THE mystery surrounding one of Sherston's six forgotten First World War soldiers, Gabriel Wicks, has been solved in an amazing set of coincidences.

The soldier died aged 19 while fighting for the 6th Shropshire Light Infantry at the second Battle of the Somme on March 31, 1918.

His name will be added to Sherston's war memorial along with the names of five other men who died in the Great War but were omitted in the original inscription.

Six weeks ago, Hampshire historian David Whithorn discovered a photograph of a soldier in uniform at a Marlborough antique shop.

The photograph turned out to be Arthur Jobbins of Sherston and after contacting Sherston Parish Council and agreeing to help them to identify the village's other forgotten war heroes, Mr Whithorn found six new names of soldiers who hadn't been commemorated including Gabriel Wicks.

The second coincidence concerns research conducted two years ago by a class of year six pupils in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The class had been on several trips to Poiziers in north France, where the names of 14,000 men lost in the First World War are engraved on a plaque.

One of the school's trips was publicised in The Sun newspaper, and the article was seen by Issobella Tuck, 72, of Swindon.

She wrote to the school saying she was trying to get more information about her uncle Gabriel Wicks.

The class discovered Mr Wicks was remembered at Poiziers and when the school next visited the site, pupils left their researched story on the soldier there.

Mr Whithorn's recent research also took him to Poiziers. While he was photographing the plaque, a laminated sheet fluttered to his feet the story of Gabriel Wicks, written by the year six pupils two years previously.

There are now plans for all the parties involved in the coincidences to get together at the dedication of the Sherston memorial in November.

Mr Whithorn said: "It has been an amazing set of coincidences it feels like this was meant to happen."