DESCENDANTS of a soldier named on a gravestone at a cleaned-up Gwent cemetery - despite being registered as buried in France - have visited the plot after being traced with help from the Argus.

Judy Austin, and daughter Emma came to Hermon Cemetery in Nantyglo, where her great uncle Morgan Samuel Austin, is named on an eyecatching memorial with his mother Sarah Jane, father James, and a brother, Haydn.

The War Graves Commission records that Rifleman Austin, of the 2nd Battalion, King's Own Rifle Brigade, is buried at Lavantie, in northern France, where he died aged 24 in January 1915.

Members of the Hermon Cemetery Trust, which has taken on responsibility for the site - until recently overgrown with hedges, shrubs and weeds - found that an Austin family lived in Bournville, in nearby Blaina, at the time. But they wanted to know how Rifleman Austin came to be commemorated.

Ms Austin, who lives in Berkshire, was informed of a story in the Argus last April, requesting information, and got in touch.

The reason behind her great uncle being named on the memorial remains unclear, though it may have been simply a means of family remembrance of a loved one killed overseas.

Ms Austin said her grandfather Thomas Austin spoke little of his brother, but she understood from others that they were pranksters, and their mother died of a broken heart little more than a year after Morgan died.

"My father came here some years ago, but it was overgrown and he couldn't find the grave, so it's nice to see it now," she said.

"It would be lovely to see it restored."

Morgan Austin had worked in collieries and despite a mining-related eye problem was a fine marksman, gaining first place in his squad's musketry training.

His last letter home details life in the trenches, the challenges of the mud, and danger from German snipers.

Surprised at himself for "sticking it so well", he signs off: "Remember me to all who are inquiring about me." By the time it reached Bournville however, he was dead.

The cemetery originally belonged to Hermon Welsh Baptist Chapel, which was below it, at the corner of Queen Street and Ffosmaen Road, on a site now occupied by a medical centre.

Trustees Graham Rowlands, Peter Baldwin, Alan Williams and Gary Godwin hope Rifleman Austin's grave can be restored.

Eighteen months ago the cemetery was weed-choked, with boundary hedges so thick, several rows of graves could not be reached. Now, with the help of Nantyglo resident Denzil Wright, it has been cleared and has even hosted a burial after lying dormant for decades.

"It's great that Judy and Emma have been able to pay us a visit," said Mr Baldwin.

"It's a big project and there's lots to do - clearing up, restoring graves and researching - and we will have a website soon."