WW1 soldier buried over a century after his death

L/Cpl Claude Stanley Dell, from Scarborough, served in the 5th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment after joining up alongside his brothers at the start of the war.

He was killed in action on 25 April 1915 on the Ypres Salient Battlefields in Belgium after his arrival in Boulogne on 17 April, and his remains were found in 2021 during work to build a rainwater cistern in Hazeweidestraat, St Juliaan.

On Tuesday, he was buried with full military honours at Poelcapelle British Cemetery in the presence of both his military family and his great-niece Judith.

According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), an archaeological excavation was undertaken by the Flanders Heritage Agency when Dell's remains were found.

Artefacts recovered alongside them showed them to be those of a soldier who had served in the 5th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment.

The MoD's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) launched an investigation to name him, which identified 20 men from the regiment missing in the area.

Living descendants of the missing men were traced one by one, until eventually DNA testing proved that the remains were Dell's

The service in Belgium, organised by the JCCC, was supported by serving soldiers of the Royal Yorkshire Regiment, as well as staff from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).

MoD war detective Alexia Clark said: "It has been a privilege to research this case, to have been able to identify L/Cpl Dell, and to have been able to lay him to rest.

"I am extremely grateful to 2nd Battalion the Royal Yorkshire Regiment who have provided the bearer party for the funeral, and to the members of Claude's family who have been involved in his commemoration."

Dell's grave will now be cared for in perpetuity by the CWGC.

Dr Daniel Seaton, commemorations case officer at the CWGC, said: "L/Cpl Dell lay in an unmarked grave on the former battlefields for well over 100 years.

"It is a great privilege to have worked alongside the JCCC and our Belgian partners in the effort to restore his identity.

"He is now laid to rest in a Commission cemetery not far from where he fell, ensuring his grave can be visited in perpetuity and his sacrifice remembered."

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