The final pieces of the jigsaw surrounding a sailor's death could soon be in place.

Greg Hewitt has been investigating his uncle Sydney's mysterious death at the end of the Second World War for several years.

Able Seaman Sydney Pollitt was one of about 20 sailors who died in the Far East after drinking a locally brewed alcohol while celebrating the end of the war.

His death has been shrouded in secrecy and Greg, of Wakefield Road, Brighton, is hoping to unravel the mystery once and for all.

Through his efforts, he has found his uncle's grave at the Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore and received his medals for the family.

But he has also received two death certificates which list different causes of death for his uncle.

He has been refused permission to see Sydney's medical records which might have revealed the findings of a post mortem examination.

Greg, 51, has been interviewed by experts for the satellite station the History Channel who have offered help in piecing together the mystery.

Greg said: "When I was a boy, I was always told Sydney was poisoned by the Japanese during the war.

"None of my family had ever seen his grave. A few years ago I was going to Australia, stopping in Singapore, and realised that was where he was buried.

"I went to the War Graves Commission web site and put in his name and service number and was able to find out exactly where he was buried.

"It was quite overwhelming. For 55 years no-one had said goodbye to this man."

Greg took photos of the grave for his mother and other family members.

On his return he decided to look into the death further - but some lines of enquiry posed more questions than they answered.

He explained: "I asked the General Register Office for two copies of his death certificate. I wanted one for my mother and one for myself.

"I sent off a cheque but I forgot to include postage and packing. They had enough to send me one copy though so I then sent off the remainder of the money and got another copy.

"But the second certificate came back different to the first."

One certificate listed the cause of death as "on war service" but the other said "accidental methyl alcohol poisoning".

Greg said he accepted there was probably nothing sinister, but said he was more frustrated at not being able to see Sydney's medical records.

He said: "I wrote to the Institute of Naval Medicine asking for his medical records to find out how he died.

"But they said they could not tell me under data protection legislation. I would have presumed there would have been a post mortem examination, but they wouldn't tell me about it."

Another complication was Greg's 82-year-old mother Ella having to give evidence in court that the family did not receive Sydney's medals at the end of the war.

Greg has also placed an advert in the Navy News and located a former friend of Sydney's when he grew up in Stockport.

Other lines of enquiry have included the Singapore-based newspaper, the Straits Times.

The October 10, 1945, edition revealed two servicemen had died of a "local hooch".

Two days later, the paper reported there were 20 servicemen killed and two blinded by poisoning in a "locally manufactured hooch". It put the source of the poison as methyl alcohol or wood spirit.

Greg said: "Twenty people died in the incident and other people might have brothers or fathers involved in the same incident.

"I am hoping that after I have been on television, other people will come forward.

"All these people were heroes and I am so proud my uncle was part of it. I just want to get to the bottom of exactly what happened."