A seven-year-old girl who died of leukaemia more than 50 years ago is finally getting a memorial stone on her grave after a mission by her brother.

Ann Joy Flint passed away 52 years ago, and was buried in All Saints Church graveyard in Wouldham.

As Ann was one of six children, money was tight for the family and her final resting place was marked with just a miniature fence and some flowers.

The family visited regularly until a few years later when Ann’s father, Peter, who worked on the railways, got a job in Doncaster.

The grave then fell into a state of disrepair.

Her brother, Roy, 57, was the closest sibling to her in age, being just five when she died, and only remembers bits from the funeral.

Now a father of two and grandfather of four, he said: “In those days, there was nothing they could do for leukaemia.

“I remember visiting her in hospital. She gave me her teddy bear and I said, ‘you’ll be needing that for when you get out’, and she just gave me this look. That’s when I realised, she wasn’t coming home.

“I was watching TV a few years ago and there was a programme about people who die alone and nobody knew where they were or where they were buried.

“It made me think of Ann and I knew I had to do something.”

Roy embarked on a two-year mission to find his sister’s exact resting place.

“I went to the church but a lot of the records were lost and they weren’t sure of the exact plot.

“So then I went round delivering leaflets to the houses nearby to see if anybody knew Ann or went to the funeral and might remember it more clearly than a five-year-old boy.

“One woman, Paula Forbes, got in touch and she knew where the grave was.

“She went to the funeral all those years ago. When she pointed it out, it felt right to me.

“The Rev Mike Hayes put me in touch with people who could remember as well – he really went out of his way to help me.”

Highways worker Roy Flint decided on a memorial stone for the site, engraved with Ann’s name and the dates of her birth and death.

"She gave me her teddy bear and I said, ‘you’ll be needing that for when you get out’, and she just gave me this look" - Roy Flint

He told his siblings, Christopher Flint, Elizabeth Potter, Jacqueline Ranson and Carol Ann Joy Flint – who was given the middle names of their lost sister in tribute, of the plan and they were all on board.

The stone will be placed on her grave before a service at 1pm on Sunday December 13, exactly 52 years to the date of her burial.

Ann’s parents, Peter and Jean, passed away some years ago, and it will be the first time in years all the brothers and sisters and their families have got together.

“There will be a lot of people missing who were at Ann’s burial, parents, aunts who are not longer with us. It will be a bit weird I think, but good to see everyone.”

Mr Hayes will conduct the service, and everyone who knew Ann or the family is welcome to attend.