A member of a local Royal British Legion branch has attended a poignant ceremony to honour a Russian sailor who died 100 years ago.

Ivybridge RBL standard bearer Mick Knight was invited to Ford Park Cemetery in Plymouth to honour Russian sailor Petr Ogorelkov. Petr, who served on the cruiser Askold died in 1917 aged 27 in Plymouth Naval Hospital.

His grave lay neglected for decades before Alfred Larney of Plymouth City Council discovered it and cared for it.

The service commemorating the centenary of his death was attended by Commander Igor Elkin from the Russian Embassy, Plymouth dignitaries including Lord Mayor Pauline Murphy and Oliver Colville MP, an Orthodox Christian priest, members of the Russian community and RBL members like Mr Knight.

Ford Park Cemetery holds Crimea war graves, as well as the grave of another Askold sailor. Petr’s headstone is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which works to ensure the 1,700,000 men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the two world wars will never be forgotten.