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MOD War Detectives, Gloucester (2026)

21/08/2026

The following services will take place in September 2026:

22 September
10:30 - a rededication service for Private George Pert, 7th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders at Harlebeke New British Cemetery, Belgium.

14:00 - a rededication service for Lieutenant Frank Fleming, 4th Battalion (attd. 7th Battalion) Seaforth Highlanders at Voormezeele Enclosure No. 3, Belgium.

24 September
11:00 - a burial service for Private George Fleming Brock and Private Percy Todd, both of 11th Battalion The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, as well as two unknown soldiers of The Gordon Highlanders, and a further two unknown Scottish soldiers. This service will take place at Point du Jour Cemetery, France.

29 September
11:00 - a rededication service for Private George Chapman of 1st Battalion The Herefordshire Regiment at St Charles-de-Percy War Cemetery, France.

30 September
10:00 - a rededication service for Private Vincent Coia of 7th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders at Bayeux War Cemetery, France.

10:45 - a rededication service for Lance Corporal Reginald Cyril Dewey of 4th Battalion The Lincolnshire Regiment at Bayeux War Cemetery, France.

1 October
10:00 - a rededication service for Serjeant Frederick Albert Harrison of 1st Battalion The Dorsetshire Regiment, at Hottot-les-Bagues War Cemetery, France.

14:00 - a rededication service for Corporal Henry Thomas Read of 8th Battalion The Rifle Brigade at Ranville War Cemetery, France.

17/07/2026

This week, with the support of 9 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps, four unknown Commonwealth soldiers who died during World War One have finally received peaceful and dignified burials.

At CWGC Poelcapelle British Cemetery on Wednesday 15 July, the remains of 3 men were buried. These men died in the Langemark-Poelcapelle area, most likely during the Third Battle of Ypres in August - September 1917 or during the Spring Offensive in April 1918. The men were recovered with very few artefacts - just a few buttons and fragments of uniform. Enough to tell us that they had served with a Commonwealth nation, but not enough to allow us to establish their nationality, let alone their regiment or personal identity.

At CWGC Hermies Hill British Cemetery on Thursday 16 July, one man was buried. His remains were found in a shell hole near the Canal du Nord. He most likely died in September 1918, but the area also saw action in April 1917 and March 1918, so he could also have died then. Like the three men from Poelcapelle, there were very few artefacts found with this man - and nothing at all which could help to identify him.

The services were led by Padre Mark Nightingale of 9RLC and the bearer party was also supplied by 9RLC. At both services we were pleased to be joined by local mayors or their representatives, Royal British Legion members, local veterans associations and other organisations or individuals keen to pay their respects and offer thanks for the sacrifices made by these men.

03/07/2026

Yesterday morning a burial service was held at Crucifix Corner Cemetery, Villers-Bretonneux, in France, for 2 unknown Commonwealth soldiers. The casualties had been found during construction work in the town. Despite detailed research and DNA testing, their identites could not be established. The service was conducted by the Rev Stephen Cassells CF, Chaplain to 2nd Battalion The Rifles and was supported by serving soldiers of 1st and 3rd Battalions of The Rifles. We were pleased to also be joined by our Australian colleagues and staff from the Sir John Monash Centre in Villers-Bretonneux.

01/07/2026

Today marks the 110th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Somme. To mark this anniversary we were privileged yesterday to be able to lay Private Robert Leonard Lock to rest in the presence of his family at Warlencourt British Cemetery. Private Lock was serving with 12th Battalion The Durham Light Infantry when he was killed near Le Sars on 7 October 1916. Private Lock came from Littleport, near Ely, in Cambridge and was aged just 20 when he died. Before the war he had worked as a farm labourer. His remains were found after a farmer ploughed a field in 2022. DNA testing confirmed his identity. The service was conducted by the Rev Stephen Cassells CF, Chaplain to 2nd Battalion The Rifles and was supported by serving soldiers of 1st and 3rd Battalions of The Rifles. Today JCCC and the military party from The Rifles were also honoured to be able to assist with the commemorative service at the Thiepval Memorial.

