THE discovery of a Dead Man's Coin has helped a family to solve the mystery of a relative who was killed on the Western Front.

The coin, given to the families of those killed in the First World War, was found among family memorabilia left to County Durham woman Margaret Darroch.

Mrs Darroch, who oversaw the opening night of the production Oh What a Lovely War at the Consett Empire Theatre this week, said: "I had no idea what it was when I found it.

"All there was was the name of Private Peter Johnson and that he served with the Durham Light Infantry. I knew nothing more about him."

A check on the War Graves Commission website drew a blank.

But staff at Durham Light Infantry Museum solved the riddle and found that the distant relative had changed regiments to join the 19th Lancashire Fusiliers.

His mother was listed as Sarah Ann Johnson, of Weardale Street, Mount Pleasant, Spennymoor.

They were also able to gave his date of death as April 17, 1918 and reveal that his name was engraved, along with thousands of others with no known grave, at the Tynecot Memorial, near Passchendale, in Belgium.

Staff at the Lancashire Fusiliers Museum helped to track the time before he was killed in action in Flanders, while helping hold off a last German push.

In the months preceding his death, Pte Johnson served on the Menin Road, Zillebecke, Busse Boom and finally, Kemmel Hill.

According to regimental records, 19th Lancashire Fusiliers, who were normally pioneers, dug in at Kemmel Hill. They were shelled for four days, the heaviest on the 17th, when they suffered many casualties. Among those who fell was Pte Johnson.

Mrs Darroch, of Blackhills, Consett, said: "It is so sad - what they must have gone through. Finding out about him has brought him to life.

"It puts a whole new perspective on things and shows they were humans, instead of the statistics they have become to history."

The coin and other memorabilia form part of an exhibition of Wartime Memories 1914-1918, held at the Empire this week.