Langholm soldier Richard Musgrave laid to rest more than 100 years on

A Scottish World War One soldier is being buried with full military honours more than 100 years after he died.

Sgt Richard Musgrave, from Blackrigg, near Langholm, was killed during the Battle of Hill 70 in August 1917.

His remains were uncovered - alongside a military medal ribbon and other items - during munitions clearing work near Lens in France a century later.

A range of techniques - including DNA tests - confirmed his identity and his family will now attend his burial.

Sgt Musgrave signed up for service in Canada in 1915 after he had travelled to Calgary as a stables groom to deliver horses.

He went missing at the start of the Battle of Hill 70 which resulted in thousands of casualties among the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

Almost exactly 100 years later a skeleton was found in the area and a range of scientific and archaeological techniques ultimately confirmed it was the Scottish soldier.

Sgt Musgrave was awarded the Military Medal for his bravery in April 1917 when he led his platoon under heavy fire at the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Members of his family - including great-nephews Jim Coltman and Gordon Gilfeather from Hawick - have travelled for the burial at the Loos British Cemetery in France.

Mr Coltman said it was a fitting ending to the story of his grandmother's brother.

"Dick was sent out to Calgary with a couple of horses, he was a groom," he explained.

"But when he got to Calgary with the horses, of course, his job was finished so he never got a return ticket.

"He had to stay there and make his way - which he did - working with horses and then he joined up in 1915."

Mr Coltman said his great-uncle had travelled back to Hawick in 1917 to see his mother when he got a fortnight's leave and it was later that year that he died.

"He was killed leading his men on Hill 70 in 1917," he said.

"His photo was up on my granny's wall ever since I was a wee boy.

"And every Armistice Day she would place a new poppy on the border so I knew this man was important.

"Later in life, of course, I realised who he was and got the story."

As next of kin he will walk behind the coffin at the burial in northern France, carrying his great-uncle's medals.

"It will be quite a ceremony," he said.

"He has always been part of my life, it will be emotional. I have nothing but admiration for the Canadians, what they have done for us.

"It took four years to trace us through the remains so you can imagine the work that has been done.

"It is a very fitting tribute. "