Private walks in footsteps of heroes

Rotorua man Private Samuel Appleton visited the grave of his great-great-great-uncle, who died in France during World War I.

Rotorua man Private Samuel Appleton is the first person in his family to be able to trace the footsteps of relatives who died on the Western Front during World War I.

The former Rotorua Lakes High School student was a member of the Catafalque Guard and one of 20 New Zealand Defence Force personnel who have travelled to Belgium and France to mark 100 years since the Anzac Day landings in Gallipoli.

Mr Appleton's great-great-great-uncles Sergeant Allan Bertie Durnett and his brother Private Robert Durnett both died within months of each other in separate battles on the Western Front in France and Flanders.

The Western Front accounts for the majority of New Zealand casualties from World War I. The 12,483 men who died rest in cemeteries or are named on memorials in both France and Belgium. Mr Appleton said it was a moving experience.

"Visiting the battlefields where they fell and seeing the sheer scale of the cemeteries on the Western Front has been one of the most humbling experiences I've ever had."

The 21-year-old visited Allan's grave at Masnieres British Cemetery in France and was part of the Catafalque Guard during a wreath laying ceremony at the New Zealand Memorial to the Missing at Messines where Robert is listed.

"Knowing that none of my family has ever been able to see him before me was pretty emotional, I'm honoured," he said.

Mr Appleton is a full-time student at Otago University, studying applied science, and a rifleman in the New Zealand Defence Force Reserve Forces.

"It's surprising to me that there aren't more reservists at university. It's the best of both worlds for me, especially when I get opportunities like this while studying."