The long-lost final resting place of a pioneer sailor killed in a submarine disaster 100 years ago has been found - thanks to readers of The Argus.

Leading seaman Joseph Thomas, 26, was one of 15 Navy men who perished when the submarine A8 exploded underwater while on a training exercise off Plymouth in June 1905.

Most were buried locally but the location of Mr Thomas's grave remained a mystery.

An article published in The Argus in March not only resulted in the grave of Joseph Thomas being found in Brighton but also turned up a living descendant of the hero submariner.

Submarines were a new concept when Mr Thomas died and had only been used by the Navy for four years.

They were known in maritime circles as "instruments of collective suicide" and the A8 was the third of the new A-class vessels to sink that year.

The scale of the tragedy shocked the nation and thousands lined the streets for the funeral cortege in Plymouth to pay their respects to the 15 heroes.

A century later, the Plymouth Submariners' Association has set out to raise £4,000 to restore the graves of the crew.

The Western Daily Mercury said at the time Mr Thomas' body had been taken to Brighton for burial but then the trail went cold.

Chris Roche has been studying the tragedy since discovering his great uncle Stephen Birch was one of those who perished.

Mr Roche, 58, of Carshalton, near Croydon, had almost given up hope of finding the last A8 grave and contacted The Argus as a last resort.

Brighton and Hove City Council stated that there was no record of Joseph Thomas's grave in any of the city's eight municipal cemeteries.

But keen-eyed reader George Gozzett knew the council was mistaken when he read our appeal for help to solve the mystery.

Mr Gozzett, 81, of Hornby Road, Bevendean, said: "I used to walk my dog in Woodvale Crematorium while visiting a relative's grave and I saw a flattened stone about five years ago which caught my eye because of the initials LS for leading seaman.

"I was in the Navy so I went over to have a look and saw it was one Joseph Thomas, who died in the A8 disaster."

Mr Gozzett contacted The Argus and we put him in touch with Mr Roche, who visited the crematorium and confirmed it was the lost grave.

Mr Gozzett said: "I am thrilled to have helped solve the mystery."

Mr Roche then trawled newspaper records and found detailed reports of Joseph's burial.

The Brighton Herald read: "Dense crowds lined the route to the Chapel Royal (North Street), and on all hands honour, respect and sorrow were plainly manifested."

The story also rang bells with Josephine Henderson, 62, from Southwick.

She said: "My maiden name is Josephine Thomas and my father's name was Joseph Thomas.

"The family story was he was named after an uncle who went down in a submarine.

"The timing is about right and when my sister and I saw the picture in The Argus we recognised a family resemblance."

Mr Roche said: "I am delighted to have found Joseph's grave and to have played a part in solving a family mystery.

"I will tell the Plymouth Submariners' Association and hopefully something can be done to get the grave cleaned up and restored.

"Joseph Thomas died a hero's death and he will not be forgotten any more."