The Spanish grave of a British World War I hero has been saved after an appeal to trace his relatives. Authorities were threatening to exhume the body of Sir Gilbert Mackereth, who is buried in a San Sebastian cemetery, because of unpaid taxes on the plot.
Terry Dean*, of the Western Front Association, spoke about the Salford-born soldier to the BBC on a day in early May and had traced Sir Gilbert's cousin by that same evening.
The Sun newspaper has paid the 330 euros (£287) tax owed on the plot.
Sir Gilbert, who commanded the 17th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers, was awarded the Military Cross for his outstanding bravery during WWI.
In April 1917, he crawled into no man's land in St Quentin in France to rescue a group of soldiers who were lost and in danger. He took control and saved them all.
Sir Gilbert's wife died in 1979 - 17 years after her husband. They did not have any children and the couple had lived in Spain.
Mr Dean, who launched the search after being notified of the tax problem, said that tracing a relative so soon was "beyond his expectations." "On Thursday night I spoke on the phone to his first cousin, John Sloane," he said.
Mr. Sloane, who had no idea about the grave issue, accepted an offer from the Sun Newspaper to get the tax paid.
"For the past three years, I have been searching for a picture of Gilbert Mackereth in uniform. I never in my wildest imagination expected to see the first photograph of him in the Sun," (May 10th) Mr Dean added. "The important thing is that Sir Gilbert's remains will now be reverently cared for."
Mr. Dean, who laid a poppy and a note on Sir Gilbert's grave last summer, was alerted to the eviction notice by a local resident. He now hopes a memorial to Sir Gilbert can be established at the Lancashire Fusiliers Museum in Bury.
Image courtesy The BBC Website
*Terry Dean is a member at the North Lancashire Branch of the WFA which meets monthly in Lancaster at the King's Own Regimental Museum.
