A son and great grandson paid their respects to a fallen war hero they never knew.

Ted Honey, 78, and his family were special guests at Bredgar's Remembrance service on Sunday.

Ted's father Wilfred George Honey died while on duty four days after his 21st birthday in 1941.

Ted was only three months old at the time and never had the chance to meet his father.

Although Wilfred's name has been on the village's memorial for many years, this was the first time the family, from Fareham, Hampshire, had been at the service.

Wilfred married his childhood sweetheart Violet May Holdstock at village's St John the Baptist church on March 16, 1940. He was 20 and she was 18.

The former lorry driver joined the Royal Corps of Signals and on December 17, 1940, was posted to East Africa.

While on duty at Kismayo, Somalia on February 26, 1941 there was an explosion in one of the tents and Wilfred was badly burned.

He was rushed to hospital but died from his injuries on March 2, four days after his 21st birthday.

It is believed paraffin lamps had been mistakenly filled with petrol.

An inquest returned a verdict that Wilfred died in active service following a "tragic accident."

After his father’s death, Ted and his mother moved to Sittingbourne.

Violet remarried in October 1944 and became a Fisher. But Ted kept his Honey surname in the hope it would be passed down to future generations. He went on to have two daughters, Michelle Price and Kirsty Snow.

Ted’s grandson Oliver Snow, 14, laid a wreath on behalf of the family in honour of his great grandfather. Kirsty is a sea scout leader and Oliver is a sea scout explorer and his mother is a sea scout leader.

Also present at Bredgar was Ted's wife Valerie.

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