Six British soldiers, killed in action in October 1914, are to be reburied at Prowse Point military cemetery in Belgium on April 16th 2015.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence says it has not been possible to identify any of those being reinterred.
However, two of the soldiers served with the King’s Own Lancaster Regiment and two with the Lancashire Fusiliers. The regiment of the other two men is still unknown.
The soldiers were killed in October 1914, at a time when the series of battles known as the ‘Race to the Sea’ was drawing to a close and fighting began for control of Ypres.
Their remains were found in 2008 and 2010 in a farmer’s field in the Comines-Warneton area of Belgium, close to the French border. It’s thought they were given field burials after the action in which they died.
The men will be reburied with full military honours by troops from 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment and 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Prowse Point cemetery, 11 kilometres (7 miles) south of Ypres, is cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
CWGC says it’s unique in the area for being named after an individual, Major Charles Prowse, and his heroism at the site of a stand by British troops in October 1914.
Later, as a Brigadier-General, Charles Prowse was killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916.
Prowse Point lies next to the new Christmas truce memorial unveiled in December 2014, marking the centenary of the unofficial ceasefires on the Western Front.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the reburial ceremony at 10 am on Thursday April 16th 2015. Full details, including the order of service, can be found on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.
Sources: CWGC/UK Ministry of Defence
Images: Centenary News
Posted by: Peter Alhadeff, Centenary News