A year ago Dr Hans-Friedrich von Ploetz started to research his family tree on his appointment as Germany's Ambassador to Britain.

And the trail has brought him to Bolling Hall Museum in Bradford - the birthplace of his grandmother - where yesterday he met one of his distant cousins.

Dr von Ploetz knew a little of his Yorkshire ancestry and also visited the museum to do some fact-finding in its archives before a hectic day of official engagements.

He discovered family photographs of his grandmother Edith Tankard, who was born at the manor house in 1879, and old records of the property for the first time.

He also met Roger Tankard, of Grassington, whose grandfather, Charles, was Edith's elder brother.

The two men, of different nationalities, share the same great-grandparents, James and Martha Tankard, who were tenant-holders at Bolling Hall between 1864 and 1887.

Dr von Ploetz, 60, said he was delighted to make his first visit to the historic hall, which holds such a special connection.

"It is wonderful here at Bolling Hall. I've heard of it a lot because my grandmother came back to visit her family here.

"I've have very fond childhood memories of my grandmother bringing Harrogate toffee and biscuits back."

He said he started to research his family tree when he took up his London posting last year.

"Almost everything I know I have discovered in this country. My grandmother died when I was 16 and at that age I was not interested in family history."

His German roots can be traced back to when his grandmother married Fritz von Voigt, an officer in the German navy, and went to live in Silesia, which is now in Poland. Mr Tankard, 64, a director at Keighley-based textile firm John Haggas, only found out his links with the German ambassador when he got a telephone call from a joint relative in June.

"It is extremely nice to meet a relative who is a direct descendant and has an interest in the family," he said. "It is rather an extraordinary feeling."

Dr von Ploetz's visit to the city yesterday aimed to promote closer links between young people in Bradford and Germany and highlight business ties.

He met German language students at the City Technology College in West Bowling as well as Professor Colin Bell, the vice chancellor of Bradford University, to discuss opportunities for graduates in the Single European Market.

He also officially opened a new manufacturing plant at Wyke chemical firm AH Marks and Co Ltd, a major supplier to a German firm.

"Bradford is a city with a great past and is working now to reinvent itself. Here past links have been revitalised for the future," he said.