More than a century after their deaths, the graves of Second Lieutenant Ernest Lockett Cole and Serjeant (Sjt) Ernest Edward Harris, who perished on the Western Front while serving with predecessor regiments to The Royal Anglian Regiment, have been rededicated.
The services, which were organized by the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the “MOD War Detectives,” were held at the Ovillers Military Cemetery of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) on June 22 and at Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery on June 23, respectively.
According to JCCC case lead Rosie Barron:
“Organizing these rededication services with The Rifles and The Royal Anglian Regiment has been a privilege. Both 2nd Lt Cole and Sjt Harris’ families, who finally know what happened to their missing loved ones after all this time, remember them with great pride. It is a privilege to relate this experience to them and have my story included in it.
Members of his family, including his great niece Julie Kirkman and her sister Pat, were present at the rededication service for 2nd Lt. Cole.
More than a century after their deaths, the graves of Second Lieutenant Ernest Lockett Cole and Serjeant (Sjt) Ernest Edward Harris, who perished on the Western Front while serving with predecessor regiments to The Royal Anglian Regiment, have been rededicated.
The services, which were organized by the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), also known as the “MOD War Detectives,” were held at the Ovillers Military Cemetery of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) on June 22 and at Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery on June 23, respectively.
According to JCCC case lead Rosie Barron:
“Organizing these rededication services with The Rifles and The Royal Anglian Regiment has been a privilege. Both 2nd Lt Cole and Sjt Harris’ families, who finally know what happened to their missing loved ones after all this time, remember them with great pride. It is a privilege to relate this experience to them and have my story included in it.
Members of his family, including his great niece Julie Kirkman and her sister Pat, were present at the rededication service for 2nd Lt. Cole.
The 8th Battalion The Northamptonshire Regiment was home to 2nd Lt. Cole, a 29-year-old from Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. When he was transferred to the Western Front on September 6th, 1916, he was a part of the 1st Battalion.
A few days later, on September 27, 1916, C Company of the 1st Battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment joined the 2nd Battalion of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps in an assault on the Flers Line.
In the course of the battle, 2nd Lt. Cole was killed despite the attack’s failure. Six months after his father’s passing, on March 19, 1917, his son, also called Ernest Lockett Cole, was born.
His remains were taken to Ovillers Military Cemetery after the war, where he was interred as an unidentified second lieutenant of the Northamptonshire Regiment. It was noted that this man’s underwear bore the initials “EC”. 2nd Lt. Cole was honored on the Thiepval Memorial in France due to his disappearance.
Alister Dawson, the great, great nephew of Sjt. Harris, was among the nine Harris family members who attended the rededication ceremony at the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery.
Alister Dawson said:
“It’s an honour and a privilege to attend the rededication ceremony and we really appreciate the work of the JCCC. We thank them for taking the time to trace family members and all the effort that goes into organising the ceremony. We hope this will make something that happened over a hundred years ago much closer for our children and they will remember Sjt Harris and all the fallen in proud remembrance.”
Sjt Harris, a 21-year-old from Takeley in Essex, arrived. During the Battle of Amiens on August 8, 1918, he died.
The conflict would usher in the Hundred Days Offensive, which the Allies would use to drive the Germans back and end the First World War. The 10th Battalion of the Essex Regiment, which launched the attack on Sailly-le-Sec, included Sjt. Harris.
The bones of 28 soldiers were transferred from a spot close to Sailly-le-Sec into the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery after the Great War as the battlefields were cleared.
A sergeant from The Essex Regiment who was known to have died on August 8, 1918, was one of these guys. Serjeant Harris was remembered on the Vis-en-Artois Memorial because he went missing.
Serving members of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and 5th Battalion The Rifles attended the services, which were led by Reverend Thomas Wilde CF, Chaplain to the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment.
The cleric Wilde stated:
“No one ought to pass away without a name on a battlefield. These officers and soldiers can be given names once we can identify them. This is crucial because when we give someone a name, we also give them a family history.
After researchers contacted the CWGC and presented evidence that the graves of both men had been discovered, the graves of both men were located. The National Army Museum and JCCC followed up with more research, which supported their conclusions.
The CWGC has removed the headstones from their graves.
Xavier Puppinck, the CWGC’s Area Director for France, said:
“Holding these moving memorial services at our cemeteries and properly honoring warriors who offered the ultimate sacrifice for their country is always very special. Our honor will be to maintain the graves of Second Lieutenant Cole and Serjeant Harris forever.