YPRES, Belgium (AP) — Family members from two continents reunited on Wednesday for the solemn burial of a distant relative who died over a century ago in World War I.

Private Thomas Edmundson from Sunderland, England, was just 20 years old when he was killed in action in April 1915 during some of the bloodiest fighting on the Western Front.

He was hastily buried with some of his comrades beneath a simple marker and his body was not recovered after the war.

In 2014, his remains were uncovered in a field near Ypres during routine building works. DNA testing confirmed his identity in 2017.

Gary Edmundson, a relative, said: "The war and the sacrifice of these soldiers had such an impact on the world, I found ... I couldn't miss coming."