IT'S hard to imagine a more tranquil setting than St Mary's Churchyard, Kempsey, where ancient yews shade many a grave and the timeless, fluted song of the blackbird is invariably the only sound to disturb the evening air.

It's a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the modern age, even taking into account that the church and grounds are situated in the county's largest village.

There are numerous points of interest, too - particularly the south-facing wall, which still bears the scars of Civil War musket ball holes in the sandstone.

But if the visitor carries on just a few more yards, he or she will find the grave of a man whose exploits in the smoke and noise of war would ultimately be in stark contrast to the calm of his eventual last resting place in rural Worcestershire.

For lying beneath one of those majestic yews are the mortal remains of Captain Edward William Derrington Bell VC, British soldier and hero of the Battle of the Alma, a bloody clash between the Russians and British during the Crimean War.

His feat of arms during the battle on September 20, 1854, was a display of extreme courage that was remarkable, even by the standards of Victorian soldiers.

In complete disregard of shot and shell, Captain Derrington Bell captured one of the enemy's guns, which was limbered and being carried off. He then took command of his regiment, which he brought out of the action, all his senior officers having been killed or wounded.

The gun was initially put on display at the Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich, and later moved to Caernarvon Castle. His medals are now on display at the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum in Caernarvon.

And yet many people would be unaware of the hero who lies at their feet, for the weather and years have taken their toll of the inscription on the gravestone - which is now temporarily under covers.

But now - thanks to the efforts of Midlands freemasons - the grave has almost been completely restored and therefore fit for an officer and a gentleman.

And at noon on Tuesday, June 26, there will be a ceremony to re-consecrate the ground in which this brave soldier sleeps.

The service will be taken by the Rev John Guy, Masonic chaplain for Malvern, and there will be representatives from the successor regiment in which Captain Derrington Bell served, which in those days was the 23rd Regiment of Foot, later the Royal Welch Fusiliers.

However, there will also be someone in the church with special reason to feel proud - Captain Derrington Bell's great-granddaughter, Diana Bailey, who lives in Bridge Street, Pershore.

Mrs Bailey said: "Of course, we have always been very proud of him.

The story has been passed down the generations and it's wonderful to think there is a bit of such brave blood in the family.

"My mother's side was in the military. My grandfather died as a result of action in the First World War and great-grandfather lost his brother Montague in the Crimea - he died from cholera at the age of 25.

"In fact, more British soldiers succumbed to disease in those days than were killed as a result of enemy action."

Captain Derrington Bell died in 1879 at the relatively early age of 55. "I think his death was probably brought on by the trauma he had suffered in the Crimea," said Mrs Bailey.

The ceremony at Kempsey will fall on the anniversary of Captain Derrington Bell's investiture, on June 26, 1856. However, when the Crimean War ended, he was posted to Lucknow, India, where the Indian Mutiny had just broken out.

Captain Derrington Bell would eventually receive his VC medal from Queen Victoria at Southsea the next year.

The world Captain Derrington Bell knew was a far different place to that which exists today. Nevertheless, to borrow from a slightly later age, it's safe to say that this courageous soldier of the Queen will - at long last - soon have a home that's truly fit for a hero.