How many cases?

[andrew pugh]

Good Evening 

Does anybody know exactly how many cases for identification the late Richard Laughton submitted, and how many were successful? Hope someone can help.

Regards

Andy 

[Andrew P]

Andy, I was told 35 cases of Richards are still to be answered but perhaps @ejwalshe can confirm the full numbers of his successful cases and those yet to be decided upon.

 

Cheers

[ejwalshe]

Yes, @Andrew PAndrew, 35 of the 50 Canadian cases "in cold storage" have a connection to Richard Laughton.

• Lts Wylie and Wallace, 15th Battalion co-authored with Brig-Gen (Ret'd) Greg Young
  • "The two submissions were directly related to one another and the amount of work and documentation was significant. In my opinion the evidence is clear but as you rightly note, a decision is still pending." - Brig-Gen (Ret'd) Greg Young

I do believe, it is 3 accepted...

• Lance Corporal Robert King 709591
• Lance Corporal Morgan Jones Jenkins 475898
  • "Yahoo! My first case #309 for Jenkins was accepted, they just never told me." - Richard Laughton, 25 July 2020 (Richard passed away two months later).
• Corporal George Herbert Ledingham 859287 (change in progress)

10 Rejected, with at least one of these to be resubmitted.

• Lt William Russel Norman
  • The conclusion of the original submission was predicated on the inference that the
    “shoulder straps” referred to on the Burial Return referred to shoulder boards only worn by
    officers. Lt Notman was seemingly the only candidate for the grave as he was the only officer from
    the 44th Canadian Infantry Battalion, CEF killed between 18 October and 19 November 1916 with
    no known grave. However, the vague reference to ‘shoulder straps’ could be referring to any sort
    of epaulette or strap worn by officers or other ranks in various iterations. It is not possible to
    determine exactly what the term was specifically referring to. Moreover, as the CWGC report
    outlines, the occupant of the Unknown grave was not identified as an officer in 1920 when the
    remains were concentrated to Adanac Military Cemetery, rather the casualty was listed on the
    Burial Return as an Unknown Canadian Soldier. If researchers in 1920 did not feel confident
    enough in the presence of shoulder straps as a means of identifying the remains as belonging to an
    officer then we cannot do so now. - Directory of History and Heritage