LONDON, April 29 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:

Two'unknown soldier' headstoneshave been replaced withones bearing the names of themen wholay there afterinvestigation work by the MOD's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the 'War Detectives'.

RededicationservicesforCapt Cuthbert and Lt Harveywereorganisedby the team,andserviceswere heldforCapt. Cuthbertat the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's (CWGC)Tyne CotCemeterythismorning, and forLt HarveyatSanctuary WoodCemetery this afternoon(29April2026).

JCCC Caseworker, Alexia Clark, said:

I am grateful to the independentresearcherwhoput such a lot of effort intodiscoveringthe stories of these two men,and the records behind theun-named gravesand whoultimatelysubmittedthe cases for their identification. Their work has led us to recognise the final resting placesofCaptain Cuthbert and Lieutenant Harvey,andto restoretheir names tothem. It has been a privilegeto have contributed tothese casesand to have organised the servicesofrededication today.

Captain Gordon Cuthbert

14 August 1876 - 25 April 1915

In 1894,Gordon Cuthbertjoined the London Rifle Brigade, and he was gazetted 2ndLieutenant in the 2ndVolunteer Brigade of the Middlesex Regiment in February 1900. He transferred to the Territorial Reserve in 1908andwas appointed captain in command of the Twickenham Company in 1911.

On the outbreak of war inAugust 1914,he rejoined the Middlesex Regiment andproceededto Gibraltar for garrison duty until February 1915 when he was sent to northern Europe. He was killed on 25 April whilst leading a storming party which retook a trench near Ypres. In the chaos of war immediate burial was impossible, and following the war Gordon's name was added to the Menin Gate Memorial to the missing in Ypres.

In 1920 the body of a Captain of the Middlesex Regiment was recovered on the southern side of the Ypres-Roulersrailway line - his rank and regiment were determined from elements of his uniform, but his personal identity was impossible to tell and so he was buried as an unknown Captain at Tyne Cot Cemetery.Detailedresearch hasnowallowed the unknown Captain to beidentified asGordon Cuthbert.

Military personnel salute, and Standards are dipped, as Last Post sounds at the service for Captain Cuthbert (Crown Copyright)

Lieutenant Leslie Harvey

3 January 1884 - 25 April 1915

Leslie Harveyjoined the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps, and on the outbreak of war volunteeredimmediately, being given a commission in the Middlesex regiment on 28 August 1914. Leslie was sent to Gibraltar with the regiment inOctober 1914 andwas promoted to Lieutenant in February 1915. Followinga short periodof leave in England he was sent to France, in late February - early March 1915.

By April 1915 Leslie had reached Belgium and was engaged in fighting in theZonnebekearea. On 25 April 1915 he was killed whilst leading a bayonet charge. Although he was buried by his men at the time - near a railway crossing - the records of his grave werelost andfollowing the war he was named on the Menin Gate Memorial to the missing at Ypres.

In early 1929, the body of an unknown Lieutenant of the Middlesex Regiment was recovered from a location just south of the Ypres-Roulersrailway -identifiedby a shoulder title, and his badges and buttons. It was impossible todeterminehis personalidentity,and he was buried as an unknown Lieutenant at Sanctuary Wood Cemetery, alongside two other men recovered at the same place and time.Archival researchhasnowconnected this unknown Lieutenant toLeslie Harvey andallowed us toidentifyhis final resting place.

Padre Victoria Day leads the service for Lt Harvey (Crown Copyright)

The servicestoday weresupported by serving soldiers from thePrincess of Wales's RoyalRegiment andled by PadreVictoria Day of 26 Royal EngineerRegiment.

The headstones werereplaced by CWGC. Polly Brewster, Commemorations Case Officer at CWGC, said:

On the25thApril 1915, Captain Gordon Cuthbert and Lieutenant Leslie Harvey were engaged in fierce fighting near Ypres and made the ultimate sacrifice. It feels very poignant that 110 years later,almost tothe day, we are now able to commemorate them by name at their final resting places. The Commission will continue to care for their graves in perpetuity, ensuring that they can rest in peace and dignity, their sacrifice remembered.

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