Burial of L.Cpl. Robert Cook

[MelPack]

The burial of L/Cpl Robert Cook 15812 2nd Btn Essex Regiment took place yesterday at the New Irish Farm Cemetery took place yesterday.

The full story here:

First World War fallen being identified and honoured 100 years later

 

Remains of First World War soldiers continue to be found in France and Belgium to this day. The ‘war detectives’ seek to identify them.

It has been more than 100 years since the end of the First World War, but the bodies of those who fell on Flanders fields are still being discovered to this day.

A series of battles around the strategic Belgian town of Ypres saw hundreds of thousands of soldiers lose their lives.And while cemeteries are filled with rows and rows of white headstones commemorating the fallen, many have never been found.More than a century later, remains of soldiers continue to be unearthed by farmers and construction workers, a reminder that the now peaceful fields of northern France and Belgium were once scarred by trenches and gunfire.The remains of war dead can be extremely difficult to identify, but through painstaking research and DNA evidence a dedicated team of war detectives is often able to confirm names and even trace surviving family members.On Wednesday, Lance Corporal Robert Cook received full military honours at a ceremony near the town of Ypres as he was finally laid to rest over 100 years after his death on May 2, 1915.The British soldier, born in Bishop Wilton in the East Riding of Yorkshire and one of seven children, died age 38.His identity was confirmed by experts from the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), known as the war detectives.A rose grows between the headstones at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Wytschaete Military Cemetery, near Ypres, Belgium (Gareth Fuller/PA)Speaking to the PA news agency, JCCC Commemorations team lead Tracey Bowers said: “Our main aim is to try and identify human remains that will have recently been recovered and also to look at identification of previously buried unknown soldiers, sailors and airmen.“I think it’s incredibly important that those that gave their lives for what we have today are remembered, honoured and afforded a full burial.”But with so much time passed since the events of the war, and with many battlefields fought over more than once between 1914 and 1918, it can be a huge challenge to identify any remains found.The process involves pouring over trench maps and historical research as well as studying any artefacts found that might point to the fallen soldier’s rank or regiment.Ms Bowers added: “I think everybody thinks DNA can be used and it it solves everything, in reality it doesn’t.“It is used by us as a confirmation of an identification.”Yorkshire-born Lance Corporal Robert Cook is laid to rest with full military honours (Gareth Fuller/PA)Getting a suitable DNA sample to compare can be difficult, with many young soldiers having lost their lives before having children.In the case of L/Cpl Cook, experts were able to trace his surviving great nephew who agreed to provide a sample, which turned out to be a match.Ms Bowers described getting a DNA match as “the last bit of that puzzle” after what is often more than a year of work.Once the soldier’s remains have been identified, if a new burial is needed then the War Detectives set about organising a full military honours service, including contacting the modern day equivalent of their regiment.L/Cpl Cook was carried to his final resting place on Wednesday afternoon accompanied members of C Essex Company of 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2021/10/27/first-world-war-fallen-being-identified-and-honoured-100-years-later/

[MelPack]

An interesting acccount of how the soldier was successfully identified:

How L/Cpl Cook was identified

Between 2014 and 2015, 24 sets of remains were found during construction work at what is believed to have been the site of Irish Farm Cemetery on the outskirts of Ypres. Irish Farm was in use as a Regimental Aid Post in May 1915 at the time of L/Cpl Cook’s death. It had previously been thought that after the Great War, the graves in Irish Farm Cemetery had all been moved to New Irish Farm Cemetery, a short distance away – 19 of these soldiers were buried in September 2017 with full military honours (see JCCC gov.uk for further details). A further four soldiers were buried in 2019 after further investigation by the JCCC.

The final set of remains were found with shoulder titles and a cap badge of The Essex Regiment as well as a medal ribbon bar indicating that this soldier had received the British South Africa Company Medal 1890-1897, the Queen’s South Africa Medal 1899-1902 and the King’s South Africa Medal 1902. Based on the location where these remains were found, it was believed this casualty likely belonged to 2nd Battalion The Essex Regiment.

The battalion had arrived in the frontline close to Irish Farm on 30 April 1915 and remained in the area until July. On 2 May 1915, the day of L/Cpl Cook’s death, the battalion was attacked with gas, causing panic and confusion in the line. Gas was first used by the Germans on 22 April 1915, and no protection against this new weapon was yet in place. The enemy then attacked the line.

Too many casualties of 2nd Battalion The Essex Regiment were missing from during this period to carry out DNA testing, so JCCC sought further assistance from Major (Ret’d) Peter Williamson MBE at The Essex Regiment Museum in narrowing down which of the missing soldiers may have received the three South Africa medals. Based on the medals found with his remains and information from the Essex Regiment Museum archives, Peter was able to confirm that only L/Cpl Cook would have done so.

Major (Ret’d) Peter Williamson MBE, from The Essex Regiment Museum said:

“Due to an improved quality photograph enabled the positive identification of the medals which this soldier had earned, and that was the foundation for several months of painstaking research to eliminate all but Lance Corporal Robert Cook.

Full details here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/medal-ribbons-help-identify-great-war-casualty