Grave of Lanarkshire soldier identified more than a century after his death

2nd Lieutenant Hugh Barr was one of three previously unknown soldiers whose graves were rededicated on Wednesday.

A Lanarkshire soldier who died in Belgium during the First World War is one of three previously unknown soldiers whose graves were rededicated in a service on Wednesday, having been identified more than a century after they fell.

2nd Lieutenant Hugh Barr, from East Kilbride, was 28 when he was killed during an attack on the German-occupied town of Werwick on September 30 1918 while serving with the 35th Battalion Machine Gun Corps.

The former insurance company employee had enlisted with The Scottish Horse on September 5 1914, and served in Gallipoli, Alexandria and Salonika before being posted to Belgium.

He was buried on the outskirts of the town, and after the war his body was recovered and he was buried as an unknown soldier at Zantvoorde British Cemetery.

The bodies of Lance Corporal James Ball Baron MM and Lance Corporal Samuel Chapman suffered a similar fate, and they were both buried as unknown soldiers at Tyne Cot Cemetery.

L/Cpl Baron had been serving with the 43rd Machine Gun Corps when he died aged 29 on August 24, 1917 during a German counterattack on a position near Hooge which had been taken in a British attack two days earlier.

Meanwhile 19-year-old L/Cpl Chapman died of wounds on December 14 1917, after being injured near Passchendaele while serving with the East Yorkshire Regiment.

All three graves were identified after researchers submitted cases to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), which were then confirmed following further research by the National Army Museum and the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) – the so-called “war detectives”.

Old black-and-white photograph of a Hugh Barr dressed in his officer's uniform — 2nd Lt Hugh Barr was killed in action on September 30, 1918 (PA)

JCCC caseworker Rosie Barron said: “It has been an honour to have been involved in the organisation of these rededication services and to have joined the family of L/Cpl Chapman, their military family and the local community in Ypres in remembering these three men.

“The memory of each of these men has now been passed through generations of their families and they are all still fondly and proudly remembered.”

New headstones bearing the name of each soldier were provided by the CWGC.

Xavier Puppinck, director for the southern and central Europe area at the CWGC, said they were “honoured” to have played a part in ensuring the men are “remembered in perpetuity”.

He added: “After years of being commemorated as unknown soldiers, thanks to the meticulous research and collaboration of the teams involved, their graves now bear their names, ensuring they will never be forgotten.”

Row of men standing behind a white gravestone with poppy wreaths laid in front of it. Three of the men are in military uniform, one is clearly a vicar, while a fifth man standing in the middle is wearing a black suit — Tim Buescher (middle) travelled from Yorkshire to attend the service for his great great uncle Lance Corporal Samuel Chapman (Crown Copyright/PA)

“We are amazed that after all this time, Sam is found,” he said.

“This generation of our family, like many others, was hit hard by the Great War and as a result, these people were lost to us before we could know them.”

He added: “Being able to commemorate their life and their sacrifice, whilst mourning their loss, feels like they are being brought home somehow. Thank you.”

Reverend Paul Robinson CF, chaplain to 4th Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, said it was a “great honour” to be asked to conduct the service.

“It is important that we as a nation at opportunities like this today reflect on the enormity of what has taken place, the horror, the loss, the frustration,” he said.

“We must respect our values and our freedoms and remember those that made the ultimate sacrifice for our way of life.”