THIS year's Remembrance Day ceremonies will have a special significance for a North-East family whose thoughts will be thousands of miles away in the hills of Burma.

Almost six decades after his death, the children and grandchildren of Army cook Matthew Ross have learnt for the first time how he perished in one of the most crucial conflicts of the Second World War.

Research by his great-granddaughter Suzanne German-Iddon has traced Matthew's grave to the Kohima War Cemetery, the scene of a bitter battle which halted the Japanese advance on India.

Although Matthew's name is carved on memorials in Durham Cathedral and in his home village of Escomb, County Durham, his descendants knew little of his fate until 26-year-old Suzanne started her quest.

Overcome by grief, his wife Violet never talked about her husband to their three children Matt, Marie and Derek, who is Suzanne's grandfather.

All they had was an old black and white photograph of the proud Durham Light Infantryman, who was 37 when he died on April 23, 1944.

Now the family has pictures of his grave and of the hilltop cemetery dug on the site of the battleground 220 miles from the Indian border.

Suzanne even hopes to mark the 60th anniversary of his death by visiting the site next year.

She said: "We are just finding out about the war against Japan and the role the British took.

"Kohima saw some of the most bitter fighting in the whole Burma campaign. A small force held out against repeated attacks by a Japanese division, driving them off the ridge on the road to Imphal.

"I still have a lot more to learn. I have been told that my great-grandfather was caught up in a grenade attack after telling a cousin who was with him to stay behind in safety, but I want to know more.

"But already the whole picture is a lot clearer. He was at Dunkirk before he went to Burma so he must have seen some terrible things.

"I would love to have known him. Now I feel like we can honour him at last."

Suzanne used the Internet for her search and applied to the Ministry of Defence for documents and photographs.

She said: "It was fascinating to piece together the story. It was challenging but I really enjoyed it."