LISTED on a plaque in Bockleton Church, John Wall is one of five villagers who died on active service in the First World War. The plaque does not say that at just 22 years old, he was taken out and shot by his own side in September 1917.

More than 300 British soldiers met the same end, but which one was the inspiration for Private Peaceful, the name on a grave at Bedford House cemetery near Ypres? Michael Morpurgo came across it two years ago when he began writing his book, and declared it "as close to an Unknown Soldier as you can get".

The story is told through two teenagers caught up in the recruiting fervour of 1914, who found themselves posted to the waking nightmare of Flanders. What follows is a powerful and deeply moving portrayal of camaraderie, courage and brutality, interwoven with childhood memories of family life spent deep in the English countryside, vividly brought to mind as they sheltered from the gas and the gun fire. Found guilty of desertion by court-martial, 'Tommo' Peaceful was tied to a post and shot at dawn by a firing squad.

And Tenbury woman Maureen Kendrick, of Dark Orchards, knows who the real Private Peaceful is - her father's cousin, John Wall, son of William and Harriet Wall, of Hill Cottages, Bockleton,

It was a small article in The Advertiser in 1992 that first alerted Mrs Kendrick - maiden name Wall - to the link.

Researching her family history, she spotted an item about a person trying to trace relatives of the former soldier and contacted the War Graves Commission.

From there a tragic story unfolded. She discovered that cousin John joined the army in 1912 and served as a Lance Corporal with the 1st Worcestershires, earning his promotion to Sergeant after three years exemplary service on the Western Front.

He was a Second Sergeant with six platoon of The Worcestershire Regiment when ordered to advance at Bellewaerde Ridge, Ypres, on August 10, 1917.

It was said at his trial that he took cover in a dug-out with two junior men rather than joining his battalion 700 metres further forward.

In his defence, Wall insisted that the ground was exposed to the enemy and under constant artillery barrages and any attempt to move up would have been suicide. The Company Sgt Major agreed but insisted he should have tried. His fate was sealed.

Roused to a sense of injustice after years of visiting war museums, record offices and chasing relatives for family information, Maureen eventually saw the chink of light that could clear her late cousin's name.

"John was my father's first cousin but the family never spoke about him," she said.

"It was a shock to find he was executed for desertion. When I found out I thought he had been caught heading for home in the back of a boat, but after the reading the circumstances I couldn't believe the claims against him."

A serious young man who led a happy childhood in Bockleton, his service record describes him as exemplary, disciplined and of very good character. Of the tragic day in September 1917, a comrade in the trenches wrote in his pocket diary, "Sgt. Wall 'B' Company - Shot by order of the FGCM for cowardice in the face of the enemy".

Maureen said: "Having investigated, the circumstances don't ring true. That the sentence was carried out by men drawn from his own company and not another Battalion was proved to be very unusual. To me the episode feels like a miscarriage of justice."

Michael Morpurgo has agreed her cousin was the inspiration for his book and Maureen hopes it will help secure a pardon for John Wall and the 308 other British soldiers executed for cowardice or striking an officer. She is, however, realistic enough to realise it may never happen.

She now has her own copy of Private Peaceful signed by the author. In it he has written: "I hope and believe the book will touch the heart of many and trouble more; but to you it will be even more poignant. May it help to achieve the pardon they deserve."