'Dream come true' as photo emerges of Torquay WW2 soldier

The photo of L/Cpl Holland who is believed to have died in a so-called death march in 1945

A photo has emerged of a World War Two soldier after an appeal on the BBC.

War cemetery carers at Venray in the Netherlands said they wanted to have a picture of L/Cpl Harry Holland who is buried there.

L/Cpl Holland's brother and sister-in-law from Torquay got in touch after hearing the appeal on television.

Tom Van Mierlo, from the cemetery, which gathers pictures of the fallen buried there, said the photo was a "dream come true".

L/Cpl Holland's brother Stuart and sister-in-law Margaret said they were amazed when they heard his name mentioned in the search.

Stuart and Margaret Holland said they were amazed when they heard his name mentioned in the search

Mr Holland said: "All I know was that he was a prisoner of war and he tried to escape and he got shot.

"I didn't even know there was a military cemetery in Holland.

"We now know where he is buried and that is something we never knew."

The villagers who tend the Venray War Cemetery like to place photos of the fallen on the graves on ceremonial occasions.

Photos of the fallen are placed on the graves on ceremonial occasions

Mr Van Mierlo said: "Every time we discover a photo of a soldier it's a little bit emotional because you see the face behind the grave."

When asked about L/Cpl Holland, he said the soldier was believed to have been captured in 1940 and "we believe he was killed in the so-called death marches".

In 1945, with Nazi forces in retreat, Hitler ordered all prisoners of war to be taken to the heart of Germany, resulting in thousands dying on the forced march, many perishing just weeks before the end of the war in Europe.