Throughout history, thousands of British servicemen and women went off to serve their country and remained missing. In a special episode of Long Lost Family that airs on Monday, July 18, the team of searchers joined forces with the 'War Detectives' from the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre in a bid to tackle their most ambitious case to date. This series has also seen the story of an 87-year-old man, who was abandoned as a baby. You can read more about that here.
When nine soldiers were found together in a trench by road workers in Beselare, Belgium, the ‘War Detectives’ got to work to uncover their identities. The location, the site of the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, offered them their first clue. Over 300,000 people lost their lives in the battle.
At the start of their journey, they discovered the body of 2nd Lieutenant Ablett from the 11th Northumberland Fusiliers. He was identifiable by his ID bracelet and a ring and remarkably, he still had his officer’s boots, in wearable condition, his tie and his fountain pen. Following the recovery of the artefacts and DNA sourced from a living relative, Ablett’s identity was confirmed. Having discovered one of the soldiers, the team set to work out the remaining eight.
Upon the discovery of Lieutenant Ablett’s personal items, the ‘War Detectives’ requested a DNA test with a living relative on his maternal side - Rachel Fixsen, a journalist and ceramicist from Somerset. Until recently, Rachel knew nothing of her distant cousin. The test proved that they were, indeed, relatives. And so it helped get the ball rolling and led to the identification of his colleagues.
Rachel said: “The first thing that I heard was an email from the MOD and in the email, there was mention of Leslie, my cousin who was a soldier that I had never heard of. He had been killed and he had been lying there for 100 years.” She said she was “hungry” to get any information she could on him.
Leslie, born in 1897, in Manchester, went to school in London. Upon researching him, Rachel found out a little bit more about her relative. She discovered that in 1916, a year before the events of his death, he became a 2nd Lieutenant. He died on October 15, 1917.
“The people who loved him couldn’t bury him as they should’ve been able to,” said Rachel, as she recalled how her partner, who had recently died, had been buried far away in Italy. She added: “It’s been like a gift to me because I can do this, for someone else, to make sure the burial happens in the right way.”
Prior to the military burial, Rachel said she felt “privileged” to give Leslie the send-off that he deserved. "Although they did die 103 years ago, we will bury them as if they were killed yesterday,” said one officer prior to the service.
Elsewhere in the episode, 77-year-old Brenda Clayton from Gainford in Durham, is determined to find out what happened to her grandfather, Harry Miller, who was killed in World War I. His body had, unfortunately, until that point, never been recovered.
Harry was amongst 26 men from the Parish of Gainford who left for France without any idea of their fate. On October 15, 1917, Harry was killed in action at the age of 28. Whilst Harry was away in France, his wife Malita, passed away of scarlet fever and therefore, Brenda’s mother and her siblings were orphaned.
“There was just something missing right through our lives,” says Brenda, who is one of thousands of people across Britain who have no idea what happened to their missing relatives - one of whom was Davina McCall’s own Great Uncle, who too passed away in World War I. Little did Brenda know that her grandfather's body was on the brink of being discovered by the 'War Detectives', as he was one of the nine bodies found in Belgium.
Following a DNA test, the team revealed to Brenda what happened to her grandfather. She said that it meant “everything” to her to find out that Harry was one of the soldiers found. A visibly upset Brenda was delighted to find out that Harry, who was “very special” to her family, would be given a military burial.
The identity of 26-year-old Arnold Sanderson, was also uncovered following a DNA test from his great niece, Jackie Golding. She said: “It must have been so hard for [my family], which is probably why my Nana didn’t talk about him.” Jackie added: “It’s so sad that he’s been buried in the ground for 100 years and that his parents couldn’t go to a funeral. It’s so sad.”
Discovering that Arnold was one of the nine, Jackie described how she “couldn’t wait” to tell her brother and sister about the news and she eagerly anticipated the chance to bury her relative.
The end of the episodes saw Leslie, Harry and Arnold all laid to rest. The team also uncovered the identities of five other soldiers, all of whom were also given a burial. The 'War Detectives' were, unfortunately, unable to discover the other two soldiers but they also had a military funeral.
Prior to the service, Rachel said that she felt “privileged” to give Leslie the send-off that he deserved. Meanwhile, an overwhelmed Brenda said: "I was mesmerised [by the service.]"
Following the fallen, no longer ‘unknown’ soldiers’ funeral, Rachel said that “it is a really necessary thing to see him buried.” She said their memories would continue and all of the nine soldiers were now at peace.
Long Lost Family: The Unknown Soldiers aired at 9pm on ITV on Monday, July 18 and is available on BBC iPlayer
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