of Private H. Green, of the Northumberland Fusiliers, who died, aged 40, on May 17, 1917.

Private John Thomas Matthews is among the 1,245 names recorded in Stockton's Book of Remembrance and yet there is nothing to mark his final resting place.

Perhaps something can be done to put that right. In the meantime, I have left a bunch of white tulips on grave number B3/32Q.