A GROUP of people from the Netherlands are searching for the family a Bolton man who died in the 'forgotten battle' of the Second World War.

Bombardier John Nicholson served with the Royal Artillery at the time of his death on October 27, 1944, at the age of just 26.

He is one of 281 soldiers buried in the Overloon War Cemetery – the final resting place of number of the dead in the Battle of Overloon, often called the Forgotten Battle.

Now, a group of volunteers from the area are hoping to give faces to each of the heroes who helped to liberate their home.

Leo Janssen, 66, is one of the project members, and hopes to speak with any of Bdr Nicholson’s relatives.

He said: “This was the biggest fight in the Netherlands, just after operation Market Garden, but nobody knows about it.

“These guys deserve more than just laying down here. We owe them so much and if we can’t owe them we shall owe their families.

“Still after 75 years there’s so much emotion.”

Bdr Nicholson’s grave was adopted by the van den Boogaards over 70 years ago, with the family placing flowers and candles on the grave at Christmas.

They cared for the grave, and met with Bdr Nicholson’s relatives at the time.

Unfortunately, they lost contact with the family, and the three surviving members of the family are keen to regain contact.

The team know that Bdr Nicholson was the son of John William and Eliza Nicholson, who lived in Salisbury Street. He also married, leaving wife Ada from Little Hulton a widow.

Mr Janssen added: “We have so many stories here – we even have one grave where the man’s wife has also been buried so they can be together.

“So far we’ve found 38 pictures, so we still have nearly 250 to go.”