The graves of three British servicemen killed following the invasion of Normandy during the Second World War have been identified.

Among them is that of Lance Corporal Neville Charles Skilton, from Tonbridge.

All three were members of 4th County of London Yeomanry which landed at Gold Beach as part of Operation Overlord in 1944.

On June 10, they began their advance inland. With the support of 2nd Battalion The Gloucestershire Regiment, they took the bridges ahead of Tilly-sur-Seulles from the enemy.

Two patrols from the Recce Squadron and C Squadron then headed towards the town. C Squadron was ordered to outflank the town. One troop was sent down a narrow lane and was ambushed with the loss of every tank.

At the end of the day, 18 members of the battalion were missing including LCpl Skilton and also Trooper David Louis Morris, a Londoner.

LCpl Skilton was born on December 11, 1915, in Tonbridge, the youngest of the three children of William and Nellie Skilton.

Before the outbreak of war, he had worked as a clerk.

On May 1, 1940, he enlisted and was posted to 6th Battalion The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment.)

On March 8, 1941, he married Esme Gertrude Heller at Edmonton Register Office in London.

Late that month he transferred to The Royal Armoured Corps and was posted to 4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) on August 11, 1941.

Four days later, he shipped out to North Africa to join the Eighth Army.

Later, he was with the London Yeomanry when they invaded Italy.

Promoted to Lance Corporal on January 5, 1944, he returned with his battalion to England prior to the D-Day landings.

After the Tilly-sur-Seulles engagement, the rest of the 4th County of London Yeomanry moved on to attack Villers-Bocage.

Again they suffered heavy losses, with four killed, eight wounded and 88 reported missing in action.

Among the missing this time was Corporal Allan Edwin Griffiths, last seen being treated for wounds.

The names of all three men, Tpr Morris, Cpl Griffiths and LCpl Skilton, are recorded on the Bayeux Memorial to the missing, in Normandy.

But it transpires that they were all buried as “unknown soldiers” at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Tilly-sur-Seulles War Cemetery.

Now finally, nearly 80 years after their deaths, their descendants were able to pay their respects with a re-dedication service organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), and held at the Tilly-sur-Seulles cemetery.

Also in attendance were serving soldiers of The Royal Armoured Corps and The Coldstream Guards.

The services were conducted by the Rev Martin Robbins, Chaplain to 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards.

A spokesman for the JCCC said: “When the Germans pulled out of Tilly-sur-Seulles, a few weeks after the battle, the local French civilian population buried the three men.

“When the war ended, the CWGC exhumed the bodies to check for any details that might identify the men and then reburied them in the newly created war cemetery.

“Recently, a lengthy examination of the records made then and other Army records and campaign histories has allowed us to confidently identify the graves as being of these three missing men.

“New headstones have now been installed.”

Bill Whight is the nephew of LCpl Skilton.

This has suddenly brought his life into focus

He said: “It was such a surprise to receive news out of the blue identifying the final resting place of Neville, my mother's younger brother.

“We had accounts of Neville from my mother and from a distant cousin who knew him well before the war. But this news suddenly brought his life into focus for us, assisted by photographs from various family albums and learning the circumstances of his final battle as researched by the JCCC.”

Mr Whight, from Chepstow, described the service as a “very moving occasion.”

He said he was particularly impressed by the number of local French villagers who turned out to pay their respects. He said: “There was even one chap in his 90s, who said as a child he had helped the British soldiers after their arrival back in 1944.”

After the service, the local Mayor invited all the English visitors back to the Town Hall for buffet meal.

LCpl Skilton’s wife, Esme, remarried – to an American serviceman, and emigrated to the States with him. She died in 2006.

Tpr Morris was 21 when he died. Born at St Pancras, he had worked as a civil servant before the war.

Cpl Griffiths was 34. Born in Hereford, he had been a rates clerk for Hereford Rural District Council.

He was married to Millie Langford and they had three daughters: Shirley, Stella and Pamela.

Sadly both his wife and daughters had already died before his grave was discovered. But a son-in-law and four grandchildren were present at the ceremony.