THE family of a young Barrow solider killed in one of history's bloodiest battles has been tracked down in Australia.

A notice placed in Tuesday's Evening Mail commemorated the 100th anniversary since the death of Private Stanley Higgin-Tyson, a 23-year-old soldier from Barrow.

The soldier was born in Hawkshead and lived at 44 Robert Street in Barrow with his family. He joined the Border Regiment and was sent to France to fight for his country in the First World War where he was killed during the Battle of the Somme on September 27, 1916.

Records have revealed that after his death, the army sent his personal effects, to the tune of £8 11s 2p, roughly worth around £793.91 today, to his mother Frances. An entry in the census from 1911 shows Pte Tyson was a shipfitter's labourer before he joined the army.

The Evening Mail decided to track down those who had placed the notice in a bid to find out more about the Barrow war hero whose death is still remembered 100 years later.

The notice in Tuesday's paper was placed by Pte Higgin-Tyson's great nephew, Geoff Smith, a former coppersmith at the shipyard in Barrow. Mr Smith, now 63, moved to Australia with his family in 1980 and only recently discovered he was related to a war hero.

Mr Smith, a former Holker Street School pupil, recalled: "After my mother Barbara's death eight years ago, we began researching her side of the family.

"We came across some information and realised my great uncle was killed in the war. We thought it was only right that we mark the 100th anniversary of his death.

"From what we understand, his family hadn't wanted him to go off to war."

Mr Smith, his wife Rosalind and their three children occasionally return to their hometown of Barrow, and on their next visit plan to visit the town's cenotaph in the park to see Pte Higgin-Tyson's inscription for themselves.

Mr Smith added: "Stanley will always be a hero to his family, and remembered for his courage and the ultimate sacrifice he gave for his country."

* Read more about the military career of Pt Higgin-Tyson and the 57 other south Cumbrians on the Thiepval memorial in next Tuesday's Evening Mail war nostalgia special

WATCH BELOW: Footage and video of soldiers who fought during the Battle of the Somme