17/06/2026

Today we rededicated the grave of Private Ernest James Grendall at Commonwealth War Graves Commission Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Germany.

Ernest was born in Gloucestershire to William Grendall and Lilian May Best. He was one of nine children, growing up in Coney Hill, Gloucester. His father worked in the local Wagon Works, whilst Ernest worked as a Milkman.

Ernest joined the British Army on 16 October 1939. He was subsequently posted to the 4th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment and was sent to join the British Expeditionary Force in March 1940. They were operating as a Divisional Machine Gun battalion in France and Belgium and were heavily involved in rear-guard actions during the retreat to Dunkirk. Ernest was captured by the Germans on 30 May 1940 and taken to Stalag Camp XXB on the outskirts of Marienburg, now Malbork, Poland.

Ernest spent the next five years as a Prisoner of War. On 24 January 1945, the Germans forced their prisoners to evacuate the camp and travel westward, away from the rapidly approaching Russian army. For most prisoners, it was the ordeal of the so-called Long March of the winter of 1945 that came to be the most harrowing experience of the whole captivity period.

The march was a poorly organised operation, which forced malnourished and sick men to walk beyond their endurance in temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius. Ernest and his fellow comrades were marched over 800 kilometres, through a series of villages, until they arrived in Moraas, Germany. They were due to stay here for a week, sleeping in barns with little protection from the freezing cold.

It was in this village that Ernest tragically succumbed to hunger, disease and neglect. His comrades did their best to give him a proper burial in the local cemetery and Company Sergeant Major James Fulton, the Chief British Man of Confidence in Stalag XXB, made a note of Ernest’s death in his diary. Sadly, he was subsequently listed as missing, and his grave was never found.

Research by a member of the public prompted an investigation into an unknown soldier’s grave in Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Germany. The information behind this grave showed that this casualty was concentrated from Moraas Cemetery, Mecklenburg shortly after the war. This location suggested the casualty was a prisoner of war who died following the northern route during the Long March, which took them through the area in March 1945. Further information gathered from the National Archives showed many eyewitness accounts further confirming that Ernest was the only British casualty buried in Moraas. Therefore, his headstone has been changed accordingly, and today his memory has been honoured.

Girvan and District Great War

10/06/2026

Today at 10.30am we held a burial service for six members of a Lewis Gun Crew of the 2/4 Queens Royal West Surrey Regiment (QRWS) who died on 6 October 1918 in Wervik. The service was held at CWGC Tyne Cot Cemetery. Private Horace Cook, Private Frederick Martin, Private Thomas Redvers Whitaker, Private Courtney Darvil Hart, Private Joseph Turnley and Private Charles Russell were buried in a service led by Chaplain Adele Rees and supported by soldiers from the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.

The men died during a direct strike on their position which is recorded in the battalion war diary. Lost in the chaos of war, their bodies were not recovered and following the armistice their names were added to the Tyne Cot Memorial.

In 2020 archaeological work by BAAC ahead of the construction of a new community centre revealed six bodies, bearing artefacts which showed they had served with the QRWS. One man had the repair kit from a Lewis Gun in his backpack.

Research into war diaries by the archaeological team, local historians, the CWGC and JCCC revealed the evidence of the shell strike, and following up through the casualty lists and battalion ledgers gave a short list of potential candidates.

The families of the potential candidates were traced by the JCCC team and asked for DNA samples for comparison and eventually the results revealed the names of the six men. Families of four of the men were able to be present for the service today.

The families and the military party were also invited to a reception hosted by the archaeologists and the Mayor of Wervik in the afternoon at the community centre built on the site of their former resting place, where a plaque was revealed honouring the sacrifice of the six men who died fighting for the freedom of the town.

