RELATIVES of a Neilston soldier who was killed in action during the First World War travelled to the battlefields of the Somme to commemorate the centenary of his death.

More than 60 members of Lieutenant Patrick Joseph McCusker’s extended family made the journey to his graveside at Knightsbridge Cemetery in Mesnil-Martinsart, northern France, on Remembrance Sunday.

Descendants from Renfrewshire, as well as relations from as far away as the Australian cities of Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, all congregated at the site where Lt McCusker was buried, aged 22.

Great-nephew James McCusker and his wife Jacqui, from Paisley, were among the 63-strong travelling party.

Although the family is now scattered across the world, careful planning and a desire to pay their respects to their relative resulted in the three-day trip.

Jacqui believes each member of the group took something away from the unique visit.

She said: “It went exceptionally well. There were 63 of us there.

“He (Lt McCusker) was one of four brothers and the descendants of each brother were there.

“The trip was moving but also fun.

“On the Saturday morning, we went to a museum in Albert, which was fascinating.

“It recreated the bunkers of the Somme and gave everyone a flavour of what he went through.”

The British Medical Journal reported that Lt McCusker died in action on November 13, 1916, during the Battle of the Ancre.

Raised in Neilston, he moved south to attend Stonyhurst College in Lancashire.

Lt McCusker, who died fighting with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, returned to Scotland to study medicine at Glasgow University before receiving his commission.

Father John Eagers, of St James’ Catholic Church, in Renfrew, who is also a great-nephew of Lt McCusker, led a Mass at his burial site on Remembrance Sunday.

Being able to mark the 100th anniversary of his death on the battlefields proved to be a poignant, yet surreal, experience for the soldier’s descendants.

Jacqui added: “The Sunday was the main day and we all gathered and hired a coach. We then went out to the cemetery. We had to walk half a kilometre on a path through a turnip field to get to it.

“We were carrying a table for use as an altar, white cloths to cover that, candles, a wreath, wooden crosses, a ceramic poppy and copies of the Order of Service.

“Father Eagers had robes, a chalice and some bread and wine. We were a right motley crew.

“The way the graveyard was set out, the alter was under a big cross and it so happened the gravestone was at the perimeter of the area.

“It was just quite fortunate as to the positioning. It was a beautiful Mass and it was quite unreal because you were just in a field.

“Everybody loved it. It was lovely how everybody made a nice weekend of it.”

The Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest of the First World War.

For five months, the British and French armies fought the Germans in a brutal battle of attrition on a 15-mile front.

The aims of the battle were to relieve the French Army fighting at Verdun and to weaken the German Army.

However, in 141 days, the British managed to advance just seven miles and failed to break the German defence.

Some historians believe that, with a few more weeks of favourable weather, the Allies could have broken through German lines. Others argue the Allies never stood a chance.

In any case, the British inflicted heavy losses on the Germans.

There were over one million dead and wounded on all sides.