A MEMORIAL stone bearing the name of a soldier who fell in the Great War has been placed in the Fusiliers Memorial Garden in Bury.

And Sunday's poignant ceremony brought to an end a fascinating piece of painstaking detective work stretching back almost 100 years surrounding Harold Hart whose name is featured on the memorial.

The stone was discovered in a cellar by the 2nd Ramsbottom St Paul's and St John's Scout Group. Thanks to investigation work undertaken by the Scouts and the Fusiliers, some light has been shone on the World War One soldier who was killed 98 years ago.

What has been established is that Harold Hart was born at Irlams o' th' Height, Salford, and enlisted into the Lancashire Fusiliers at Pendleton on the August 31 1914. He joined his regiment at Bury which was part of the First New army (K1) and then moved to Grantham to join the 34th Brigade.

In July1915 they were mobilised for war and embarked to Egypt arriving at Alexandria. Moving then to Imbros and landing at Sulva Bay, Gallipoli, the division engaged in various actions, including the Battle of Scimitar Hill. In 1916 they moved back to Egypt to defend the Suez Canal.

Later, after moving to France, the division landed at Marseilles to support actions on the Western Front. During the Battle of Thiepval on August 16 1917, Harold Hart was killed in action. He is buried at Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery.

Mark Swarbrick, 2nd Ramsbottom Scouts leader, said: "The memorial stone was discovered last year in the cellar at the St John's Church Hall where we meet. Because it was coming up to Remembrance Day, we thought it would be fitting to find out who the stone belonged to and information about Harold Hart."

In February, Colonel Eric W Davidson visited the Scouts, along with members of the Fusiliers Association and Ramsbottom Royal British Legion, to accept the memorial stone for safekeeping until a site was prepared in the Fusilier Memorial Garden. The scout group and the Fusiliers subsequently uncovered information surrounding Mr Hart.

One question which remains unanswered, though, is why the memorial stone ended up in Shuttleworth. But Mr Swarbrick believes that it could have been bought by an antiques dealer who used the cellar to store items. He added: "To have a lasting resting place for the memorial stone is a really good end to the story which was intriguing. It would have been good if we'd found someone related to Mr Hart."

On Sunday, the stone was unveiled at the Fusiliers Memorial Garden in Bury when it was unveiled by two scouts. A wreath was placed upon it to commemorate its new location. From now on, the scout group will hold a short service at the site on the nearest Sunday to August 16.