A Wisbech primary school teacher traced a slice of local history when she visited the grave of a soldier who was buried in a Jerusalem cemetery during the first world war.

Cambs Times: British war memorial cemetary and the grave of Sidney Jack Piggins in Jerusalem. Left:Helen Willatt, Joseph and Sarah Gallichan.British war memorial cemetary and the grave of Sidney Jack Piggins in Jerusalem. Left:Helen Willatt, Joseph and Sarah Gallichan. (Image: Archant)

Helen Willatt, who works at St Peter’s School, joined eight teachers for a Walk the Bible tour in Israel and decided to trace the grave of a Wisbech soldier while she was there.

Sidney Jack Piggins died in Egypt in 1918 and as part of World War one commemorations was remembered with an information board erected in Tillery Fields in Wisbech earlier this year.

The board was seen by Mrs Willatt who decided to trace Mr Piggins’ grave during her trip.

Mrs Willatt said: “I live close to the park in question, played in the park as a young child and now take my three children there.

Cambs Times: British war memorial cemetary and the grave of Sidney Jack Piggins in Jerusalem.British war memorial cemetary and the grave of Sidney Jack Piggins in Jerusalem. (Image: Archant)

“I was going to the Holy Land so it seemed like a good opportunity to make a local historic connection,” she said.

“I used the Commonwealth war graves website to find the exact location. I wanted to do this to pay respect to a local war hero.”

The information board gives information about Sidney and his brother George who were killed in action during the First World War.

George Edward Piggins went missing in action in France in 1916. He is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial in France which is a major war memorial to 72,195 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of the Somme between 1915 and 1918 with no known grave.

Cambs Times: British war memorial cemetary and the grave of Sidney Jack Piggins in Jerusalem.British war memorial cemetary and the grave of Sidney Jack Piggins in Jerusalem. (Image: Archant)

Cambs Times: British war memorial cemetary and the grave of Sidney Jack Piggins in Jerusalem.British war memorial cemetary and the grave of Sidney Jack Piggins in Jerusalem. (Image: Archant)