A tiny corner of a military cemetery close to the World War One battlefield at the Somme in France will forever be Malta.

It is the final resting place of Private Ernest Bonnici, who enlisted in the British army with his old school chums in 1915 and died in the muddy trenches in one of the bloodiest battles of World War One.

A regular visitor to the cemetery, who recently also visited Malta, was moved to take a small stone from Mdina to the cemetery and placed it on the headstone - a sort of coming home, after so many years.

Pte Bonnici is buried at Hawthorn Ridge Cemetery No. 1 at Beaumont Hamel. The cemetery holds the remains of about 150 men - most of whom, like Pte Bonnici, served in the 16th Btn Middlesex Regt ('The Public School Boys Battalion') and died on 1st July 1916, the opening day of the Somme offensive.

Pte Bonnici was born in Malta and moved to Cairo before joining the army. He was 33 when he died.

Tourist Simon Moston, from Essex, said he had been able to establish that Pte Bonnici was the son of Paolo Bonnici and husband of Josephine.

"Each time I visit the cemetery I'm conscious of the fact that it's highly unlikely that his grave has ever been visited by a relative from Malta given the distances involved.

My family and I visited Malta this April for the first time and fell in love with the place. I picked up a pebble from outside Mdina and took it with me to place on Ernest's grave when I visited it in May- a 'piece of home' for him," Mr Moston said.

He told timesofmalta.com that he would dearly love to make contact with any family members in Malta who recognise Ernest as being one of theirs.