The find was made during the Plugstreet Project, a research project in the battlefields of the First World War. Plugstreet was the soldiers’ pronunciation of the name of the village Ploegsteert. It was clear from the uniform that the man was an Australian, but there was no trace of identification. DNA tracing of the descendants of the 34 men reported missing in action from the unit was considered too expensive.

Instead, researchers at the Catholic University of Leuven measured the amount of strontium in the enamel of the unknown soldier’s teeth, which allowed them to identify the area where he grew up. Strontium, a mildly radioactive element, enters the enamel through the food we eat, which differs from area to area. That reduced the number of potential candidates from 34 to seven.

Then, researchers at Oxford University examined the skeleton, and found he had had a diet high in fish. That brought the number of candidates down to two, for whom DNA examination was now a possibility. A sample was obtained from the 96-year-old niece of Private Mather, and the identification was complete.

"This news is…an extreme shock filled with an immense amount of joy,” his great niece, Kim Bloomfield, told Australia’s ABC Radio. “It's a one in a million chance because there are so many unidentified missing soldiers from World War One.”

Private Mather will be buried with full military honours on 22 July at the Prowse Point Commonwealth War Graves cemetery near Ypres (pictured). A nephew will be flown to Belgium to be present at the cemetery. More than 6,000 Australians died fighting in the First World War.

www.plugstreet-archaeology.com