A former Second World War Bevin Boy has set out on a labour of honour to hand-clean the 'forgotten' graves of servicemen in time for Remembrance Day.

Ken Garbutt, 72, of Shipley, has found 40 graves of soldiers - previously undiscovered - after he single-handedly searched through around 1,000 headstones in Windhill Cemetery.

Mr Garbutt found the soldiers' names mixed in with other names on family gravestones. About 40 other official headstones distributed by the War Graves Commission are also dotted around the cemetery.

Now the ex-serviceman, who served with the Royal Signal Corps in Malaya in 1950, says he will personally see to it that all the graves will be cleaned up for Remembrance Day on November 11 - the 80th anniversary of the ending of the First World War.

Mr Garbutt, who is chairman of the British Legion, Wrose Branch, said: "I started finding the graves a month ago when I happened to notice a soldier's name buried beneath other family names on a headstone.

"Since then I've spent hours at the cemetery going through every grave and 40 other names have so far come to light."

Mr Garbutt is now compiling a catalogue of names - soldiers from the First and Second World Wars - some of whom were killed in action in France and Belgium.

Once he has made a complete list, he will go round with a wire brush and clean the headstones.

Mr Garbutt, conscripted into the mines along with thousands of others by then labour minister Ernest Bevin, has now asked Bradford Council to contact the War Graves Commission to come and clean the official graves and would like to ask any relatives of ex-servicemen buried at Windhill their permission to clean up the remaining headstones.

A spokesman from the national headquarters of the Royal British Legion said that Mr Garbutt's find was "very unusual" as most soldiers killed in action would have been buried where they fell.

A spokesman for the War Graves Commission said it was highly unusual for soldiers who died overseas to be repatriated.

He said: "It could be the case that the soldier was injured overseas, but died of his injuries in Britain."

Anyone who could help Mr Garbutt clean the graves, or any relatives of former soldiers, should contact him on Bradford 597116.

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