09/06/2026

This afternoon at 3pm we held a rededication service at CWGC Hooge Crater Cemetery for Lance Corporal John Edgar Springate and Serjeant Ernest Albert Stevens, both of 11th Bn Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment.

In late September 1918 the 11 QRWS were involved in movement towards the Wervicq-Menin railway and on the evening of 1 October they made an advance. Sadly they came under very heavy fire from a machine gun placed in a nearby field, and suffered significant casualties. Further casualties were incurred during the move towards an assembly point later in the same evening, and in total the battalion lost 36 men between 1 and 2 October - 15 of whom remained missing at the end of the war. Their names were carved onto the Tyne Cot Memorial.

After the end of the war the remains of an unknown Serjeant of the QWRS and those of an unknown Lance Corporal of the same regiment were recovered between Gheluwe and Wervicq. Though they could not be identified at the time their rank was recorded along with the details of their Regiment and location, and today research by an independent researcher, the CWGC, the National Army Museum and ourselves, has revealed that they are in fact Sjt Ernest Stevens and LCpl John Springate.

The service of rededication was led by Chaplain Adele Rees CF and supported by serving soldiers of 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.

04/06/2026

The following services will be taking place in late June and July 2026 in France and Belgium:

Tuesday 30 June

13:30 – A burial service for Private Robert Leonard Lock of 12th Battalion The Durham Light Infantry, killed in action 7 October 1916, at Warlencourt British Cemetery, France.

Thursday 2 July

11:00 – A burial service for 2 unknown Commonwealth soldiers at Crucifix Corner Cemetery, Villers-Bretonneux, France.

Wednesday 15 July

10:00 – A burial service for 3 unknown Commonwealth soldiers at Poelcapelle British Cemetery, Belgium.

Thursday 16 July

10:45 – A burial service for an unknown Commonwealth soldier at Hermies Hill British Cemetery, France.

03/06/2026

This week 2 burial services have been held on the Western Front for 3 unknown Commonwealth soldiers. The first service took place yesterday at Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension in France. The remains of a soldier found near Clery-sur-Somme during archaeological work were laid to rest with military honours. Unfortunately no artefacts were found with him which could assist with his identification. The second service took place today at Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium for 2 unknown soldiers. They were found together in Zonnebeke with various artefacts including items of artillery equipment. JCCC will continue to carry out DNA testing in the hope that at least one of these men may be named in the future. Both services were conducted by the Rev Mark Henderson CF, Chaplain to 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery and were supported by soldiers of the regiment. A trumpeter was provided by The Regimental Band of The Royal Welsh.

20/05/2026

This morning we rededicated the grave of Lieutenant Thomas Michael O'Neill, Royal Dublin Fusiliers att. ROYAL air Force, at Le Grand Beaumart Cemetery in France.

Thomas was born on 1 May 1892 in Westmeath, Ireland. He was the youngest of seven siblings, growing up on a farm in Reynella, Clonlost. Prior to 1914, he was working as a shop assistant in Dublin.

After war was declared, Thomas was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and joined the 9th Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers. He served the next seven months in the UK before going overseas in December 1915. In July 1916, Thomas journeyed to England to join the Royal Flying Corps at Oxford. He eventually graduated and went through a number of Home Defence squadrons. In March 1918, Thomas travelled to France to join 43 Squadron.

On 8 May 1918, Thomas was out on Offensive Patrol just after midday when his patrol was attacked by a group of German Triplanes. He was in Sopwith Camel C8298, and his Casualty Report related that he was last seen going down out of control , East of Bailleul, after being attacked. He was subsequently listed as missing and commemorated on the Arras Flying Service Memorial.

Research was submitted by a member of the public which suggested that Lt. O'Neill was actually buried at Le Grand Beaumart Cemetery. Further investigation was undertaken and it was agreed that Lt. O'Neill was the only candidate for the grave in question. The headstone has been changed accordingly and a rededication service was held today.

MOD War Detectives

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