Finding soldier Tom: Solving family mystery of WW2 Soviet prisoner of war

Tom had signed his letters to the Le Bretons as "Bokijon Akram", but neither they nor Jersey historians knew his full name or exactly where he came from.

Then a team from BBC Russian joined the search.

Even though we have worked for years on Soviet and wartime archives, this case presented a particular challenge.

Tom had signed his name in English, and it was not clear how it would have been rendered in Russian, the language used in official documents across the USSR at the time.

We checked dozens of records and hundreds of spelling variations, gradually narrowing the search using details he had recorded in his diary.

From those entries, it appeared he was about 30 when he was mobilised in 1941, had fought and been captured on the territory of present-day Ukraine, and may have had Central Asian origins.

The search was then narrowed to one likely match: Bokejon Akramov, born in 1910 and mobilised from Namangan, in what is now Uzbekistan.

We found an entry showing that he had been awarded the Order of the Patriotic War decades later. Crucially, that record included a home address.

At this point a team from BBC Uzbek joined the search and travelled to Namangan to check the address, hoping someone there might remember Bokejon or recognise him from the photographs preserved by the Le Breton family.

"How come you have my grandfather's pictures? Where did you get them from?" asked a man who opened the door to the BBC.

His name was Shamsutdin Akhunbaev and he was Bokejon Akramov's grandson.

As he listened to the story behind the wartime photographs, Akhunbaev was moved to tears.

According to the family, Bokejon had rarely spoken of his experiences in World War Two.

But one thing had always puzzled them. Despite clearly being intelligent and capable, he was repeatedly refused skilled or sensitive jobs. For many years, he had worked as a gardener at a factory in Namangan.

It now seems possible that his wartime captivity cast a shadow over his working life too.

Bokejon Akramov died in 1996, after what his family said was a long and happy life. His daughter has also since died.

The BBC helped organise a video call between his family in Uzbekistan and Dulcie Le Breton, who still lives on Jersey.

"Dear Dulcie, we thank your family for your courage and kindness," Shamsutdin Akramov told her. "Our grandfather survived the war and gave us life only because of you. We are so happy that we found you. We invite you to Uzbekistan and will always be waiting for you in our home."

"My parents did what they did simply because it was the right thing to do," Dulcie Le Breton replied. "And they were far from the only people in Jersey who helped Soviet soldiers. There were dozens of such stories, and I would very much like people to know and remember them all."

After learning of the story, the authorities in Uzbekistan decided to posthumously award John and Phyllis Le Breton the Order of Friendship - one of the highest state awards - for their "courage and compassion".

The Order of Friendship will be awarded to Dulcie Le Breton on Wednesday.