A solemn rededication ceremony at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Hooge Crater Cemetery near Ypres honored two previously unidentified World War One soldiers on Tuesday, 9 June 2026. The event, led by the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC)—known as the ‘MOD War Detectives’—concluded decades of archival research that finally linked the men’s remains to their identities.
John Edgar Springate of Lambeth and Ernest Albert Stevens of West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, both enlisted in the Army after early 1916. While their detailed service records were lost to time, both were stationed with the 11th Battalion Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment (11 Bn QRWS) in Belgium by late 1918. During a grueling assault on the Wervicq–Menin railway in early October 1918, the battalion endured severe machine-gun fire and heavy losses. Over the following nights, additional casualties mounted while moving to regrouping positions, resulting in 36 deaths—15 of whom were declared missing post-war, their names etched on the Tyne Cot Memorial.
Decades later, the discovery of two unidentified soldiers’ remains near Gheluwe and Wervicq revealed they belonged to the QRWS Regiment. Though initially buried only as “Known to God,” subsequent research confirmed one was Lance Corporal John Edgar Springate and the other, Sergeant Ernest Albert Stevens. “I am deeply honored that archival evidence could finally reunite these men with the dignity of their names,” said JCCC Caseworker Alexia Clark. “Today, their sacrifice is no longer anonymous.”
The graves, now marked with engraved headstones, will be maintained by the CWGC. “A century later, these soldiers’ identities are preserved in stone, ensuring their story endures,” added Sean Phillips, Commemorations Support Coordinator at the CWGC. Rev. Adele Rees CF, chaplain to the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, blessed Springate’s headstone, while Colonel Mark Nooney of the same regiment laid a wreath at Stevens’ grave, symbolizing recognition of their shared legacy.
