IT was the funeral for a war hero where a hospital chaplain feared nobody would turn up.

But a huge public reaction saw crowds attending the funeral of 91-year-old James Knowles and now relatives have been found too.

The pensioner died at the Eastbourne District General Hospital earlier this year after an eight-day stay following a fall, and Reverend Dennis Nolan could not trace any relatives.

He was worried there would be nobody at the funeral so he issued a plea on social media and around 100 people turned up, most who had never met him.

But now it has emerged that more than 50 relatives have been traced around the UK, who will all become beneficiaries of Mr Knowles' will.

Camilla Price, case researcher at Finders International, said that none of the relatives she contacted had any idea that James Knowles existed.

She said: "James was an only child and many of his parent's close relatives were born in the 1800s - so obviously these have all passed away.

"The relatives I traced are very distant – in many cases cousins twice removed from the deceased. They are spread all over the UK with a couple living in Australia and Canada.

"Several of his relatives were very shocked and saddened that they didn’t know him and that they couldn’t attend his funeral."

More than anything else the majority of his relatives were really interested in learning more about their family tree, which I am putting together for them..

Finders International – an heir hunting company that regularly appears on BBC Heir Hunters and Family Finders - unfortunately started their research the day after Mr Knowles funeral, as that was when his name and details were released on the Bona Vacantia list produced by the Government.

This lists people who have died with no known relatives.

Finders International discovered many family members belonging to Mr Knowles father with fewer on the side of his mother.

Many interesting occupations were uncovered from census documents of his distant relatives including that of a railway engineer fireman, a silver smith and a police constable.