LONDON, June 10 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:

Ajointrededicationservice,organised by the MOD's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the 'MOD War Detectives',washeld at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's (CWGC)Hooge CraterCemeterynear Ypresforboth men on Tuesday 9 June 2026.

John Edgar Springate, from Lambeth,and Ernest Albert Stevens, fromWest Wycombe, Bucks,both joined theArmysometime after the start of1916. Though neither man's record has survived to give us specific details of their service, by the late summer of 1918 both were serving with 11 Bn QRWS Regimentin Belgium.

On the eveningof 1 October1918,thebattalionlaunched an attack towards the Wervicq - Menin railwayand,under very heavy machine gun fire,sufferedsignificant casualties. Overnight, they suffered further losses whilst moving to anassembly point.Duringthose two daysthebattalion lost 36 men, 15 of whom remained missing following the war.

Thenamesof the missingwere listed on the Tyne Cot Memorial. John Edgar Springate and Ernest Albert Stevens were two of these men.

Afterthe war, the remains of an unknown sergeant of theQRWS Regimentwere recovered south-west of Gheluwe and north-east of Wervicq. In a separate recovery the remains of an unknown lance corporal of the QRWS Regiment were also recovered nearby.

Since bothcould only be partiallyidentifiedbyrank and regiment,they wereburied in graves marked simply 'Known to God'. Now,following extensivearchival researchwe knowthat the unknown Serjeant was Ernest Albert Stevens, and the unknown Lance Corporal was John Edgar Springate.

JCCC Caseworker, Alexia Clark, said:

I amgrateful to the researcher who originallysubmittedevidence suggesting the location ofLCpl Springate and Sjt Stevens'graves.Inrededicatingtheirgravestoday,we havereunitedtheirmortalremainswiththeirnames, ensuring thattheirsacrifice will not be forgotten.

The headstones over both graves were replaced by CWGC who will care for them in perpetuity.

Rev. Adele Rees CF, Chaplain to 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, blesses the headstone of LCpl Springate.

Sean Phillips, Commemorations Support Coordinator at the CWGC said:

It is with great reverence that, after more than a century, we can now mark the graves of Lance Corporal Springate and Serjeant Stevens with headstones thatidentifytheir names and bear the details of their service. The memory of these soldiers is now etched in stone, honouring their sacrifices at their final place of rest in Hooge Crater Cemetery.

Colonel Mark Nooney, of The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, lays a wreath at the newly engraved headstone of Sjt Stevens.

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.