Grave of Yorkshire Soldier identified in Belgium
The grave of Leeds-born World War One soldier, Lieutenant (Lt) Charles Stewart Cautherley of 1st Battalion Hertfordshire Regiment, has now been marked more than a century after his death.
Bugler Lance Corporal Edward Watts plays the Battalion Bugle Call to herald the start of the service. Crown Copyright.
The rededication service, organised by the Ministry Of Defence (MOD)’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the ‘MOD War Detectives’, was held at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Poelcapelle British Cemetery this morning (21 March 2024).
In 1923 the remains of an unnamed officer of the Hertfordshire Regiment were recovered from a field burial around 400 metres south of Voormezele, the partial identification being made from his uniform and buttons. The remains were reburied at Poelcapelle British Cemetery and new research has now shown they are those of Lt Cautherley.
Lt Cautherley served with the Honourable Artillery Company between 1909 and 1915 and was made an officer in the Hertfordshire Regiment in October 1915. He joined the 1st Battalion in April 1916 and in September 1916 was reported as suffering from shell shock, although he returned to the Battalion soon afterwards.
Lt Cautherley then spent time in the First Army Provosts, returning to the Hertfordshire Battalion on 10 April 1918. He was killed two weeks later in a defensive battle in the Voormezele area. His burial was not recorded, and following the war he was commemorated by name on the CWGC’s Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing.
JCCC Caseworker, Alexia Clark, said:
I am pleased to have been involved in identifying the final resting place of Lt Cautherley. In rededicating his grave today, we have reunited his mortal remains with his name, ensuring that his sacrifice will not be forgotten.
Simon, the cousin of Lt Cautherley, stands behind his headstone with members of the military party. Crown Copyright.
The service was conducted by the Reverend Tom Sander Chaplain to the Household Cavalry and was also attended by representatives of the Royal Anglian Regiment.
The Reverend Sander said:
Today we rededicate the grave of Lt Cautherley, in recognition and in memory of the sacrifice made in the cause of war. We commend him into the hands of Almighty God and continue to pray for the peace which the world cannot give.
The standards are lowered as the Last Post sounds. Crown Copyright.
The headstones over both graves were replaced by CWGC who will care for them in perpetuity.
Mel Donnelly, Head of Commemorations at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission said:
We are deeply honoured to rededicate the grave of Lieutenant Charles Stewart Cautherley. His memory shall endure eternally under our watchful care and commitment. His sacrifice and service are indelibly etched in both history and stone at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Poelcapelle British Cemetery.