Finally... 9 brave young men can rest in peace
WWI soldiers honoured more than a century after their deaths
NINE British soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War were at last laid to rest yesterday.
The servicemen were given full military honours at Tyne Cot Military Cemetery in Belgium.
The nine, only seven of whom have been identified, were buried alongside 12,000 Commonwealth comrades who fell near the town of Ypres.
The seven identified men served together in 11th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers. They died within days of each other in the Battle of Passchendaele in October 1917.
Many family members attended the ceremony, along with the Duke of Kent.
Also present were members of 1st Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, who honoured the soldiers with a gun salute.
Leading the service, Rev Gary Watt said: “Let us commit... to remember their courage.”
The seven identified are…
2nd Lt Leslie Wallace Ablett – born in Manchester, he was the son of Joseph and Caroline Ablett, and brother to Frederick.
By 1911 his family had moved south and was living in Streatham, South London. A keen poet and writer, he was described as “bright, cheerful and of good tone”. He died aged 20.
CEREMONY
His first cousin three times removed Rachel Fixsen, at the ceremony, said: “Looking into his history really brought it home to me what happened and what they went through. “I thought the service was beautiful.”
2nd Lt Edward Douglas Bruty – born in Dulwich, Surrey, now South London, he was the son of William and Edith Bruty, and had four brothers and four sisters. He was a railway clerk and enlisted in 1914. He died aged 21.
Sgt Thomas Feasby – born in Eston in Yorkshire, he was the son of Joseph and Catherine Feasby. He and his brother George were tram conductors.
He was 32. Steven Willis-Feasby, his great nephew, said: “I think his mother wouldn’t have known where Thomas fell. I’m privileged that I’ve come here to represent our family. He’s back with us now.”
L/Cpl Stanley Blakeborough – born in Pateley Bridge in Yorkshire, he was the son of Harry and Mary Blakeborough, and had five brothers and two sisters. His brothers Charles and Donald were also in the war.
Stanley died aged 21. His brother Donald was killed three months later.
Pte Harry Miller – born in Cockerton, Co Durham, he was the son of James and Anne Miller, and had three brothers and four sisters.
Harry married Melita Florence Birkett on May 22, 1909, and had four children. His family later moved to Burton Leonard, North Yorkshire, where he worked as a farm labourer. He died aged 28.
Pte Joseph Patrickson MM – born in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, he was the son of Robert and Lucy Patrickson, and had two brothers and six sisters.
He was awarded the Military Medal for his bravery during the fighting in October 1917. He died age 24.
Pte Arnold Sanderson MM –born in Darlington, Co Durham, he was the son of Thomas and Emily Sanderson and had six sisters. He was awarded the Military Medal for his bravery in October 1917. He died aged 26.
The Ministry of Defence’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre team – known as the War Detectives – tracked down family members using a handful of personal belongings. DNA testing confirmed the links. Most of the bodies were unearthed during engineering works in 2018.
s.white@mirror.co.uk