UP until now the unmarked grave offered little clue to John Ross’s remarkable life.

While his name may not be widely known in Southampton – his final resting place – he continues to be revered in South Africa where roads and schools have been named after him.

There is even a statue of the seafarer in Durban in recognition of his outspoken opposition to slavery and his passion for black liberty and equality.

Now, 129 years on, the Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery, where Ross was buried in March 1880, have helped the community pay their respects to South Africa’s hero.

A rededication service led by Reverend Stephen Wilkins, of Bitterne Park United Reformed Church, was held at the weekend after £1,000 was raised for a new headstone.

Gillian Blake, a member of the Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery, said they started raising money last year.

“We knew he was in an unmarked grave and wanted to raise enough money for a plaque.

We asked each of our members for £1 and the money just started rolling in.

“Ross saw the slave trade and it affected him deeply. He spent much of his life fighting for black equality.”

Born in Fraserburgh, Scotland, on August 17, 1815 as Charles Rawden MacLean, it is not known how he came to take the name John Ross.

He was just ten years old when he joined the crew of the ship, the Mary, which foundered in the waters off Port Natal, now known as Durban, South Africa.

Together with other survivors he built a small settlement and made friends with local Zulus – including their king, Shaka.

Aged just 12 he became a local hero when he walked 600 miles through crocodile-infested waters and inhospitable territory to fetch medical supplies.

The following year Shaka was murdered, sparking civil war and opening the way for slave traders to prosper, much to John’s disgust.

By the age of 25 he had left South Africa and was a sea captain working in St Lucia, again speaking out against slavery.

In 1880, aged 65, he left St Lucia in search of better health in England, but as the ship sailed up the Solent he died on Friday, March 13.