Keen motorcyclist Kevin Brock (pictured) recently made a poignant visit to France tracing the history of a war veteran family member.

It all came about after Kevin and his wife were walking through Narberth a few years ago when he showed her where his grandfather Arthur (Artie) Irving had his butcher’s shop.

“On the way back, we just happened to stop and look at the War Memorial,” explained Kevin. “There I saw the name A. Irving. When I got home, I asked my mother (daughter of Artie Irving) who the A. Irving on the memorial was. She informed me it was her great-uncle who was killed in WW1. All she knew was her father, my grandfather, was named after him. He was not talked about really, but on his way back after being on leave, he was known to have gone for a pint or two on his way to Narberth Railway Station with his father who put him on the train and was never seen again.”

This resulted in Kevin looking into his family history.

“I started doing some research and found a lot on the Pembrokeshire War Memorial site - Narberth which was fascinating and is well worth a look for anyone interested,” continued Kevin.

“Arthur was a driver with the Royal Field Artillery and saw action in a lot of the major battles. He was mentioned twice in dispatches for bravery. I then went to the Commonwealth Grave Commission and found him. He is buried at Marfaux CWG France.

“I am a keen motorcyclist and decided to go and visit the battle sites, a lot of which Arthur fought at. I stopped at Marfaux Cemetery with two other friends to pay my respects to Arthur and, as far as I know, I am the first family member to visit. He died of his wounds on June 5, 1918.

“As you can see from the photos, the weather in France was rather wet, but it was quite an emotional moment putting poppy crosses on his grave and filling in the visitors book.”

Arthur lived in Church Street, Narberth, as did Kevin’s mother.

Kevin, who now lives in Llangwm, is continuing to research Arthur and hopefully will get some more details on his life.

In addition, Kevin and his friends put a poppy cross on the Welsh memorial at Mametz Wood for his D-Day veteran friend, Mr. Gordon Prime, of Jameston, whose father also fought in WW1.